Explore the history and dynamics of industrialization, its global nature, and its economic, social, and environmental effects from ancient times to the present.
This course will focus on the emergence and evolution of industrial societies worldwide. We will begin by comparing the legacies of industry in ancient and early modern Europe and Asia and examining the agricultural and commercial advances that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. We will then follow the history of industrialization in different parts of the world, taking a close look at industrialization's economic, social, and environmental effects.
The course is organized chronologically and thematically. Each unit will focus on key developments in the history of industry and on representative areas of the globe, using primary-source documents, secondary sources, and multimedia to illustrate the dynamic nature of industrial change. By the end of the course, you will understand how industrialization developed, spread across the globe, and shaped everyday life in the modern era.
- Unit 1: Industrialization and Theories of Economic Change
- Unit 2: Ancient and Early Modern Industry
- Unit 3: Capitalism, Agriculture, Industry, and Trade
- Unit 4: The Industrial Revolution in England
- Unit 5: The Social and Political Impact of Industrialization
- Unit 6: Mass Production, the Labor Movement, and the Consumer Society
- Unit 7: Economic Crisis and War in the 20th Century
- Unit 8: Alternative Models of Industrialization
- Discuss key ideas and events in the history of industrialization;
- Describe connections between the development of capitalism and the development of modern industry;
- Summarize the factors contributing to industrial change in different societies;
- Examine the consequences of industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries in different societies;
- Critique historical interpretations of the causes and effects of industrialization; and
- Interpret primary source documents describing the process of industrialization and life in industrial societies.