The World: 1400-Present
A global survey taught jointly by MIT historians Anne McCants and Jeffrey Ravel, tracking how distance stopped being a barrier to contact as new transport technology connected communities from 1400 onward. The course follows Western Europe and the United States toward world dominance, the divergence between Western Europe and East Asia after 1750, and the ripple effects on the rest of the globe, examined through the shifting relationships between people and their environments, religious and political systems, and social groups sorted by race, class, and gender. MIT OpenCourseWare provides the syllabus, lecture slides, readings, and both activity and written assignments for free, no login required. It introduces historical methodology alongside content, using primary sources directly rather than only secondary summaries.