World History till 1500

Catalog description

In this course, we examine patterns of development, change, continuity, and exchange in the premodern world. This entails an extensive survey of key moments, sites, and actors in the cultures of the world before 1500. We discuss and critically engage with how historians craft their interpretations of the past using various sources: texts, objects, and ideas alike. Though a degree of mastery of basic facts is necessary, this course aims for the higher goal of enabling students to engage in the systematic analysis of changes, connections, and comparisons among premodern cultures. Offered every two ro three years.