WORLD HISTORY TO 1450

Catalog description

This course is descriptive and analytical survey of world cultures from early river valley civilizations to 1450, with an emphasis on non- Western civilizations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Among the themes explored are the importance of land and water trade routes as conveyors of civilizations, the influence of nomadic peoples on the spread of ideas and technologies, the reshaping of local cultures as Buddhism and Islam spread to Asia and Africa, and the importance of urban centers such as Baghdad as intellectual and cosmopolitan capitals before the "rise" of the West.