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Course: World History Project - Origins to the Present > Unit 4
Lesson 3: Systems Restructure | 4.2- READ: The Caliphate
- READ: Networks and Exchange in the Islamic World
- BEFORE YOU WATCH: The Emergence of Islam
- WATCH: The Emergence of Islam
- READ: Khanzada Begum (Graphic Biography)
- BEFORE YOU WATCH: Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa
- WATCH: Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa
- READ: States and Empires of West Africa
- READ: Between the Han and the Tang: A Period of Disunion in China
- READ: The Spread of Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Bantu Migration
- READ: Oceania, c. 1200-1450 CE
- READ: Kupe the Navigator (Graphic Biography)
- READ: Christendom
- READ: Long-Distance Trade in the Americas
- BEFORE YOU WATCH: Rebuilding the Silk Road
- WATCH: Rebuilding the Silk Road
- READ: The Silk Road
- Systems Restructure
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READ: Kupe the Navigator (Graphic Biography)
Kupe is a founding figure for Polynesian communities in Aotearoa (New Zealand). His story helps orient these communities to the past and present.
The Graphic Biography below uses “Three Close Reads”. If you want to learn more about this strategy, click here.
First read: skimming for gist
This will be your quickest read. It should help you get the general idea of what the graphic biography will be about. Pay attention to the title, headings, images, and layout. Ask yourself: what is this graphic biography going to be about?
Second read: understanding content
For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed.
By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:
- Who was Kupe?
- How is the story of Kupe normally told in Polynesian society How have European historians tried to tell it?
- How does the author argue that the Māori make this story a usable past? What meanings do they take from it?
- How did the artist use art and design to demonstrate the theme of connectedness?
Third read: evaluating and corroborating
In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.
At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions:
- How does this biography of Kupe support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about networks and connections in this era?
- In what ways does this biography lead you to think differently about what it means for a history to be “usable”?
Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to read! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished reading .
Kupe the Navigator (Graphic Biography)
Writer: Trevor Getz
Artist: Liz Clarke
Kupe is a founding figure for Polynesian communities in Aotearoa (New Zealand). His story helps orient these communities to the past and present.
Download the Graphic Biography PDF here or click on the image above.