World History

World history courses are often recommended as part of general education curricula. Yet debate rages within the History profession as to what should be the essence of world history. An interdisciplinary world history course might tie world history into the rest of the General Education curriculum by organizing historical analysis in terms of the map of knowledge suggested above: what causal relationships have historians found to be important across times and places, and what theories and methods have they found most useful? Another important link between history and the wider curriculum lies in the area of ‘history of ideas’ for students should appreciate how ways of thinking have evolved through time.