Maintains that Marshall Hodgson's work, "Rethinking World History," is an interregional approach to world history. Argues that his chief contributions to historical writing were his consideration of epistemological issues, his revisionist views of the history of Europe, and his vision of world history as the center of a reinvigorated…

Examines the book, "The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community," 25 years after its publication. Contends that the book was influenced by the particular historical and political circumstances of its time. Discusses the books' deficiencies and biases. Considers the changes in historiography since 1963. (RW)

Explores the prehistory of the Silk Roads, reexamines their structure and history in the classical era, and explores shifts in their geography in the last one thousand years. Explains that a revised understanding of the Silk Roads demonstrates how the Afro-Eurasian land mass has been linked by networks of exchange since the Bronze Age. (CMK)

Seeks to define world history through an analysis of its historical antecedents. Concentrates on the efforts of three historians--Louis Moreau, William H. McNeill, and Leften S. Stavrianos--to establish world history's place in education. Analyzes the relationship between world history, peace, and global education and the state of world history in…

Argues against a graduate field of study in world history as too general. Suggests developing a specialization in comparative history to encompass major culture areas. Uses multiple elements to develop comparative history courses. Proposes graduate seminars where students discuss works in cross-cultural comparative history. (NL)

Summarizes critical attacks on Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems approach to history and offers new critical evaluations. Wallerstein argued that an emerging capitalist world economy dominated politics and history from the 16th century to the present. Defines two new approaches, institutional analysis and post colonial cultural theory, that…

Maintains that linguistics has great potential value for historians. Contends that the pidgin and creole languages of the former colonies of European nations provide avenues for examining the histories of "people without history." (CFR)

Analyzes revisions in Chinese historiographical treatment of world history since 1949, stressing the dominance of Marxist/Maoist ideology, political isolation, and Chinese nationalism. Shows evidence of these influences in high school textbooks. Examines the Cultural Revolution's impact on historiography. Sees current liberalization producing a…

Contends that the commonly held notion that non-European peoples have had no experience with democratic practices is not supported by the evidence. Maintains that aspects of self-government have appeared in many non-European societies throughout history. Urges historians to recognize these examples and include them in their teaching. (CFR)

Outlines a comparative approach to the social dynamics (struggles, adaptations, and cross-border alliances) in regions' bisected borders. Argues that borderland studies provide an indispensable corrective to historical narratives that accept the territoriality to which all modern states lay claim. Discusses borderland culture in relation to space,…

Characterizes the early modern period in world history (roughly 1500-1800) as one marked by worldwide processes of change unprecedented in scope and intensity. Argues that the society of the Indian subcontinent shared directly in the massive processes of change that influenced societies throughout the world. (MJP)

Asserts that the American-Vietnamese War can be analyzed best in the context of three distinct entities: (1) Vietnam; (2) the United States; and (3) the larger world. Discusses Vietnam's revolutionary tradition, U.S. Cold War foreign policy, and the global context of anticolonialism and antiimperialism. (CFR)

Tracks the intermittent appearances and variations of the historical concept of a "Pacific Age" from the 1890s to the present. Discusses the social, economic, and historical conditions that resulted in the term's heralding of either economic optimism or racist peril. Suggests these interpretations come in cycles. (MJP)

Asserts that scholarship on the formative period of the African presence in the Americas is still in its infancy. Explores the role of ethnicity in the construction of the lives of African-born slaves in Mexico City during the early 1600s. Discusses implications of the findings, including the impact of ethnicity on marriage choices. (CFR)