Although the course is generally structured chronologically, it will focus not on a narrative of events but on the interconnections between political, economic, social, and cultural change in various societies and civilizations. We will explore different ways of understanding how and why change has occurred over the last 500 years and will discuss how major historical developments are related to our contemporary circumstances. The world, even one as future-oriented and technology driven as ours, can only be fully understood in terms of the past. The passions and ideas that motivate people today and allow them to make sense of their times are all rooted in the past experience.