This two-volume compilation of primary sources in world civilization is based around eight major themes to provide direction and cohesion to the text. Designed to involve students with important historical questions and controversies, the text promotes thoughtful comparisons between world societies that are linked to common problems, events or themes within the same time period and across chronological divisions. Broad in scope, the text incorporates a wide variety of political, social, economic, religious, intellectual and scientific issues, and is designed to help students consider historical questions and concerns.

Western civilization and world history are often seen as different, or even mutually exclusive, routes into historical studies. This volume shows that they can be successfully linked, providing a tool to see each subject in the context of the other, identifying influences and connections. Western Civilization in World History takes up the recent debates about the merits of the well-established 'Western civ' approach versus the newer field of world history. Peter N. Stearns outlines key aspects of Western civilization - often assumed rather than analyzed - and reviews them in a global context.

The new edition of a milestone work on the global history of technology. This milestone history of technology, first published in 1990 and now revised and expanded in light of recent research, broke new ground by taking a global view, avoiding the conventional Eurocentric perspective and placing the development of technology squarely in the context of a "world civilization." Case studies include "technological dialogues" between China and West Asia in the eleventh century, medieval African states and the Islamic world, and the United States and Japan post-1950. It examines railway empires through the examples of Russia and Japan and explores current synergies of innovation in energy supply and smartphone technology through African cases. The book uses the term "technological dialogue" to challenges the top-down concept of "technology transfer," showing instead that technologies are typically modified to fit local needs and conditions, often triggering further innovation. The authors trace these encounters and exchanges over a thousand years, examining changes in such technologies as agriculture, firearms, printing, electricity, and railroads. A new chapter brings the narrative into the twenty-first century, discussing technological developments including petrochemicals, aerospace, and digitalization from often unexpected global viewpoints and asking what new kind of industrial revolution is needed to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.

Annotation World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500. Authored by six USG faculty members with advance degrees in History, this textbook offers up-to-date original scholarship. It covers such cultures, states, and societies as Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Dynastic Egypt, India's Classical Age, the Dynasties of China, Archaic Greece, the Roman Empire, Islam, Medieval Africa, the Americas, and the Khanates of Central Asia. It includes 350 high-quality images and maps, chronologies, and learning questions to help guide student learning. Its digital nature allows students to follow links to applicable sources and videos, expanding their educational experience beyond the textbook. It provides a new and free alternative to traditional textbooks, making World History an invaluable resource in our modern age of technology and advancement.

Known for its balanced coverage, strong pedagogy, and thorough treatment of non-Western civilizations, World Civilizations remains a top choice at colleges and universities with over 400 adoptions in its eighth edition.

With 83 additional outline and four-color maps,World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Fifth Edition, Atlas Edition, helps students with geography, one of the most difficult aspects of World history courses for many. The maps are accompanied by review questions that call on students to identify important geographical areas and think critically about the connection between geography and historical events. The maps are on perforated pages and are organized by chapter so that they can be assigned easily and collected. The primary goal ofWorld Civilizationsis to present a truly global history-since the development of agriculture and herding to the present. Using a unique periodization, this book divides the main periods of human history according to changes in the nature and extent of global contacts. This global world history text emphasizes the major stages in the interactions among different peoples and societies, while also assessing the development of major societies. Presenting social and cultural as well as political and economic aspects, the book examines key civilizations in world history. World Civilizationsbalances this discussion of independent developments in the world's major civilizations with comparative analysis of the results of global contact.