This is an overview of world economic history. Topics treated in the first
semester are: prehistory and the rise of civilization, the Buddhist and
Islamic trade networks, early Chinese history, the rise of Europe, early
imperialism, Chinese emigration and early Taiwanese history and the British
industrial revolution. In the second semester, we will look at: the spread
of the industrial revolution and the second industrial revolution, modern
immigration and colonialism, economic growth in Taiwan, China and Japan, the
Depression, Communism and post-World-War-II economic change in the U.S. and
Asia. Grades will be based on a mid-term and a final.