Steven Wallech - World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis, Volume 2

World History

This edition first published 2013 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Edition history: Harlan Davidson, Inc. (1e, 2007)
Harlan Davidson, Inc. was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in May 2012.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title

Wallech, Steven.
World history : a concise thematic analysis / Steven Wallech, Long Beach City College, Craig Hendricks, Long Beach City College, Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine, Anne Lynne Negus, Fullerton College, Peter P. Wan, Fullerton College, Gordon Morris Bakken, California State University, Fullerton ; Brenda Farrington, Developmental Editor, Chapman University.Second edition.
volume cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-53266-9 (paperback : volume 1)ISBN 978-1-118-53272-0 (paperback : volume 2) 1. World history. 2. CivilizationHistory. I. Title.
D20.W355 2013
909dc23 2012037672

Introduction

TEACHING WORLD HISTORY at the college level presents an instructor with an especially difficult challenge. Unlike most historians who conduct courses in the study of a particular culture, nation, or region, those who teach World History ostensibly must have familiarity with the history of all the earths peoples. As daunting as such a proposition is, the matter is far more complicated. Because imparting the history of humanity within the confines of a college-level course is, of course, impossible, world historians must convey to their students an appreciation of the short- and long-term effects of human practices on local and regional environments, the interdependencies of humans, animals, plants, and pathogens, and the diffusion of ideas, technologies, and disease through trade, migration, war, empire building, and human resistancephenomena that create cross-cultural, transnational, and transregional patterns over time.

To make things even more difficult, much of the historical literature on World History emphasizes the differences between regional cultures and local histories, leaving the instructor scrambling to find the similarities that might produce a lucid global narrative. In particular, the current generation of World History textbooks fails to succeed in conveying a unified, coherent account. Indeed, linear surveys lack a central storyline, with any potential core narrative submerged under a sea of details that simply overwhelms the student reader.

What probably explains this bleak state of affairs is the fact that as a distinct discipline, World History is only about six decades old. Begun in the 1960s as part of a slow shift from Western Civilization, World History gradually became a subdiscipline as increasing numbers of historians recognized the usefulness of a global perspective to understand humanitys past. Developing steadily despite the vast amount of material that had to be digested and the necessary development of new mental habits of synthesis, World History finally achieved recognition as a discipline in 1982 with the establishment of the World History Association. Since then, the WHA has grown to 1,500 members, World History has become a standard general education requirement at the college level, and several major universities now offer advanced degrees in the field.

With decades of combined experience teaching World Historyin community colleges and four-year institutionswe have witnessed firsthand the frustration instructors and students of world history experience with current survey textbooks. Deeming a new approach necessary, even overdue, in 2007 we brought out the first edition of World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis, the first truly concise, accessible, and affordable World History survey. Now, in response to feedback from student readers and instructors alike, we present the revised and improved second edition

In this new, second, edition we have refined the themes used to synthesize the narrative as presented in the first edition. In addition, we have made corrections to the overall presentation based on new research developed in climate history and studies recently done on farm technology. The overall effect of these changes has added a far greater depth to the entire project, producing a better integration of the material and a more thorough analysis of regional developments. Finally, in this second edition we responded carefully to feedback and specific criticisms leveled against the first edition by filling in key gaps in the original narrative and more thoroughly tying the storyline to a comprehensive vision of the world.

It will be immediately apparent to anyone familiar with the full-length or even so-called concise world history surveys currently on the market that this book stands alone: its interesting and recurrent themesconceptual bridges that span the many centuriesgive it a unique voice. Its format helps the reader see the larger picture, to conceptualize patterns over time by importing concepts from one unit to another. And while this book might not offer flashy four-color maps and illustrations, its length and price speak for themselves. Too often students are required to pay a great deal of money for a book they have no hope of finishing, let alone comprehending or remembering long much longer than in the final exam.

To achieve the brief but coherent account of global events, the revised second edition of World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis