1. GKT1: The Four Themes And Some Examples Mike Dungar
Course Mentor, Gen. Ed Social Science - History

2. The Themes Geography and the Development/Diffusion of Human Societies
Individuals and Institutions as Mechanisms of Social/Governmental Change
Historical Systems of Power, Governance, and Authority
Science and Technology as Mechanisms of Economic Growth and Development

3. The Task
Define the theme, identify your example (and whether it is US or world), and in 1-2 sentences, explain the broad connection of theme to example.
Provide background details for your example; contextualize your example in time and space.
Using those details/facts/names/etc., explain more fully how your example demonstrates its associated theme.
So what?

4. Geography
Physical Features

5. Geography
Natural Resources

6. Geography
An important part of the Geography theme is that your examples are closely tied to the natural world.
The natural world can serve as a motivation for development; it can pull people to an area, or push them away.
Development and diffusion are two separate activities, so consider selecting one or the other in your example.

7. Individuals and Institutions

8. Individuals and Institutions

9. Individuals and Institutions
Agency in social change – what they did matters
Sometimes, people or institutions can have an indirect, or symbolic influence.
Individuals and institutions could have more than one kind of influence as well.
Social change isn’t just politics or legislation; innovations to music, art, etc. can be avenues of social change.

10. Power, Governance, and Authority
Governmental authority

11. Power, Governance, and Authority
Other systems of power

12. Power, Governance, and Authority
Power, Governance and Authority are not synonyms, but unless it’s important to your example and argument, you don’t need to distinguish whether your example is one or the other.
If you want to speak broadly about a system (like monarchy), it’s especially important to have a concrete example (“the British monarchy”)
You can also narrow your chronological scope

13. Historical technology

14. Contemporary technology

15. Technology
Technology can take a lot of forms, including (but not limited to) communication, manufacture, transportation, and agriculture
Examples for the technology theme do not need to be inventions, they could also be implementation of technology, or innovations on extant ideas.
Economic growth and development can do alongside social developments, but new markets, techniques, connections, etc need to be there