Patterns of World History: Volume One: To 1600 with Sources

Von Sivers, Peter; Desnoyers, Charles A.; Stow, George B.

ISBN 10: 019069369X ISBN 13: 9780190693695

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Patterns of World History, Third Edition, offers a distinct framework for understanding the global past through the study of origins, interactions, and adaptations. Authors Peter von Sivers, Charles A. Desnoyers, and George B. Stow examine the full range of human ingenuity over time and space in a comprehensive, evenhanded, and critical fashion.

The authors offer a distinct intellectual framework for the role of innovation and historical change through patterns of origins, interactions, and adaptations. Each small or large technical or cultural innovation originated in one geographical center or independently in several different centers. As people in the centers interacted with their neighbors, the neighbors adapted to--and in many cases were transformed by--the innovations. By "adaptation" the authors include the entire spectrum of human responses, ranging from outright rejection to creative borrowing and, at times, forced acceptance. Seeing patterns of various kinds in historical development brings to light connections and linkages among peoples, cultures, and regions that might not otherwise present themselves.

Such patterns can also reveal differences among cultures that other approaches to world history tend to neglect. For example, the differences between the civilizations of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres are generally highlighted in world history texts, but the broad commonalities of human groups creating agriculturally-based cities and states in widely separated areas also show deep parallels in their patterns of origins, interactions, and adaptations. Such comparisons are at the center of Patterns of World History. This kind of analysis offers insights into how an individual innovation was subsequently developed and diffused across time and space--that is, the patterns by which the new eventually becomes a necessity in daily lives. Through all of this we gain a deeper appreciation of the unfolding of global history from its origins in small, isolated areas to the vast networks of global interconnectedness in our present world.

The authors' use of a broad-based understanding of continuity, change, and innovation allows them to restore culture in all its individual and institutionalized aspects--spiritual, artistic, intellectual, scientific--to its rightful place alongside technology, environment, politics, and socioeconomic conditions. Understanding innovation in this way allows this text to help illuminate the full range of human ingenuity over time and space in a comprehensive, evenhanded, and open-ended fashion.

About this title

About the Author

Peter von Sivers is Associate Professor of History at the University of Utah.

Charles A. Desnoyers is Professor of History and Director of Asian Studies at La Salle University.

George B. Stow is Professor of History and Director of the Graduate Program in History at La Salle University.

Review

"I can't imagine a better book than this. It makes teaching a balanced course so much easier and provides substantial resources for students."--Marika Snider, Miami University

"I really value the broad scope of Patterns of World History. I also like the 'patterns' between cultures and historical development: they place everything within a wide context. The authors keep their approach consistent throughout the chapters, which supplements my lectures nicely."--AnnaMarie Vallis, California State University

"The 'Seeing Patterns' questions at the start of each chapter help students look for the larger themes, while the maps, illustrations, and primary source quotes are wonderful. The instuctor's supplemental material, both online and in print, is amazingly good."--Michael Johnson, Northwest Arkansas Community College

"Patterns of World History elevates the level of discourse, and makes students aware that there are higher levels of understanding facts."--Gilmar Visoni, Queensborough Community College

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 019069369X
• ISBN 13: 9780190693695
• Binding: Loose Leaf
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 557