Description
Book SynopsisMaking Sense of World History is a comprehensive and accessible textbook that helps students understand the key themes of world history within a chronological framework stretching from ancient times to the present day.
To lend coherence to its narrative, the book employs a set of organizing devices that connect times, places, and/or themes. This narrative is supported by:
- Flowcharts that show how phenomena within diverse broad themes interact in generating key processes and events in world history.
- A discussion of the common challenges faced by different types of agent, including rulers, merchants, farmers, and parents, and a comparison of how these challenges were addressed in different times and places.
- An exhaustive and balanced treatment of themes such as culture, politics, and economy, with an emphasis on interaction.
- Explicit attention to skill acquisition in organizing information, cultural sensitivity, comparison, visual
Table of Contents
PART I: Organizing world history 1. Making sense of world history PART II: Prehistory and ancient history 2. The Big History prelude: From the Big Bang to hominids 3. Evolution of human nature itself in early human history 4. A critical transformation: The development of agriculture, nomadism, and fishing 5. Some early impacts of agriculture: Key technologies and trade practices 6. Grappling with “civilization”: The development of cities, states, and writing 7. Early civilizations around the world 8. Belief systems: The nature and development of early religions PART III: Classical history 9. Political organization on an unprecedented scale: The classical empires 10. Similarities and differences: The Roman and Chinese Empires compared 11. The birth of missionary religions: Why and how did the world’s major religions emerge? 12. A new force in world history: The Islamic conquests 13. Eurasia in the centuries after the fall of the classical empires PART IV: The Middle Ages 14. Seeking global commonalities: Some key thematic trends 900–1500 and beyond 15. Regional developments: Eurasia after 900 16. Regional developments: Polynesia, the Americas, and Africa 17. The Mongols and the largest ever contiguous empire PART V: The Early Modern period 18. Thematic developments in the Early Modern period 1450–1800 19. Exploration and trade: Linking the continents 20. Comparing new empires in Asia 21. It seems so natural now: The emergence of the modern nation state 22. The Great Divergence: The rise of the European economy and military PART VI: The nineteenth and twentieth centuries 23. Key thematic transformations of the long nineteenth entury 24. Industrial revolutions: Innovation, factories, and economic growth 25. Political revolutions around the world: A diverse set of experiences with important commonalities 26. A unique historical transformation: The abolition of slavery and serfdom 27. Key thematic transformations of the twentieth century 28. Devastation and fear: War in the twentieth century 29. The worst of times and the best of times: The Great Depression and postwar recovery 30. An unprecedented development: Postwar decolonization 31. Population movements: Dramatic changes in the numbers, location, and health of humans PART VII: Drawing lessons 32. Drawing lessons from history: Why, how, and what
