Empires in World History

Catalog description

This course will focus on the comparative study of empires in world history. It will explore how empires built and consolidated power; what kinds of “tools” they used to govern their subjects, establish legitimacy, and extend power beyond their territories; and how they engaged intermediaries to manage diverse populations. The course will also consider how different imperial formations inspired and constrained their subjects' ideas of rights, belonging, and power. Readings will cover the Mongol, Ottoman, Habsburg, Russian, French and British empires, as well as the role of highly mobile subjects in forging transimperial connections across these and other polities.