This course surveys the history of humankind from the earliest records to the 14th/15th Centuries. It includes the major ancient civilizations of the world through the end of the Middle Ages in Europe. This study should deepen within students the concept of events taking place in time and space and heighten their awareness that civilizations include all aspects of humanity (art, architecture, literature, lifestyle, education, religion).

In this course, we will explore the history of early globalization from the medieval period to the 18th century. This period is marked by moments of ever-intense contact and exchange among different global communities. The theoretical emphasis in the course will be on sketching the emergence of interdependence between world regions and systems. The course covers topics such as trade and cross-cultural exchange, state-building, empire and colonialism, religious diversity and conflict, slavery and the beginnings of capitalism, and the use of science to categorize and frame problems in the natural and social worlds. We will always question the idea that such interaction was created/stimulated largely by European ideas and will, instead, examine the history of the world through the lens of non-western contributions, with special emphasis on Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In analyzing and understanding global histories as inter-connected, we will pay close attention to the social, cultural, political, economic, demographic, and even ecological implications of this history. We will stress upon issues of diversity, power imbalances, and the interactive workings of ethnicity, wealth status, gender, and regional variables.