Emergence of the Modern World

Catalog description

This course is designed to meet two goals: first, to provide students with an overview of the development of world civilization from the beginning of the Age of European exploration to the near present, and second, to build students' ability to think critically about history and analyze evidence in the form of a variety of primary sources. In this course students investigate and compare the cultures, political structures, and social organizations of world civilizations in the early-modern and modern period, with particular emphasis on three major themes - 1. the changing relationship between individuals and the state; 2. distinctions and conflict based on class, ethnicity, religion, and gender; 3. how and why Europe achieved hegemony in the world during the modern era, and how this power declined in the 20th century. This course is only offered through the School of Extended Education.