HIST 1105 - Europe, Empire and the World 1492 - 1914

This course will consider world history from the rise of Europe until World War I. The course will focus on regions/nations such as Europe, Japan, China, Latin America, North America, Africa and the Middle East in the early modern and modern periods. We will discuss the evolving relationship between Europe and the world but also chart the continuity of autonomous traditions in non-Western cultures. Since European culture has such dramatic influence in this period, topics such as the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution and Industrialisation will be a particular focus. Alongside the momentous we will consider the mundane: changes in daily lives of ordinary people. We will study the interaction between 'high culture' and 'low culture', and examine ways in which ordinary men and women shaped and responded to the emerging modern world.