This course is an introduction to European history from around 1500 to the present. The central questions that it addresses are how and why Europe--a small, relatively poor, and politically fragmented place-- became the motor of globalization and a world civilzation in its own right. Put differently how did "western" become an adjective that, for better and often for worse, stands in place of "modern".

This introductory course is a lower-division survey of European history from the Renaissance to the end of the Cold War. The central theme of the course will be the varied and intersecting attempts of European peoples to invent and transform the parameters of individual and collective identity from the beginnings of the modern period to its post-modern aftermath. Using a wide range of sources—from learned treatises in political theory, religion and philosophy to documents of peasant revolt, war poetry, novels, and private memoirs—we will study the landmark events in the social, political, and intellectual histories of Europe: global expansion, the Renaissance and Reformations, the emergence of nation states, the Enlightenment, the European revolutions, industrialization, socialism, imperialism, the World Wars and the reconfiguration of Europe in the twentieth century. Assignments will include short written weekly reading responses, one take home map and reading quiz, an in-class midterm exam, and a final exam at the scheduled time: Wednesday, May 12, 11:30am–2:30pm.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills