DQ1: This week, we see developing societies begin to give way to formalized political structures. One of these structures is empire. As societies began to stabilize and grow, larger structures for political organization developed. Empires soon emerged, and this form of governance became crucial to understanding the trajectory of world history.

Your Initial Post:

Begin by viewing the Module Presentation and then reading Chapters 3 and 4 in your textbook. Then, as you review the sources, consider the following questions in a post of at least 250 words:

Choose one of the empires that we read about this week and pretend that you live in that empire. Now tell your fellow students about your empire’s formation and development paying particular attention to the effects of ethnicity and geography.

DQ2: The reflective prompt below is intended to help you reflect on your own learning for this module. Your participation and learning process are the important concepts, not simply the "correct" answers. Your answers can be used to help scaffold and guide your own learning, and to create a pathway through this course that meets your individual needs.

Your response should be no more than 5 sentences. You must use full sentences and should refer to the concepts from the week, but do not need to worry about using proper APA citations, references, or formatting.

• What is one important concept or idea you learned this week and why does it matter to you?