Global Histories: Encountering Human Questions

Catalog description

Global Histories provides students with a broad understanding of the development of the modern world. The course introduces students to the origins and evolution of civilization and human thought and traces how the world became increasingly integrated and connected - economically, politically, militarily and socially, and what that means for how the world works today. The course begins by asking what we might mean by 'global history,' and then considers global phenomena including empire, slavery, colonialism and revolution, through primary and secondary sources. We will explore how and where that past interacts with the present. In the course an emphasis is placed on understanding different historical contexts and points of view through the use of primary sources, and on identifying and evaluating moments of cross-cultural interaction within world history. Through this course, students should develop a greater awareness of the global processes that have shaped the world in which we live.