070285 KU Working Skills in Global History (2015W)

The contents of the course revolve around the process of economic globalization, in particular international trade, but will also touch upon topics such as cross-cultural connections and entanglement, and approaches such as the world-system theory or postcolonial studies. Chronologically, we shall focus on the Early Modern period and the so called ‘First Globalization’ between the late 15th and the early 19th centuries. This provides a rough framework within which selected examples of events and processes will be presented and discussed. Spatially, special attention will be paid with the interaction between Europe, Latin America and Asia and, therefore, the connections between the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Pacific.
The contents of the course include the following topics:
- Time and Space as key analytical categories in Global History
- Periodization, especially concerning recent criticisms of the Eurocentric perspective on the historical development of trans-regional and cross-cultural connections
- Sources and Materials in Global History
- Different definitions of globalization and debates on the historicity of the globalizing process, using the example of early modern maritime trade and including practical examples on merchant networks
- Explanation of social and economic inequalities, world-system approach
- Postcolonial approach and orientalism, research on cross-cultural stereotypes in the colonial world and Central Europe
- Nations and religions