The Origins of Global Capitalism: Economic History, 1400--1800
HIST 268
Spring 2021 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
MDST 268 |
This course explores how the modern market economy came into being in Europe and why this system expanded outward to bring the rest of the world into its orbit by 1800. Among other things, it seeks to provide answers for why China's economy--perhaps the most sophisticated in the world before 1500--fell into relative stagnation and why Europe was the first region to develop mechanized industry and break out of a poverty trap that had restricted prosperity for millennia. The course begins by exploring late medieval European agriculture, market systems, institutions, and technology to reveal how the paths of economic development taken in Europe began to diverge fundamentally from those taken by societies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It will explore the role of the spice trade in the expansion of European influence abroad, the significance of new food and cash crops in the development of plantation systems and long-haul trade, the impact of organized coercion in the development of monopolies and monopoly companies, and the role of proto-industrial methods of production and colonial economies in the birth of the Industrial Revolution. The course aims to be accessible, broad, and comparative, drawing insights from many fields to consider the environmental, geographical, cultural, institutional, and political factors shaping the economic changes that have created modern capitalism. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (HIST-MN)(HIST)(HRAD-MN)(MDST-MN)(MDST)(MDST-Art/Arch)(MDST-History)(MDST-Lang/Lit)(MDST-Phil/Reli)(STS) |
Major Readings:
Allen, Robert. The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0521687850
Bernstein, William J. A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0802144164
McNeill, William. The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force and Society Since A.D. 1000 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982). ISBN-13: 978-0226561585
Mokyr, Joel. The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. ISBN-13: 978-0195074772
Pomeranz, Kenneth. The Great Divergence: Europe, China, and the Making of the World Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0691090108
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Examinations and Assignments:
Attendance and participation (including written questions) 10%
Two short papers 30% (15% each)
Midterm exam 30%
Final exam 30% |
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