World History Through Case Studies - Historical Skills in Practice

This innovative textbook demystifies the subject of world history through a diverse range of case studies. Each chapter looks at an event, person, or place commonly included in comprehensive textbooks, from prehistory to the present and from across the globe - from the Kennewick Man to gladiators and modern-day soccer and globalization - and digs deeper, examining why historians disagree on the subject and why their debates remain relevant today.

By taking the approach of 'unwrapping the textbook,' David Eaton reveals how historians think, making it clear that the past is not nearly as tidy as most textbooks suggest. Provocative questions like whether ancient Greece was shaped by contact with Egypt provide an entry point into how history professors may sharply disagree on even basic narratives, and how historical interpretations can be influenced by contemporary concerns. By illuminating these historiographical debates, and linking them to key skills required by historians, World History through Case Studies shows how the study of history is relevant to a new generation of students and teachers.

List of contents

Introduction
Part 1 - Prehistory to 600 BCE
1. Urge Overkill: Kennewick Man and the Settling of the Americas
2. Horsing Around: The Domestication of Mammals
3. #AncientEgyptMatters: The Black Athena Debate
Part 2 - The Age of Empires, 600 BCE - 600 CE
4. Stretching the Past: A History of Yoga
5. Whose Key to China? Confucius in History
6. Making Waves: The Bantu Migrations across Central Africa
7. Bread and Circuses: Sport and Society in Imperial Rome
Part 3 - Cross-Cultural Interactions, 600 - 1450 CE
8. Veiled Meanings: Islam and Gender
9. Going Berserk: The Vikings and Violence
10. Cosmopolitan Culture: Life along the Swahili Coast
11. This Island Earth: Environmental Change on Easter Island
Part 4 - The Origins of Global Interdependence, 1450 - 1750 CE
12. Supreme Sacrifice: Assessing Aztec Religion
13. Orunmila Saves: Polytheism and World Religions
14. Heavy Metals: Silver and the World Economy
15. "We'll Always Have Paris": The Origins of Modernity
Part 5 - Accelerating Global Integration, 1750 - 1900
16. Germ Warfare: Disease and the Age of Revolutions
17. Tokyo Drift: Japan and the Industrial Revolution
18. Light and Shade: Studying Colonialism in the Dutch East Indies
Part 6 - The Modern World, 1900 - Present
19. Open Wounds: The Horrors of the Second World War
20. Global Goals: Soccer and Globalization
Conclusion
Index

About the author

David Eaton is Associate Professor of World and African history at Grand Valley State University, USA. He received his PhD from Dalhousie University in 2008, and co-hosts On Top of the World: A World History Podcast. His doctoral research focused on the history of cattle raiding along the Kenya-Uganda border, and he has published articles in several journals including Nomadic Peoples, World History Connected, and African Affairs.

Summary

This innovative textbook demystifies the subject of world history through a diverse range of case studies. Each chapter looks at an event, person, or place commonly included in comprehensive textbooks, from prehistory to the present and from across the globe – from the Kennewick Man to gladiators and modern-day soccer and globalization – and digs deeper, examining why historians disagree on the subject and why their debates remain relevant today.

By taking the approach of ‘unwrapping the textbook,’ David Eaton reveals how historians think, making it clear that the past is not nearly as tidy as most textbooks suggest. Provocative questions like whether ancient Greece was shaped by contact with Egypt provide an entry point into how history professors may sharply disagree on even basic narratives, and how historical interpretations can be influenced by contemporary concerns. By illuminating these historiographical debates, and linking them to key skills required by historians, World History through Case Studies shows how the study of history is relevant to a new generation of students and teachers.

Foreword

This collection of case studies from around the world helps students of world history to uncover the key historiographical debates that lie beneath the surface of traditional textbooks.

Additional text

David Eaton’s book is a game changer for teaching world history because it centers historiographical debates that are the beating, messy heart of our discipline. Breath-taking in thematic, temporal and geographical range, it also digs deep into well-chosen case studies with panache. The great French scholar Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie once divided historians into ‘parachutists’, searching out grand patterns for below them, and ‘truffle hunters’, their noses buried in the fine-grained details. With this book, budding historians and their teachers should trust Prof. Eaton to both pack their chutes and find them the tastiest morsels. A must read.

Product details

• Authors: Dave Eaton, David Eaton, David (Grand Valley State University Eaton, Eaton David
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.09.2019
• EAN: 9781350042612
• ISBN: 978-1-350-04261-2
• No. of pages: 304
• Series: Bloomsbury 3PL
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; HISTORY / World, General & world history, General and world history