Books : General : English



A Brief History of the World
(36 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)

Taught by Peter N. Stearns
George Mason University
Ph.D., Harvard University




Course Lecture Titles:

1. What and Why Is World History?
2. The Neolithic Revolution
3. What Is a Civilization?
4. The Classical Period in World History
5. Cultural Change in the Classical Period
6. Social Inequalities in Classical Societies
7. The Roman Empire and Han China
8. The Silk Road; Classical Period Contacts
9. The Decline of the Classical Civilizations
10. The Post-Classical Period, 500-1450
11. World Religions and Their Consequences
12. The Impact of Islam
13. Postclassical Trade and Contacts
14. Postclassical Patterns of Imitation
15. Western Civilization in World Context
16. The Mongol Years
17. Civilizations in the Americas and in Africa
18. The World in 1450
19. The Early Modern Period, 1450-1750
20. The World Economy, 1450-1750
21. Transformations in Western Europe
22. The Rise of Russia
23. Asian Empires and a Shogunate
24. The Long 19th Century
25. Abolition of Slavery and Serfdom
26. Modernization and Nationalisms
27. Formation of Latin American Civilization
28. China and Japan - 19th-Century Pressures
29. The 20th-21st Centuries as a New Period
30. The World Economy - Change and Continuity
31. An Age of Revolutions
32. The United States in World History
33. Contemporary Democracy
34. Contemporary Cultural Change
35. Gender in Contemporary World History
36. Globalization and World History