Enduring Issues Essay Setup

Suggested issue: Impact of technology

Sample document set that could appear: (1) account of a textile factory in 1820s Manchester, (2) image or description of a steam locomotive and its effects on transportation, (3) testimony on child labor and reform legislation, (4) account of the Meiji Restoration, (5) a later document on globalization or digital technology for continuity-and-change

Thesis template: "The impact of technology is an enduring issue because throughout history new technologies have transformed economic production, social relationships, and the balance of power between nations. This is visible in the Industrial Revolution's transformation of work and family life, in the global economic reorganization that industrial technology produced, and in the way nations like Japan rose by adopting new technologies while those that resisted often fell behind. These patterns continue to shape the world today as new technologies produce new social transformations and new global hierarchies."

Extemp parallel: Maria should approach this as a three-minute extemp on "How has technological change reshaped societies?" Body points could include the factory system as a transformation of work, the global economic restructuring industrial technology produced, and the contrasting paths of Japan and China in responding to industrial pressure. Close with a connection to contemporary debates about how new technologies (digital, AI, biotech) are reshaping societies today.