HIST 125: Introduction to Global History

HIST 125-002: Introduction to World History
(Spring 2017)

10:30 AM to 11:45 AM W

Nguyen Engineering Building 1101

Section Information for Spring 2017

In this course, we will explore the sweeping historical changes that created today’s world, ending with the current but fairly recent ascent of “the West.” We will survey major features of the principal civilizations of the world and the major types of global contacts, as they were originally formed and as they have been more recently altered during the past three centuries by the “forces of modernity.” We will try to define what the major traditional features of each civilization were, and how those cultures persisted and changed as the “modern world” evolved. This course will specifically trace key processes shaping and reshaping the politics, cultures, and economies of various societies throughout the world. The chief goals of this course involve the following: the ability to assess change over time on a global level; the capacity to compare different societies; and the understanding of the emergence and impact of global processes throughout the past three-quarters of a millennium.

            While Europe and the United States will be part of our focus, we will also consider Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East to a significant degree. Each of these geographic regions became enmeshed in a global system affected by far-reaching religious transformations, mercantile activity, industrial growth and imperialism/colonialism. Finally, we will study the influences of modern nationalism, Cold War dynamics, and anti-colonial movements in the twentieth century. By the end of the semester, students should have a grasp of the major trends underlying the most recent millennium of world history – ALL of world history. To accomplish all of this, we will explore primary documents from some often "unheard" voices like women, non-whites and non-Westerners (although we won’t completely forget about the so-called “Great White Men” either), secondary source scholarship in the form of your textbook and scholarly articles, plus artistic devices such as images, music and film. This class will be organized as BOTH lecture classes and interactive activities such as group work and discussion.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

By focusing on historical experiences that reflect the diversity of Mason’s student body, students will be able to see how their families and communities fit within, and contribute to, global history from the pre-modern period to our present day. This course offers a long-term historical perspective on structural issues challenging our world today, including demographic and environmental changes, national and global inequalities, and the underrepresentation of marginalized groups. Students will gain an understanding of how interconnections and inter-dependencies have been forged through the global movement of people, pathogens, goods, and ideas. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Global History
Schedule Type: Lecture, Recitation
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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