Università Roma Tre

The course has two main goals.
First, to provide a basic historical framework to understand the complex processes of internazionalization that have took place in the early modern period (c. 1450-1800), and have contributed to development of a permanent system of geopolitical, economic and trans-cultural interaction among the world’s different countries and societies.
Second, to introduce students to the key historiographical debates on globalization and global history, familiarising them with the main concepts, terminology and theories involved in these debates, so as to to develop a critical approach to history, its narratives, and its methodological features.

The course is divided in two parts.
In the first one, the teacher will outline the main methodological issues and historical events related to the idea of the emergence, in the early modern period, of the first forms of globalization.
The second part will be dedicated to the reading and discussion of selected sources and historiographical texts. Students will be given the opportunity to make individual or group presentations on a specific topic (or book) agreed upon in advance with the teacher.
The course by no means attempts to cover all the aspects of globalization’s history and interpretations. It would rather focus on the “global history” approaches, that look beyond the Eurocentric and Nation-State theoretical framework and, instead of political-institutional or economic-based explanations, privilege topics such as the history of anthropological and cultural exchanges, the history of migrations and religious diasporas, the “connected” and micro-histories of economic, cultural, political and religious brokers (ambassadors, merchants, missionaries, soldiers, travellers), whose agency greatly contributed to the construction of a global world.

Attending students will prepare the final exam on the basis of the readings included in a Syllabus that will be circulated during the course.
Non attending students are invited to contact the teacher in due advance so as to define a specific programme.