| SES # | TOPICS | readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Class and Requirements |  Abu-Lughod, Janet Lippman. "The World System in the 13th Century: Dead-End or Precoursor?" in M. Adas, Islamic and European Expansion. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1993, 75-102. ISBN: 9781566390682. |
| 2 | Transatlantic Contact and Its Significance Discussion: Letter from Columbus | Letter from Columbus; Morison, Sauer, & Todorov on Columbus in M. Lunenfeld. 1492: Discovery, Invasion, Encounter. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. 107-113, 131-142. ISBN: 9780669211153. Begin: Pomeranz, Kenneth and Topik, Steven. Eds. The World that Trade Created. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1999, 21-23, 53-55. ISBN: 9780765602497. |
| 3 | Indian Ocean Encounters; Conquest in the New World |
|
| 4 | Discussion: Catalina de Erauso, Lieutenant Nun | de Erauso, Catalina. Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World. Translated by Michele Stepto and Gabriel Stepto. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780807070727. |
| 5 | Racism I: New World Slavery | |
| 6 | Discussion: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Equiano | Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Equiano. New York, NY: Modern Library, 2004. ISBN: 9780375761157. |
| 7 | The Ottoman Empire; Absolutism in Europe | |
| 8 | Revolution in France | |
| 9 | Discussion: Abbé Sieyés; Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, and other documents from L. Hunt, The French Revolution and Human Rights | Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, and other documents from Hunt, Lynn. The French Revolution and Human Rights. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996. ISBN: 9780312108021. |
| 10 | Revolution in Haiti Discussion: Readings and documents on Toussant L'Overture (from Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) | Readings and documents on Toussant L'Overture from Censer, Jack and Hunt, Lynn. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780271020884. |
| 11 | European Industrialization Discussion: The World that Trade Created | Pomerance, and Topik. The World that Trade Created. pp. 179-213. |
| 12 | Social Implications of Industrialization Discussion: Documents on child labor and social conditions of industrialization, Smiles, Self-Help and Communist Manifesto | Smiles, Self-Help (1882). [Download Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels, a version of this text from Project Gutenberg.] |
| 13 | The (Mis)Measure of Man: Culture of Technology and Race "Science" | Excerpt from |
| 14 | From the Opium Wars to the Boxer Uprising in the Far East | |
| 15 | The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa | Excerpt from: Adas, Michael. Machines as the Measure of Men. Short excerpt from: de Gobineau. |
| 16 | Discussion of Chinua Achebe's, Things Fall Apart | Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London, UK: Penguin in association with Heinemann African Writers Series, 2001. ISBN: 9780141186887. (Entire book.) |
| 17 | Cultural Transformation & Economic Genocide | "King Leopold's Congo" and "Imperium et Libertas in India" in Cook, Scott. Colonial Encounters in the Age of High Imperialism. New York, NY: Talman Company, 1996. ISBN: 9781886746626. |
| 18 | The Modern Metropolis and the Origins of Mass Culture | |
| 19 | Discussion: Advertising: The Magic System, and "From Salvation to Self-Realization" |
|
| 20 | The First World War | |
| 21 | Socialism in the Soviet Union and China | Begin reading: Kovaly, Heda. Under a Cruel Star. New York, NY: Holmes & Meier, 1997. ISBN: 9780841913776. |
| 22 | World War II | |
| 23 | Discussion: Heda Kovaly, Under a Cruel Star | Kovaly, Heda. Under a Cruel Star. New York, NY: Holmes & Meier, 1997. ISBN: 9780841913776. |
| 24 | Decolonization Discussion: Short excerpt from The Wretched of the Earth | Short excerpt from: Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. New York, NY: Grove Press: Distributed by Publishers Group West, 2005. ISBN: 9780802141323. |
| 25 | The Cold War | |
| 26 | "Globalization"? | |
| Final Exam |
Table of Contents
Study Materials
Readings
| Help support MIT OpenCourseWare by shopping at Amazon.com! MIT OpenCourseWare offers direct links to Amazon.com to purchase the books cited in this course. Click on the Amazon logo to the left of any citation and purchase the book from Amazon.com, and MIT OpenCourseWare will receive up to 10% of all purchases you make. Your support will enable MIT to continue offering open access to MIT courses. |
Wherever possible, the book citations below reflect the specific editions used in the course.
Required
de Erauso, Catalina. Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World. Translated by Michele Stepto and Gabriel Stepto. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780807070727.
Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Equiano. New York, NY: Modern Library, 2004. ISBN: 9780375761157.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London, UK: Penguin in association with Heinemann African Writers Series, 2001. ISBN: 9780141186887.
Kovaly, Heda. Under a Cruel Star. New York, NY: Holmes & Meier, 1997. ISBN: 9780841913776.
Optional
Cook, Scott. Colonial Encounters in the Age of High Imperialism. New York, NY: Talman Company, 1996. ISBN: 9781886746626.
Readings by Class Session