World History Essay

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Jerry H. Bentley, the word "world history" has different meanings for different societies. While some may define it as a broad analysis of the whole world's history, others believe it implies foreign history. But, this word doesn't actually correspond to either definition. It denotes historical learning which undertakes an overt comparison of experiences beyond individual societal boundaries or studies interactions among individuals hailing from diverse communities or studies broad historical processes and trends which extend beyond discrete communities. Besides highlighting cross-cultural dealings in a historical context, one chief concern of the major part of modern world history deals with constructing alternative approaches to the established Eurocentric perspectives of history.[footnoteRef:1] [1:. Jerry H. Bentley, A Companion to Western Historical Thought, ed. Lloyd Kramer and Sarah Maza (Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 2002), 393.]



Ever since historical events began to be documented, the element of world history was apparent. The ancient world lacked access to fairly accurate facts regarding far-off countries. However, they showed a great deal of interest in attempting to comprehend the way their personal experiences could be integrated into the big picture.[footnoteRef:2] Herodotus enthusiastically explained the traditions and unique behaviors of every society he heard of or personally witnessed. His work's principal focus was a grand comparison and contrast of Persian and Greek societies. Ban Guand SimaQian, who is credited with initiating Chinese historical writing, concentrated on the Han empire's history, whilst also accommodating narratives of central Asian nomads and their interactions with the Chinese. Early cultural customs' endurance and the growing significance of intercultural relationships and communication guaranteed a form of universal vision that would endure during later eras. For instance, chroniclers of medieval Europe typically embarked on their accounts by first summarizing biblical history, inclusive of the creation of the universe and ancient Christian, Jewish and Roman experiences.[footnoteRef:3] [2:. Jerry H. Bentley, Civilization as a Global Project: Sedentary and Nomadic Societies in Cross-Cultural History, ed. Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997), 34.] [3:. Bentley, A Companion to Western Historical Thought, 394.

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Ross E. Dunn believes that the overall discipline known as history was encapsulated through a proficiency-focused vision with careful emphasis to celebrating national histories. World history was dismissed as being neither here nor there, and of a speculative nature. A more specialized and logical form of world history only emerged during the last century, thanks to two factors. Firstly, a flood of knowledge greatly enhanced insights into the world in the last century. It is believed that Rise of the West by William McNeill, published in 1963, heralded a professional world history domain, broadly interpreting societies and politics. Concurrently, it is now possible to name numerous other 20th-century writers (e.g., Philip Curtin who penned world history monographs and Immanuel Wallerstein who conducted a worldwide examination of the early contemporary age), who performed sociological and historical analyses, thereby contributing significantly to the emergent world history discipline. The aforementioned researchers undertook the role of historians to put forward novel interpretations of ancient social and economic matters. A third 20th-century researcher, Alfred Crosby, heralded a scientific-cultural world history approach by applying scientific and biological knowledge to interpret environmental history, while Andre Gunder Frank spoke about a succession of world history related cycles, connections, and general patterns.[footnoteRef:4] [4:. Ross E. Dunn, Knowing, Teaching and Learning History: National and International Perspectives, ed. Peter N. Stearns, Peter Seixas and Sam Wineburg (New York: New York University Press, 2000), 127.]



Although the abovementioned pool of information was by no means perfect by the middle, or even the end, of the last century, it increased in magnitude and reliability sufficiently enough to contribute to global historical examination endeavors. Secondly, professional world history's development suggested a novel sense of global duty and concern. The last century was witness to a couple of global-scale, colossally devastative wars, in addition to several conflicts of a smaller….....

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Bibliography

Bentley, H. Jerry, A Companion to Western Historical Thought. Edited by Lloyd Kramer and Sarah Maza. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, 2002.

Bentley, H. Jerry, Civilization as a Global Project: Sedentary and Nomadic Societies in Cross-Cultural History. Edited by Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997.

Dunn, E. Ross, Knowing, Teaching and Learning History: National and International Perspectives, Edited by Peter N. Stearns, Peter Seixas and Sam Wineburg. New York: New York University Press, 2000.

Stearns, N. Peter, "Periodization in World History Teaching: Identifying the Big Changes," The History Teacher 20, No. 4 (1987): 561-580, http://www.jstor.org/stable/493757.

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