This course is designed to provide students with a sound knowledge of key theories and archaeological evidence that lie at the core of research in the cross-cultural studies between the East and West in the 2nd millennium BC. It builds upon anthropology, archaeology and prehistory to consider the age of palace-based civilizations in Egypt, Levant, Hittite Anatolia, Mycenaean Greece, Minoan Crete and Cyprus. It ensures students gain an understanding of different theoretical perspectives. It provides an insight into the social impact of processes such as the intensification of trade; social acceptance of technological innovation; the integration of disparate economies, centralization, culture contact, exchange, world-system theory and environmental change. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of the development of western attitudes to other cultures; the manner in which interdisciplinary studies can lead to much richer reconstructions and socio-political developments in the Aegean and Near East. The aim of the module is to show the cosmopolitanism and international relations between states and palaces and the changing understanding of civilization through the rise and decline of European colonialism.