The World Through 1750

History starts with method: how social scientists interpret the past and what themes help organize world history. Students also explore world religions and their influence on human society.

Civilization takes shape as farming replaces hunting and gathering in the Neolithic Age, and as geographic challenges push the Mesopotamians toward city-states. Students consider why historians classify ancient Sumer as a civilization, the achievements of four Mesopotamian empires, and early civilizations in the Americas.

Egypt's pharaohs come first, with what they accomplished and how they did it. Students then examine how social class affected daily life in ancient Egypt, and how location shaped the history of the kingdom of Kush.

Ancient India opens with how geography affected early settlement. Students work from artifacts to reconstruct daily life in Mohenjodaro, then ask why the Gupta Empire's era is remembered as a golden age.

Geography and early settlement introduce ancient China, followed by the ways the Han dynasty improved government and daily life. A third lesson follows the Silk Road and how it promoted an exchange of goods and ideas.

Democracy's development in ancient Greece leads the unit, followed by the major differences between Athens and Sparta. Students study the cultural achievements of Athens during its golden age and what ancient Greece contributed to the modern world.

Rome's republic and its characteristics start the unit, along with the question of whether the benefits of Roman expansion outweighed the costs. Students look at how wealth shaped daily life in the empire and at Rome's influence on the modern world.

Feudalism anchors medieval Europe, first in how it established order in the Middle Ages and then in the events that led to its decline and the rise of democratic thought. The Byzantine Empire and its distinctive church close the unit.

Medieval Muslim innovations and adaptations lead the unit, with students identifying the most important ones. Lessons then move from the Crusades to the new Muslim empires, tracing the effect on the lives of Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

West Africa's early societies raise the question of what mattered most in their development, and Ghana shows the extent to which trans-Saharan trade built wealth and success. Students then study Islam's influence on West African society and the region's lasting cultural legacy.

Imperial China examines how officials were selected and which method produced the best leaders. Students also study how medieval Chinese discoveries and inventions influenced the modern world, and how the three dynasties' foreign-contact policies affected the country.

Pre-feudal Japan examines how neighboring cultures influenced the country. Students then explore Heian-kyo, the heart of Japan's golden age, and what life was like for aristocrats during the Heian period.

Three civilizations carry this unit. Students study what led to the rise, flourishing, and fall of the Maya, how the Aztecs rose to power, and how the Incas managed a large and remote empire.

The late medieval world centers on the Mongol Empire and how it destroyed states while increasing the interconnection of Afroeurasia. A second lesson asks how growing trade led to both an exchange of ideas and new conflicts.

The Renaissance begins with the changes in Europe that brought it about, then narrows to Florence and the advances made there. Students then take up the factors that weakened the Catholic Church and started the Reformation.