GLOBAL HISTORY, 15th – 20th c.

The course is organized around two central axes: the Eurasian and the American. Its starting point is the transition toward the major changes of the 15th century, during which significant developments took place in Eurasia, while at the same time the period of great explorations began, opening the way for European expansion into other continents that were following their own historical trajectories. In general, with the help of historical geography and the correlation of historical time with space, the course attempts to provide a concise presentation of world history (15th–20th century) through the study of key historical processes, such as: the political and economic developments in Asia (Eurasia, the Middle East, and the Far East) from the 15th to the 19th century; the formation and evolution of European empires in the Americas, Asia, and Africa; decolonization and nation-building in the Americas from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century; the peak of imperialist expansion after 1880; the crisis and dissolution of imperial systems after the First and Second World Wars; the global hegemony of the United States after the Second World War; and the emergence of the concept of the “Third World.”

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will have:

1. Acquired basic knowledge about the most important events, periods and transformations in modern and contemporary global history.
2. Understood the global interconnectedness of major historical processes.
3. Developed the ability to make connections between historical time and place.
4. Got familiar with the study and analysis of historical maps.

Week #1: Introduction. Eurasia from the 14^th to the 15^th century.

Week #2: Asia in the 15^th and 16^th centuries (I): the establishment and expansion of the Islamic empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals.

Week #3: Asia in the 15^th and 16^th centuries (II): the Ming China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Week #4: The Age of European overseas exploration (15^th and 16^th centuries).

Week #5: Empires in Eurasia, 17^th-18^th centuries.

Week #6: The Great Divergence: the economic penetration and territorial expansion of European powers in Asia, 17^th-19^th centuries.

Week #7: The Atlantic empires: The formation and evolution of European empires in the American Continent (16^th - 18^th centuries).

Week #8: The first decolonization in the American continent: the American Revolution of 1776.

Week #9:The construction of the national state of USA, 1783-1877.

Week #10: The revolutions for the independence and the national construction in Latin America, 1810-1870.

Week #11: The high point of colonialism and imperialist expansion, 1880-1942.

Week #12: The Inter-American relations since the Monroe Doctrine. The American world hegemony after WWII. The Development Doctrine. The Inter-American system in the Cold War period.

John Μ. Roberts, Παγκόσμια ιστορία, τ. Β΄, Αθήνα, Οδυσσέας, 2002. William H. McNeill, Η άνοδος της Δύσης, Αθήνα, Παρασκήνιο, 2007. Richard Overy (επιμ.), Άτλας της παγκόσμιας ιστορίας, Η Καθημερινή, 2007. Λάμπρος Α. Φλιτούρης, Αποικιακές αυτοκρατορίες. Η εξάπλωση της Ευρώπης στο κόσμο, 16^ος-20ός αι., Αθήνα, Ασίνη, 2015. J. Osterhammel - N. Petersson, Ιστορία της Παγκοσμιοποίησης, Αθήνα, Αιώρα, 2013. Fernand Braudel, Η γραμματική των πολιτισμών, Αθήνα, ΜΙΕΤ, 2002. Geoffrey Blainey, Συνοπτική ιστορία του κόσμου, Αθήνα, Φυτράκη, 2004. Εric Hobsbawm, H εποχή των αυτοκρα­τοριών 1875-1914, ΜΙΕΤ, 2012. Anthony Pagden, Λαοί και αυτοκρατορίες. Οι ευρωπαίοι και ο υπόλοιπος κόσμος από την αρχαιότητα ως σήμερα, Αθήνα, Πατάκη, 2008, κεφ. 3-11. John Darwin, Μετά τον Ταμερλάνο. Η άνοδος και πτώση των παγκόσμιων αυτοκρατοριών, 1400-2000, Αθήνα, Πατάκη, 2021.

Lectures accompanied by historical maps and photographic material. Class discussion with the combined use of e-class platform.

Extensive use of the e-class platform: complementary material, chat, exercises. 

Written exam.