Globalization and Imperial Exchange

This course examines critical developments in the long history of globalization and empire from the Hellenistic Era to the present day. In case studies students will work closely with primary sources to uncover the impacts of empires and explore how empires connected the world by facilitating the exchange of peoples, ideas, and goods across geographic and cultural barriers. Students will examine key moments in imperial history, such as the decline of the Roman Empire or the discovery of the New World, in which the rise and fall of empires resulted in major transformations in global history. Students will explore these convulsions through the perspective of diverse historical actors, ranging from missionaries and philosophers to nomads and pirates. Through these investigations students will learn how individuals, communities, and institutions adapted to and resisted imperial expansions and interconnections.