Making the Modern World: The Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this global survey of the Industrial Revolution, tracing mechanized production, the factory system, steam propulsion, electrification, mass communications, and automation as they spread and adapted across different societies. The course compares Great Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Sweden, Russia, Japan, China, and India, emphasizing how technology transferred between regions and took different forms depending on local conditions. Materials include the syllabus, readings, and assignments consisting of brief reflection papers and a final paper, giving a structured framework for thinking about industrialization as a worldwide process rather than a single national story. Free to audit through MIT OpenCourseWare, with no certificate offered. Suited to anyone wanting a comparative history grounded in real course assignments rather than a single lecture.