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Students will understand the major transitions from medieval times to the modern era, including technological, social, and political changes. They will be able to describe key events and figures that symbolize the birth of the modern world.

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What key transformations marked the transition from the medieval era to the modern world?

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The teacher will introduce the concepts of Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, and the Scientific Revolution, highlighting how these periods contributed to the birth of the modern world.

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Students will work in small groups using Padlet to create timelines of major events and figures from the medieval era to the modern world.

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Students will review a selection of articles and videos on different aspects of the transition to the modern world and summarize their findings.

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Cattle graze near wind turbines in South Africa. The energy used for farming has increased dramatically over the past century. And despite the growth of alternative energy sources like wind, humans are still dependent on fossil fuels. (Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg News)
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How dramatically do humans dominate the Earth? As late as 1800, the total weight of wild mammals was greater than that of all domesticated species. By 1900, with the bison gone and cattle herds roaming the plains of the Americas, cows alone bulked twice as heavy as all remaining wild mammals. A century later, domesticated animals outweighed wildlife by a factor of 20. In less than the life span of the U.S. Constitution, the Earth has gone from half-wild to a global farm.

The greatest change by far is in the energy sources that make us the dominant species. To stick with farming a little longer: During the 20th century, harvested cropland expanded about 40 percent worldwide to feed a population that grew almost fourfold. In that time, the energy consumed by farming increased to 90 times its level in 1900, as fertilizer, tractors and factory farms replaced sunshine and muscle with carbon-based fuel. How vital is all that carbon? In " Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made," Vaclav Smil estimates that without the energy-intensive process that produces nitrogen fertilizer, nearly half of today's population would starve.

As these examples show, Smil is a conjurer with numbers. In "Grand Transitions," he works to show just how thoroughly this is now a planet of our making - and how rapidly the transformation is still happening. During the first 18 years of this century, global energy use went up almost 50 percent, with some 85 to 90 percent coming from fossil fuels. This vaulting increase has been so dramatic that global carbon dioxide levels have risen as much since President George H.W. Bush launched the first U.S. invasion of Iraq in 1990 as they had in all of human history up to Bush's inauguration. Despite ubiquitous calls for decarbonization, Smil writes, "we remain an overwhelmingly fossil-fueled civilization that has been recently running vigorously into carbon rather than moving away from it."

An air of tragedy hangs over this book. Into what are we transitioning, and is it really that grand? In some ways, it is - or has been. After hundreds of thousands of years as a species of a few million, foragers and peasants eking out livings in an unfriendly world, we changed everything in our image. Several billion people now lead longer, more secure lives than ever before, with choices (of food, work, pleasure) and powers (instantaneous communication, fast and safe travel, the world's cultural archives at their fingers) that would have struck most previous generations as wild fantasy. We don't just live like kings: We live like sorcerers.

But for all that, we are still animals in the Earth's biosphere. If soil fertility collapses, or freshwater supply, ocean life, pollinators or climate stability, then ("ashes, ashes," as the old children's song goes) we fall down, too. The biggest moral imperative of the next century, Smil argues, is to extend the benefits of energy-powered prosperity to the 4 billion people (maybe 6 billion 50 years from now) who have been left out so far. But global progress brings global peril. Most of the 50 percent increase in energy use this century was a direct result of China's growth, with much of the rest coming from India. Three, four or five times that rise in environmental pressure would threaten to "overshoot" the Earth's capacity to sustain human life.

One response to this bleak dilemma is to deny it: Yes, things look bad, but we can have sustainable growth with enough technological innovation, efficiency gains and infrastructure investment. Smil is not so sure. He argues forcefully that if we wait for sustainable energy to be "cheaper" than fossil fuels, we will be waiting through decades of likely disaster.

Energy transitions tend to be slow, Smil observes, and slower the more infrastructure is involved - like U.S. highways and oil refineries, worldwide trade webs of products from soybeans to silicon chips, and coal-fired power plants in India. Yes, solar and wind power is getting cheaper, but we still face the technological bottleneck of how to store it: Without a revolution in batteries, highly variable wind and sunshine cannot meet the energy demands of cities, where the world's population is more concentrated every decade. Efficiency gains in producing goods from raw steel to aluminum cans are reaching physical limits after some decades of dramatic progress. There is no realistic prospect of getting substantial energy waste and fertilizer pollution out of industrial agriculture, which will cover hundreds of millions more acres than today if it is to succeed in feeding billions more people by 2050.

