Originally published on August 20, 2015 (Episode 26)
Introduction
From the very small to the very large. Having tackled Local History in a previous episode, we now turn to World History. And to guide us through this relatively recent sub-discipline of historical studies we turn to Peter Stearns.
An eminent historian, and author of World History: The Basics (Routledge, 2011), he discusses with Al how world history developed, its challenges, and why it matters in classrooms today.
About the Guest
Peter N. Stearns is University Professor at George Mason University, where he has also served as the Provost. Prior to coming to George Mason, he was a member of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon, and the Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon. He was founding editor of the Journal of Social History, and author of more than 100 books, including World History: The Basics.
For Further Investigation
Peter Stearns, World History: The Basics (Routledge, 2011)
Patrick Manning, Navigating World History: Historians Create a Global Past (Palgrave, 2003) 3rd Edition
Edmund Burke II, David Christian, and Ross Dunn, A Compact History of Humankind: The History of the World in Big Eras
Peter N. Stearns, Peter Seixas, and Sam Wineburg, Knowing, Teaching, and Learning History: National and International Perspectives (NYU Press, 2000)
Lawrence Besserman, ed., The Challenge of Periodization: Old Paradigms and New Perspectives (Routledge, 1997)
David Christian, Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History (California, 2011)
Jerry H. Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (OUP, 1993)
Kenneth Pomeranz & Steven Topik, The World That Trade Created:
Society, Culture, and the World Economy, 1400 to the Present (Routledge, 2018), 4th edition
💬 Listen & Discuss
Why does world history matter in an age when local and national stories still dominate classrooms? Can “big history” approaches connect students more deeply to humanity’s shared past—or does it risk losing vital local detail? Share your thoughts in the comments and forward this episode to someone curious about global perspectives on history.
