Global Histories beyond West-centric Perspectives 2900-MK3-GHBW

Global history, developed in its broad analytical scales and distinct focus on connections and entanglements, has predominantly been a query into the origins of capitalism, modernity and global Western domination. The focus on objects, transactions, transfers, and forms of Western imperial domination served to reveal the reasons for what Kenneth Pommeranz dubbed “a great divergence”, as well as the formation of Western science, gender roles, and the environmental transformations (or rather catastrophes) we observe nowadays. Such conceived global history has always been challenged from different directions and even upturned (with Europe provincialized after Dipesh Chakrabarty), while alternative frameworks – whether analytical or geographic – motivated a conversation between specialists in various fields, thus making global history one of the most productive areas of historical inquiry.

This course will build upon the current richness of the new research in the field of global history, and it will take pleasure in departing from the mainstream. Topics such as the great divergence, capitalism, history of objects and products will be sidelined, whereas other questions – global revolutions, Asian globalizations, comparisons and entanglements between Europe and Asia are going to brought to the fore. Moreover, this seminar will examine global history through two geographical lenses – Eastern / Central Europe and East / Southeast Asia. More precisely, we shall look at how studying these geographical areas – often treated as somehow marginal – permits rethinking and rewriting the global narrative. We shall look at how these areas have been linked to one another either through a comparative analysis, or through new theorizations on the development of the early modern and modern world. The topics analyzed during the seminar are as follows: Steppe and Central Asian origins of modernity; East Asian capitalism (or its absence); comparative revolution and global communisms; imperial debacle, decolonization and entangled history of Central Europe and postcolonial world; memories of communism – memories of colonialism as political histories of oppression.