HIS 328: Material, Cultural, and Intellectual Exchange in History

Goal: This course offers students a comprehensive examination of cross-cultural exchanges throughout global history. The course challenges students to achieve four primary goals: First, students will develop an in-depth understanding of how ideas, objects, and cultural practices have been exchanged across diverse societies, focusing on areas such as food systems, commerce, technology, religion, and artistic movements. Second, students will learn to critically analyze factors that facilitate or hinder these exchanges by applying advanced theoretical frameworks to interpret how societies adopt and adapt foreign concepts. Third, students will synthesize diverse perspectives by examining case studies spanning various civilizations and time periods, integrating viewpoints from different cultural contexts. Finally, students will communicate sophisticated interpretations with scholarly language, supporting their claims through appropriate primary and secondary source evidence about the significance of these connections in shaping global history. Through these objectives, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex processes that connect human societies across geographic and cultural boundaries.
Prerequisite(s): Satisfactory completion of the College writing proficiency requirement or permission of the instructor.
Credit: 3
Degree Level: Undergraduate