Name: Toolkit #: _____

G-PERSIA
What to look for when analyzing a society, nation, culture, or civilization

1. Geographic/Environmental:
How do humans affect the environment (i.e., farming, irrigation, mining, pollution, forest cutting, etc.)?
How does the environment affect humans (climate, terrain, natural disasters, etc.)? What is the location?
How large is the nation? What are the neighboring countries and what is the relationship like between
them?

2. Political:
Who is in charge? What is the type of government (i.e., democracy, communist, fascist, monarchy)?
How does the government maintain control? What kind of political groups or parties does the society
have? What laws, trade, alliances, treaties, and systems do they create? How involved in politics are the
people, and how do they find out information? What is the government’s view or stance toward war,
society, religion, other countries, or the military? How does the government of the nation or society
relate to governments of other nations or neighbors? Is the nation or society relatively powerful or weak
compared to other nations or societies?

3. Economic:
How do people earn a living (get money and food)? What are the society’s views on wealth and money?
Does this society pass laws or set up their government and/or society to promote economic gain? Does
trade occur in this society? Does this society trade with other nations? What do they trade, sell, and
buy…? What do they build, manufacture or grow? Who profits and who doesn’t? How is money spent
that the government earns (on the military? on social programs)? What kind of economic system does
the group have (self-sustaining, capitalism, socialism, communism)? How does the country’s economic
system interact with other elements of PERSIA?

4. Religious:
What is the role, if any, or religion in this society? What is the type of religion? Are there many
different religions practiced? Is the religion polytheistic (more than one god/goddess) or monotheistic
(one god)? Who is in charge of the religious services? What power does s/he hold and how does s/he
maintain it? What power or influence does the religion have on the society and government? Do the
people have freedom to practice their own beliefs? Is there a national religion? Are there other elements
of PERSIA that are influenced by, or influence, the religion?

5. Social:
What groups make up society? Are they equal or are there different social classes? How do they
interrelate? Does one group have an advantage over others and why? What are the positions of women,
children, and elders in this society? What races and ethnic groups make up the society? What languages
are spoken? How does money and wealth relate to these social groups?
 6. Intellectual:
What ideas/inventions/technologies did the society create? Which ones have affected or influenced the
society? How? What technology is used and/or created in this society and how is it used, who created it?
How much is education valued in the society? Which areas of study are most valued?

7. Artistic:
How does the society express itself? Is this expression through song/music, painting, murals, film,
poetry, literature, sculpture, weaving? Is the nature of the art to express a collective aspect of the
society? Is it political? Is artistic expression practiced by one particular group in society or do many people
in society express themselves artistically? Is creativity valued? What kind of music is popular? What other
forms of art is the culture known for?

Looking at a society, nation, culture, civilization or event through the “lens” of GPERSIA
is a helpful way to organize your thinking as you analyze history.

Sometimes an aspect of a society or an event can fit into more than one GPERSIA
category.

In any document or other source of information, you may or may not find evidence of all
GPERSIA categories represented.