A Brief History of the World
Part I
Professor Peter N. Stearns
THE TEACHING COMPANY ®
,Peter N. Stearns, Ph.D.
Provost and Professor of History, George Mason University
Peter N. Stearns is Provost and Professor of History at George Mason
University, where he annually teaches a world history course for
undergraduates. He previously taught at the University of Chicago,
Rutgers, and Carnegie Mellon and was trained at Harvard University.
While at Carnegie Mellon, Professor Stearns won the Smith award for
teaching in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the
Spencer award for excellence in university teaching. He has worked
extensively for the Advanced Placement program and chaired the
committee that devised and implemented the AP world history course
(1996–2006). Professor Stearns was Vice President of the American
Historical Association, heading its Teaching Division from 1995 to 1998.
He also founded and still edits the Journal of Social History.
Trained in European social history, Professor Stearns has authored a wide array of
books and articles (on both Europe and the United States) on such subjects as
emotions, childrearing, dieting and obesity, old age, and work. He has also written
widely in world history, authoring two textbooks that have gone through multiple
editions. He edited the sixth edition of the Encyclopedia of World History and is
currently editing an Encyclopedia of Modern World History. He has written several
thematic studies in world history, including The Industrial Revolution in World
History (2nd ed., Westview, 1998), Gender in World History (2nd ed., Routledge,
2006), Consumerism in World History (2nd ed., Routledge, 2006), Western
Civilization in World History (Routledge, 2003), and Childhood in World History
(Routledge, 2005). His book Global Outrage: The Evolution and Impact of World
Opinion (OneWorld) appeared in 2005, and his current interest in using history to
understand contemporary patterns of behavior is illustrated in American Fear
(Routledge, 2006).
Professor Stearns was “converted” to world history more than two decades
ago and has taught it annually since then, first at Carnegie Mellon and
currently at George Mason. He believes that the framework of world
history allows him to learn a great deal about the world without
degenerating into random detail and helps his students to better
understand the past and the present.
©2007 The Teaching Company. i
, Table of Contents
A Brief History of the World Part I
Professor Biography i
Course Scope 1
Lecture One What and Why Is World History? 3
Lecture Two The Neolithic Revolution 8
Lecture Three What Is a Civilization? 12
Lecture Four The Classical Period in World History 18
Lecture Five Cultural Change in the Classical Period. 24
Lecture Six Social Inequalities in Classical Societies 29
Lecture Seven The Roman Empire and Han China 34
Lecture Eight The Silk Road; Classical Period Contacts38
Lecture Nine The Decline of the Classical Civilizations 43
Lecture Ten The Postclassical Period, 500–1450 48
Lecture Eleven World Religions and Their Consequences 53
Lecture Twelve The Impact of Islam 58
Timeline 63
Glossary 69
Biographical NotesPart II
Bibliography Part III
ii ©2007 The Teaching Company.
, A Brief History of the World
Scope:
This course presents some of the highlights of the world historical approach
to the past, suggesting major changes in the framework of the human
experience, from the rise of agriculture to the present day. The lectures
cover the emergence of distinct major societies as they deal with
common problems but generate quite different institutional and cultural
approaches. The course also discusses key changes in belief
systems—the emergence and spread of the great world religions, for
example—as well as alterations in trading patterns and basic shifts in
technology, exploring why some societies reacted differently to
technological change than others.
Throughout the course, we will look at many parts of the world, including
those clustered into shared civilizations. East Asia, South Asia, the
Middle East, and the Mediterranean loom large from the start. Sub-
Saharan Africa, where the human species originated, has also played a
great role in world history, as ultimately has northern Europe, including
Russia. The Americas offer an important variant until their incorporation
in global patterns from 1492 onward. Central Asia maintained a distinct
position in world history until the 16th century.
World history divides into a limited number of time periods, defined in terms
of dominant themes. The rise of agriculture requires a discussion of pre-
agricultural patterns. Following agriculture came, in several places, the
advent of civilization as a form of human organization. The classical
period in world history draws attention to China, India, Persia, and the
Mediterranean, when the expansion and integration of these large
societies dominated over a millennium of human history. The collapse of
the classical empires ushered in a vital postclassical period, when
emphasis shifted to religion but also to more ambitious patterns of
interregional trade. It was in this postclassical period (500–1500 CE)
that the emphasis of major societies shifted from separate development
to greater interaction and even deliberate imitation. The early modern
period highlights a renewed capacity for empire, the inclusion of the
Americas in global systems, and—though this must be handled with a
bit of care—the rise of Western Europe. What some historians call the
“Long 19th Century”—1750 or so to 1914—was dominated by Western
industrialization and its economic, military, and cultural impact on,
literally, the entire world.
Finally, the contemporary period in world history, after World War I, features
a bewildering variety of themes that must be sorted out, with emphasis
among other things on the relative decline of the West, the huge surge
in human population, and the potential for greater globalization.
World history highlights a number of major regions, but it avoids simply
examining one area after another—“if it’s Tuesday, this must be Latin
America”—by making careful comparisons and focusing on interregional
©2007 The Teaching Company. 1
Part I
Professor Peter N. Stearns
THE TEACHING COMPANY ®
,Peter N. Stearns, Ph.D.
