Special Topics: The Making of the Modern World: World History Since 1500

World history is one of the newest fields in history. This class focuses on how world historians approach the past, particularly how they conceptualize, research and teach modern world history. The emphasis is as much on understanding and (de)constructing historical narratives about the modern world as it is on examining the intellectual assumptions and theoretical and methodological frameworks of world history. The aim is to provide students a basic understanding of the scope and methods of modern world history, its scholarly and pedagogical concerns and interests.