World History Series 2

Week 1: Empire Building in the Early Modern Era
In the first week of the class, we pick up at the end of the medieval era as the world progresses. During this time, many different nations all over the world began state building at unprecedented levels. The fifteenth century empires in the Americas, Europe, and Asia take center stage in this lesson.

Week 2: Economics in the Early Modern Era
After learning about the empires of the Early Modern Era, we will explore the ways in which the first truly globalized economies expanded and thrived. The enormous states from the previous week come with their own enormous, specialized economies – ones that changed the trajectory of world history.

Week 3: Cultural Shifts in the Early Modern Era
State building and economics are not the only topics that saw radical transformations between 1450 and 1750 CE. Religion gave way to scientific thinking, which caused a dramatic shift in the way people understood and viewed the world. The focus of this week’s lesson is the revolution of thought and culture that emerged from the Middle Ages.

Week 4: Revolutions in the Atlantic
As the Early Modern Era came to a close, Europe and the Americas experienced a wave of revolution that changed empires and the ways in which governments operated. From the French Revolution to the American Revolution, we will compare these Western upheavals and explore their similarities and differences.

Week 5: The Industrial Revolution
As we learned in the first course of this series, human history can be most broadly seen through three important changes. The last of these major changes in the ways humans lived was the Industrial Revolution. During this lesson, we will find out more about this important time in history and learn how different regions responded to the shift in technology and lifestyle.

Week 6: Colonialism
One of the most powerful influences on world history during the Modern Era is colonialism. As European powers spread to the ends of the earth, they left their mark, for good and bad, on the people who were there before them.

Week 7: Empires of the Nineteenth Century
As the world changed in the Modern Era, so too did the major political powers who impacted it. In this week’s lesson, we will learn about some old powers and some new up-and-comers. When they got into each other’s way of expansion, it often ended disastrously for one.

Week 8: World War and Depression
Week 8 marks our first step into the twentieth century. The first lesson of this unit is dedicated to the world-spanning conflicts that disrupted empires, connected peoples on larger scales than ever before, and ultimately led to economic depression.

Week 9: Political Revolutions of the Twentieth Century
After learning about the world wars and their far-reaching effects, we will discover new political ideas that emerged from them. Communism, its spread, and the conflicts that resulted from this new political ideology take precedent during this week’s lesson.

Week 10: The End of Empire
As the world wars came to a close, the major land empires of the world were also in their twilight hours. Former colonies gained independence and attempted to rebuild with their newfound power in their own homes.

Week 11: Globalization
Though the huge empires were in a decline, the world in the second half of the twentieth century experienced an increased wave of globalization due to old connections and new technologies. Learning about this new, widespread interconnectedness is where we finish up our World History series.