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In a world of rapid change and narrow specialisation it is useful to develop a long-term perspective on the course of human history as a global whole, rather than on a regional or national scale. This survey course introduces students to the early modern and modern phases of the history of globalisation. It encompasses a series of developments as people, communities, states and cultures became increasingly interconnected by varying degrees and at differing paces. In additional to such links, there is a focus on the movement of people, ideas, commodities and disease, and on the role of technology in the distribution of power and wealth across the globe.

Students in this course engage with key developments in world history from 1492-1914 (world explorations to World War I), beginning with a focus on the rise of European empires and their interaction with the world regions of Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. By following the decline and rise of different powers, we examine significant questions about why empires such as China and the Ottomans did not keep pace with the West and how African slavery contributed to the making of the modern world. Students can expect to engage with the phases of globalisation from a world history perspective, as well as world-systems theory and international relations, to examine specific events and case studies for their global significance in relation to cultural exchange, political change, unfree labour, women, and industrialisation.