Modern World History

Pre-requisites: For history students: passed first year exams and some proficiency in a foreign language, which is a general requirement for all students interested in the course.

Course objectives: The objective of this course is to learn about international relations and the process of globalization outside of europe, beginning after World War I up until 2001.

Course description: Preliminary classes will address imperialism, a period in which the world beyond Europe started interacting in world politics for the first time. World War I will be addressed as a specific phenomenon which involved countries from all continents. The in-between war period will be addressed from an economic perspective, since the collapse of the global economy had a strong effect on the involvement of many countries in the Second World War. A particular focus will be put on the post-war period, during the second semester. Major themes in the course are decolonization and the international relations that ensued after a bi-polar divide in the world.

Learning Outcomes: Enabling students to follow and understand world processes and to detect historical connections between political, economic, international, social and cultural factors.