Provost and Professor of History, George Mason University
Peter N. Stearns is Provost and Professor of History at George Mason
University, where he annually teaches a world history course for
undergraduates. He previously taught at the University of Chicago,
Rutgers, and Carnegie Mellon and was trained at Harvard University.
While at Carnegie Mellon, Professor Stearns won the Smith award for
teaching in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the
Spencer award for excellence in university teaching. He has worked
extensively for the Advanced Placement program and chaired the
committee that devised and implemented the AP world history course
(1996–2006). Professor Stearns was Vice President of the American
Historical Association, heading its Teaching Division from 1995 to 1998.
He also founded and still edits the Journal of Social History.
Trained in European social history, Professor Stearns has authored a wide array of
books and articles (on both Europe and the United States) on such subjects as
emotions, childrearing, dieting and obesity, old age, and work. He has also written
widely in world history, authoring two textbooks that have gone through multiple
editions. He edited the sixth edition of the Encyclopedia of World History and is
currently editing an Encyclopedia of Modern World History. He has written several
thematic studies in world history, including The Industrial Revolution in World
History (2nd ed., Westview, 1998), Gender in World History (2nd ed., Routledge,
2006), Consumerism in World History (2nd ed., Routledge, 2006), Western
Civilization in World History (Routledge, 2003), and Childhood in World History
(Routledge, 2005). His book Global Outrage: The Evolution and Impact of World
Opinion (OneWorld) appeared in 2005, and his current interest in using history to
understand contemporary patterns of behavior is illustrated in American Fear
(Routledge, 2006).
Professor Stearns was “converted” to world history more than two decades
ago and has taught it annually since then, first at Carnegie Mellon and
currently at George Mason. He believes that the framework of world
history allows him to learn a great deal about the world without
degenerating into random detail and helps his students to better
understand the past and the present.
©2007 The Teaching Company. i
, Table of Contents
A Brief History of the World Part I
Professor Biography i
Course Scope 1
Lecture One What and Why Is World History? 3
Lecture Two The Neolithic Revolution 8
Lecture Three What Is a Civilization? 12
Lecture Four The Classical Period in World History 18
Lecture Five Cultural Change in the Classical Period. 24
Lecture Six Social Inequalities in Classical Societies 29
Lecture Seven The Roman Empire and Han China 34
Lecture Eight The Silk Road; Classical Period Contacts38
Lecture Nine The Decline of the Classical Civilizations 43
Lecture Ten The Postclassical Period, 500–1450 48
Lecture Eleven World Religions and Their Consequences 53
Lecture Twelve The Impact of Islam 58
Timeline 63
Glossary 69
Biographical NotesPart II
Bibliography Part III
ii ©2007 The Teaching Company.
, A Brief History of the World
Scope:
This course presents some of the highlights of the world historical approach
to the past, suggesting major changes in the framework of the human
experience, from the rise of agriculture to the present day. The lectures
cover the emergence of distinct major societies as they deal with
common problems but generate quite different institutional and cultural
approaches. The course also discusses key changes in belief
systems—the emergence and spread of the great world religions, for
example—as well as alterations in trading patterns and basic shifts in
technology, exploring why some societies reacted differently to
technological change than others.
Throughout the course, we will look at many parts of the world, including
those clustered into shared civilizations. East Asia, South Asia, the
Middle East, and the Mediterranean loom large from the start. Sub-
Saharan Africa, where the human species originated, has also played a
great role in world history, as ultimately has northern Europe, including
Russia. The Americas offer an important variant until their incorporation
in global patterns from 1492 onward. Central Asia maintained a distinct
position in world history until the 16th century.
World history divides into a limited number of time periods, defined in terms
of dominant themes. The rise of agriculture requires a discussion of pre-
agricultural patterns. Following agriculture came, in several places, the
advent of civilization as a form of human organization. The classical
period in world history draws attention to China, India, Persia, and the
Mediterranean, when the expansion and integration of these large
societies dominated over a millennium of human history. The collapse of
the classical empires ushered in a vital postclassical period, when
emphasis shifted to religion but also to more ambitious patterns of
interregional trade. It was in this postclassical period (500–1500 CE)
that the emphasis of major societies shifted from separate development
to greater interaction and even deliberate imitation. The early modern
period highlights a renewed capacity for empire, the inclusion of the
Americas in global systems, and—though this must be handled with a
bit of care—the rise of Western Europe. What some historians call the
“Long 19th Century”—1750 or so to 1914—was dominated by Western
industrialization and its economic, military, and cultural impact on,
literally, the entire world.
Finally, the contemporary period in world history, after World War I, features
a bewildering variety of themes that must be sorted out, with emphasis
among other things on the relative decline of the West, the huge surge
in human population, and the potential for greater globalization.
World history highlights a number of major regions, but it avoids simply
examining one area after another—“if it’s Tuesday, this must be Latin
America”—by making careful comparisons and focusing on interregional
©2007 The Teaching Company. 1