Smil might be off base in any of these particular forecasts, but he argues that the overall picture is too grim to allow any real prospect of flattening global carbon levels in the next couple of decades. The collision course with the planet's systems will continue. This means the future will probably be full of more or less dramatic crisis and adaptation: droughts and population movements, floods and new infrastructure; at worst, famine and resource wars. These will be mostly national or regional responses to what is, at root, a global problem. The populations left out of growth so far will suffer most, with the least resources for managing the crises. This is the recipe for what climate journalist Kate Aronoff calls "eco-apartheid."

A physical scientist, Smil turns at last to the reluctant conclusion that the future depends on "the wisdom of homo sapiens sapiens," but he doesn't presume to say much about what that means. It might mean politics, which gets almost no attention in this book.

Just as good intentions mean little against the weight of global energy systems - Smil's warning in a nutshell - wisdom means little in the 21st century if it can't be turned to political action. There isn't time or ecological space to grow or innovate away from all of the coming bottlenecks and attendant crises. There just might be enough will and solidarity to navigate through them without falling into eco-apartheid and to come out of the bottleneck sooner rather than later.

If we can find a way to throw collective effort against the very fossil fuel system that has brought us so far, and put it to rest 50 years sooner than current trends would do, we might face fewer disasters, and along the way we might grow less fragmented and more concerned with shared survival than our own comfort. Our greatest transition yet might be from tragic ecological fate into an economy that would be both sustainable and fair. Or so it is possible to hope. Alas, in politics as in engineering, we would have to do better in the very near future than we have ever managed in the past.

Grand Transitions

By Vaclav Smil

Oxford. 363 pp. $34.95
How the Modern World Was Made

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Review | Humans have rapidly remade the Earth - and imperiled its future

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Vaclav Smil quantifies the changes and the almost inevitable crises ahead.

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For remediation, students will work with graphic organizers to map out the main ideas. For extension, students will research a specific invention of the Renaissance and its impact on today's society.

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Teachers will observe group discussions, review timelines created on Padlet, and assess the summaries of articles and videos for understanding.

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Students will take a quiz at the end of the lesson covering key ideas and figures related to the birth of the modern world.

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Students will engage in a class discussion to share what they learned about the transformations from the medieval era to the modern world and reflect on why these changes were crucial.

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Each student will write a short paragraph summarizing the most impactful change from the medieval era to the modern world and explain why they think it was the most significant.

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Students will complete a worksheet related to the technological, social, and political changes from the medieval era to the modern world, ensuring understanding of the lesson's key points.

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Learning about the European Middle Ages is important for several reasons.

Historical Understanding: Studying this period helps us understand the development of European civilization and its roots. It provides context for the modern world and the historical events and institutions that shaped it.

Cultural Heritage: The Middle Ages produced some of the most enduring cultural and artistic achievements in European history, including Gothic architecture, epic literature like the Arthurian legends, and advancements in music and art. Learning about this era enriches our appreciation of cultural heritage.

Social and Political Evolution: The Middle Ages saw the rise and fall of empires, feudalism, the development of monarchies, and the growth of towns and trade. This historical context is crucial for understanding the evolution of European social and political systems.

Religious Impact: The Middle Ages were marked by the influence of the Catholic Church, leading to significant religious, moral, and philosophical developments. It's important for understanding the role of religion in shaping European society.

Lessons from Mistakes: Studying the Middle Ages also allows us to learn from the mistakes and challenges faced during that period. Knowledge of events like the Black Death, religious conflicts, and social inequality can provide insights into addressing contemporary issues.

Historical Continuity: Many aspects of European society, including legal systems, universities, and cultural traditions, have roots in the Middle Ages. Understanding this continuity helps us appreciate the historical foundation of modern Europe.

Global Perspective: The Middle Ages had connections to other parts of the world through trade, exploration, and conflicts. Learning about this era contributes to a broader understanding of global history and interconnectedness.

Studying the European Middle Ages is essential for a well-rounded historical education, offering insights into the foundations of European culture, society, and politics, while also providing valuable lessons and perspectives that remain relevant today.

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Middle Ages Educational Materials | Student Handouts

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These are our free educational materials focusing on Europe during the medieval period. They are appropriate for grades 7-12 studying World History or European History. They include outlines, powerpoints, worksheets, and more.