HIST 232 - Early Modern Europe Expansion

Credit(s): 3
Lecture: 3
Non-Lecture: 0
From the middle of the 15th century through the end of the 18th, European explorers, adventurers, traders, and settlers swarmed into virtually all corners of the globe. This mass migration of Europeans wrought immense changes, the repercussions of which continue to haunt us today. This course proceeds roughly chronologically, focusing on characteristic moments of contact, exchange, conflict, and transformation. Topics that we will explore include: the motives for European exploration and expansion; attempts (both successful and failed) at cross-cultural communication; the effects of European conquest and colonization on native populations; the legacies of the age of exploration in terms of human and biological ecology, social structures, and culture; the impacts of contact and settlement on European political systems and mentalities; and the significance of early manifestations of the modern global economy and culture of consumerism. Not offered on a regular basis.