Navigating World History

World history has expanded dramatically in recent years, primarily as a teaching field, and increasingly as a research field. Growing numbers of teachers and Ph.Ds in history are required to teach the subject. They must be current on topics from human evolution to industrial development in Song-dynasty China to today's disease patterns - and then link these disparate topics into a coherent course. Numerous textbooks in print and in preparation summarize the field of world history at an introductory level. But good teaching also requires advanced training for teachers, and access to a stream of new research from scholars trained as world historians. In this book, Patrick Manning provides the first comprehensive overview of the academic field of world history. He reviews patterns of research and debate, and proposes guidelines for study by teachers and by researchers in world history.

In this third edition of Migration in World History, Patrick Manning presents an expanded and newly coherent view of migratory processes, conveying new research and interpretation. The engaging narrative shows the continuity of migratory processes from the time of foragers who settled the earth to farmers opening new fields and merchants linking purchasers everywhere. In the last thousand years, accumulation of wealth brought capitalism, industry, and the travels of free and slave migrants. In a contest of civilizational hierarchy and movements of emancipation, nations arose to replace empires, although conflicts within nations expelled refugees. The future of migration is now a serious concern. The new edition includes: An introduction to the migration theories that explain the shifting patterns of migration in early and recent times Quantification of changes in migration, including international migration, domestic urbanization, and growing refugee movements A new chapter tracing twenty-first-century migration and population from 2000 to 2050, showing how migrants escaping climate change will steadily outnumber refugees from other social conflicts While migration is often stressful, it contributes to diversity, exchanges, new perspectives, and innovations. This comprehensive and up-to-date view of migration will stimulate readers with interests in many fields.

New insights on global histories and Western civilization from leading scholars in the field Described as "the New York Review of Books for history," Historically Speaking has emerged as one of the most distinctive historical publications in recent years, actively seeking out contributions from a pantheon of leading voices in historical discourse from both inside and outside academia. Recent Themes in World History and the History of the West represents some of the best writing on Western civilization and world history in the past five years. This collection of essays and interviews from Historically Speaking gives leading historians' approaches to the continually evolving field of world history, with a specific emphasis on the relationship of Western civilization to the history of the world. The book also discusses the effect of empire on global history and the many ways empire continues to manifest in the contemporary world. The contributors discuss world history as an intricate story of the connections within the global community, rather than a tidy, static narrative that attempts to summarize everything in our global past. In this volume the study of world history is presented as a constantly comparative endeavor, concerned with the major themes that link and divide humanity.

Today travellers by land, sea and air take accurate navigation for granted but it was not always thus. The author, a highly experienced sailor, sets out to record the development of navigational techniques from the earliest time, five millenniums ago. As explorers started to venture offshore into the unknown they had to rely on the sun and stars for direction. From this pioneers turned to mathematics, astrolobes, sextants and increasing accurate clocks to measure latitude and later longitude. More recently major breakthroughs with electronic navigation, GPS and other satellite systems have revolutionised travel. Focusing primarily but not exclusively on marine navigation, the author weaves a fascinating course through the successes and failures of mankind's quest to explore his world. The result is a thoroughly entertaining and informative work which has no rival.

Methods in World History is the first international volume that systematically addresses a number of methodological problems specific to the field of World History. Prompted by a lack of applicable works, the authors advocate a considerable sharpening of the tools used within the discipline. Theories constructed on poor foundations run an obvious risk of reinforcing flawed assumptions, and of propping up other, more ideological constructions. The dedicated critical approach outlined in this volume helps to mitigate such risks. Each essay addresses a particular issue, discussing its problems, giving practical examples, and offering solutions and ways of overcoming the difficulties involved. The perspectives are varied, the criticism focussed, and a common theme of coalescence is maintained throughout. This unique anthology will be of great use to advanced scholars of World History, and to students entering the field for the first time.

The New World History is a comprehensive volume of essays selected to enrich world history teaching and scholarship in this rapidly expanding field. The forty-four articles in this book take stock of the history, evolving literature, and current trajectories of new world history. These essays, together with the editors’ introductions to thematic chapters, encourage educators and students to reflect critically on the development of the field and to explore concepts, approaches, and insights valuable to their own work. The selections are organized in ten chapters that survey the history of the movement, the seminal ideas of founding thinkers and today’s practitioners, changing concepts of world historical space and time, comparative methods, environmental history, the “big history” movement, globalization, debates over the meaning of Western power, and ongoing questions about the intellectual premises and assumptions that have shaped the field.

The Routledge Companion to World Literature and World History is a comprehensive and engaging volume, combining essays from historians and literary academics to create a space for productive cross-cultural encounters between the two fields. In addition to the 27 essays, the Companion includes general introductions from two of the leading scholars of history and literature, David Damrosch and Patrick Manning, as well as personal testimonies from artists working in the area, and editorials asking provocative questions. The volume includes sections on: People – with essays looking at World Literature, Intellectual Commerce, Religion, language and war, and Indigenous ethnography Networks and methods – examining maps, geography, morality and the crises of world literature Transformations – including essays on race, colonialism, and the non-human Interdisciplinary and groundbreaking, this volume brings to light various ways in which scholars of literature and history analyse, assimilate or reveal the intellectual heritage of the past, at the same moment as they try consciously to deal with an unending amount of new information and an awareness of global connections and discrepancies. Including work from leading academics in the field, as well as newer voices, the Companion is ideal for students and scholars alike.