Spodek, The World's History, 4e ©2011
Table of Contents
PART ONE
HUMAN ORIGINS AND HUMAN CULTURES To 10,000 B.C.E.
CHAPTER 1
The Dry Bones Speak
Human Origins in Myth and History
Fossils and Fossil Hunters
Humans Create Culture
The Story of Prehistory:What Difference Does It Make?
PART TWO
SETTLING DOWN 10,000 B.C.E.–1000 C.E.
CHAPTER 2
From Village Community to City-state
Food First: The Agricultural Village
The Agricultural Village
The First Cities
Sumer: The Birth of the City
The Growth of the City-state
The First Cities:What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 3
River Valley Civilizations: The Nile and the Indus
Egypt: The Gift of the Nile
The Indus Valley Civilization and its Mysteries
The Cities of the Nile and Indus: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER FOUR
A Polycentric World
Cities and States in East Asia, the Americas, and West Africa
China: The Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties
The Western Hemisphere: Mesoamerica and South America
West Africa: The Niger River Valley
The First Cities:What Difference Do They Make?
PART THREE
EMPIRE AND IMPERIALISM (2000 B.C.E.–1100 C.E.)
CHAPTER FIVE
Dawn of the Empires
Empire-building in North Africa,West Asia, and the Mediterranean
The Meaning of Empire
The Earliest Empires
The Persian Empire
The Greek City-states
The Empire of Alexander the Great
Empire-building: What Difference Does It Make?
CHAPTER 6
Rome and the Barbarians: The Rise and Dismemberment of Empire
From Hill Town to Republic, 753–133 B.C.E.
The Expansion of the Republic
The Politics of Imperial Rule
The End of the Republic
The Roman Principate, 30 B.C.E.–330 C.E.
The Dismemberment of the Roman Empire
The Eastern Empire, 330–1453 C.E.
The Legacy of the Roman Empire: What Difference Does It Make?
CHAPTER 7
China
Fracture and Unification: The Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang Dynasties
The Qin Dynasty
The Han Dynasty
Disintegration and Reunification
Imperial China
Legacies for the Future: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 8
Indian Empires: Cultural Cohesion in a Divided Subcontinent
New Arrivals in South Asia
The Empires of India
Invasions End the Age of Empires
India, China, and Rome: Empires and Intermediate Institutions
Indian Empires:What Difference Do They Make?
PART FOUR
THE RISE OF WORLD RELIGIONS (2500 B.C.E.—1500 C.E.)
CHAPTER 9
Hinduism and Buddhism
The Sacred Subcontinent: The Spread of Religion in India and Beyond
Examining Religious Beliefs
Hinduism
Buddhism
Comparing Buddhism and Hinduism
Hinduism and Buddhism: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 10
Judaism and Christianity: Peoples of the Bible: God’s Evolution in West Asia and Europe
Judaism
Christianity
Christianity in the Wake of Empire
Judaism and Early Christianity: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 11
Islam: Submission to Allah: Muslim Civilization Bridges the World
The Origins of Islam
Successors to the Prophet
Spiritual, Religious, and Cultural Flowering
Relations with Non-Muslims
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: What Difference Do They Make?
PART FIVE
GLOBAL TRADE: THE BEGINNING OF THE MODERN WORLD (1300—1700)
CHAPTER 12
Establishing World Trade Routes: The Geography and Philosophies of Early Economic Systems
World Trade: A Historical Analysis
Trade in the Americas Before 1500
Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa
Asia’s Complex Trade Patterns
China: A Magnet for Traders
Central Asia: The Mongols and the Silk Routes
World Trade Routes Before Columbus: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Opening of the Atlantic and the Pacific: Economic Growth, Religion and Renaissance, Global Connections
Economic and Social Changes in Europe
The Renaissance
A New World
Legacies to the Future:What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 14
The Unification of World Trade: New Philosophies for New Trade Patterns
The Birth of Capitalism
The Empires of Spain and Portugal
Trade and Religion in Western Europe
The Nation-state
Diverse Cultures, Diverse Trade Systems
The Influence of World Trade: What Difference Does It Make?
CHAPTER 15
Migration: Demographic Changes in a New Global World
The “New Europes”
Russian Expansion
Slavery: Enforced Migration, 1500—1750
Asian Migrations, 1300—1750
Global Population Growth and Movement
Cities and Demographics
Migration and Demography:What Difference Do They Make?
PART SIX
SOCIAL CHANGE (1640—1914)
CHAPTER 16
Political Revolutions in Europe and the Americas: The Birth of Political Rights in the Age of Enlightenment
The Scientific Revolution
Human Rights: Philosophical Rationales
Civil War and Revolution in England, 1642–51
The Enlightenment
Revolution in North America, 1776
The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789–1812
Haiti: Slave Revolution and the Overthrow of Colonialism, 1791–1804
Independence and Disillusionment in Latin America, 1810–30
Political Revolutions:What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 17
The Industrial Revolution: A Global Process
The Industrial Revolution in Britain,1700—1860
Industrialization–Stage Two, 1860—1914
Industrial Society
Labor Movements and Socialism
New Patterns of Urban Life
The Industrial Revolution: What Difference Does It Make?
CHAPTER 18
Nationalism, Imperialism, and Resistance: Competition among Industrial Powers
Nationalism
Failed Nationalisms and Delayed Nationalisms
The European Quest for Empire
European Competition and Cooperation: Empire-building in Africa
Gender Relationships in Colonization
Anticolonial Revolts
Japan: From Isolation to Equality
Nationalism and Imperialism:What Difference Do They Make?
TURNING POINT: The Olympics and International Politics
PART SEVEN: EXPLODING TECHNOLOGIES (1914—1991)
CHAPTER 19
Methods of Mass Production and Destruction: Technological Systems
Technology in the Twentieth Century
International Role Reversals
World War I
The Russian Revolution
Postwar America
Worldwide Depression
Methods of Production and Destruction: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 20
World War II: To Hell and Back
The Rise of Fascism
Optimism Revives, Temporarily The Descent Toward War
World War II, 1939—45
Assessing the War
The Tortured Image of Humanity
Out of the Rubble: The United Nations and Resettlement
Remembering the War
Two World Wars: What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 21
Cold War, New Nations, and Revolt Against Authority
The Cold War: U.S. vs. USSR
1968: Revolt Against Authority
The Cold War and the Emergence of New Nations
The Emergence of the Third World
The End of the Cold War: The Soviet Union
Dissolves
Pursuing Peace through Negotiation
Legacies of the Cold War, Decolonization,
Economic and Social Development:What Difference Do They Make?
CHAPTER 22
China and India: Into the Twenty-First Century
China and India: A Comparison
China’s Revolutions
The People’s Republic of China
Postrevolutionary China
India’s Struggle for Independence
Independence and Partition
Democracy and its Challenges
Comparing China and India:What Difference
Does It Make?
PART EIGHT
THE USEFULNESS OF HISTORY
Chapter 23
CONTEMPORARY HISTORY: EVOLUTION, SETTLEMENTS, AND RELIGION
On Evolution
On Settlements
On Politics and Empire
On Religion
The Thematic Approach: What Difference
Does It Make?
CHAPTER 24
CONTEMPORARY HISTORY: TRADE, SOCIAL REVOLUTION, TECHNOLOGY, IDENTITY
On Trade
On Social Revolution
On Technology
On Identity: What Difference Does It Make?
