Course Description
Exploration of the historiography of the world-making exchanges between Europe, Africa, and the Americas since colonization. From the era of exploration to the age of revolutions and nation- building, the civilizations of these continents interacted through conquest, trade, migration, and cultural exchanges that gave rise to a distinctly Atlantic World.
Athena Title
Colloquium Atlantic World Hist
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the scholarship that explores the history of the Atlantic world from the late 15th to the 19th centuries. The readings examine competition between empires, the development and abolition of the trade in African captives, the formation of distinct diasporas and cultural zones, including the Black Atlantic, and the emergence of distinct economic systems in the North and South Atlantic. Instructors may emphasize particular periods and themes according to their specializations. Students who wish to take advantage of the breadth of faculty expertise will be permitted to repeat the course for credit.
Topical Outline
1. Atlantic World: Definitions and Debates 2. Origins of the Atlantic World 3. Iberian Empires 4. Northern Europe and the Atlantic World 5. African Empires and the Atlantic World 6. Atlantic Economies: North and South 7. Atlantic Slave Trade 8. Atlantic Exchanges: Migrations and Diasporas 9. Atlantic Revolutions 10. The Atlantic after Emancipation 11. The Atlantic World and the Interpretation of Cultures