The first part of the course provides a general introduction to World History. The second part deals with empires, states and informal powers in global perspective from 1400 to 1900.
Readings and bibliographical suggestions will be distributed in class. In addition, students can consult the following books:
1) Christopher A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons (Malden: Blackwell, 2004)
2) John Darwin, After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire since 1405 (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008)
3) Jurgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015)
4) Charles H. Parker, Global Interactions in the Early Modern Age, 1400-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010)
5) Alfred J. Rieber, The Struggle for Eurasian Borderlands: From the Rise of Early Modern Empires to the End of the First World War (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014)
Learning Objectives
Advanced knowledge of the main historical processes on a world scale from 1400 to 1900, with special attention to political, diplomatic and institutional aspects.
Prerequisites
General knowledge of early modern and modern history.
Teaching Methods
Lectures and classroom discussions
Further information
Students who attend the course can substitute the study of a major book in World History with a seminar paper, whose topic they must agree with the professor by October 20, 2015. Papers are due by December 1, 2015. The evaluation will be part of the final mark.
Type of Assessment
Students who attend the course must pass an oral examination of the content of the course and on one of the following books:
1) Christopher A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons (Malden: Blackwell, 2004)
2) John Darwin, After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire since 1405 (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008)
3) Jurgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015)
4) Alfred J. Rieber, The Struggle for Eurasian Borderlands: From the Rise of Early Modern Empires to the End of the First World War (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014)
The study of a major book in World History can be substituted with a 2500-word seminar paper on a specific topic to agree with the professor (see Further Information).
Students who do not attend the course must pass an oral examination on Charles H. Parker, Global Interactions in the Early Modern Age, 1400-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), and one of the two following books: Christopher A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons (Malden: Blackwell, 2004), or Jurgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015).
Course program
EmTitle: Empires, States, and Informal Powers in World History (1400-1900)
This course provides a non-Eurocentric overview of the historical backgrounds of the main polities and their international relations in today's globalized world.
The first part presents a general introduction to big issues in world history from 1400 to 1900, including methodology and main trends, convergences and divergences.
In the second part students will tackle an up-to-date discussion of historiography and case studies relating to the intersection among empires, states, and informal powers, their connection, communication, overlap and cross-fertilization on a global scale roughly in the same period.