A&H 176 Rise and Fall of Europe
Content
This course gives a chronological overview of the history of Europe in the (early) modern period, which dates from 1500 until 2000.
Europe was around 1400, compared to more civilised China and the Islamite Middle East, a backward part of the World. The Renaissance (15th Century) has been generally viewed as the birth of the rise of the West. In the age of discoveries (1500-1750) and scientific revolution (17th Century) Europe started to explore and to exploit other continents. The European domination of the World increased distinctly in the nineteenth century through the industrial revolution and the introduction of new political ideas like liberalism, nationalism, socialism and imperialism. The worldwide hegemony of the European reached its peak around 1900. The Two Wold Wars in the first half of the 20th century started the decline of this domination, illustrated by the decolonization process (1945-1965).
Since then Europe has suffered a relative decline in power. After 1945 the European powers choose, after centuries of competition, for cooperation in the European Economic Community (European Union). Today Europe has to define its place in the World after the demise of communism in Eastern Europe, the rise of the East and the intensified process of globalization.
Instructor
Tobias van Gent
Period
Spring / 2009
Course Material
- D. Sherman and J. Salisbury, The West in the World. Renaissance to Present (Mc Graw Hill, 3th edition, 2008).
- Supplementary reading materials to be distributed by the instructor.
Additional Prerequisites
One cannot take this course if one has already taken A&H 175 World History
Required for
This course is required in order to take the following course:
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