Okay, you've waded through a number of complex chapters in Asia Before Europe. Congratulations!!! I say this because this text is difficult and so you've really achieved something even before you set pen to paper for this assignment. As I see it, Chaudhuri has dealt with three major fields of inquiry so far: 1) What is a civilization and how ought one to define it? 2) How should we think about the relationship of state, society, and economy and how does this relationship tie in to historical change 3) what is the role in history of physical spaces/environments and how human beings perceive them. In the interests of helping each of you to come to terms with what Chaudhuri has been presenting us, I propose that each of you write a piece in which you do the following: 1) relate the conclusions that Chaudhuri reaches in each of the above fields of inquiry to one another, i.e. try to come up with a coherent sense of Chaudhuri's approach to the history of the Indian Ocean basin 2) identify and describe (briefly) three advantages to his approach and 3) identify and describe (briefly) 3 disadvantages to his approach. And remember, the idea here is to make a good effort not to "get it right the first time." Good luck!!!