The Challenge and Serendipity of Writing World History through the Prism of Empire (original) (raw)
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Ethics & International Affairs, 2011
In 2001, Frederick Cooper wrote that 'globalization talk is influential-and deeply misleading-for assuming coherence and direction instead of probing causes and processes'.(1) Burbank and Cooper heed this warning and focus very clearly and ably on the causes and processes of global empire building in this new book. They join a flurry of recent books linking empire, imperialism, and global or world history. Building on the groundbreaking works in this genre (2), this book differentiates itself by beginning in ancient Rome, rather than the 15th or 16th century, and expressly stating that it does not want to explain 'the expansion of Europe' (p. 5). While this may be strictly true, the traditional 'expansion of Europe' has here been replaced with 'the expansion of Eurasia' and the book does not really touch in great detail on the African empires (with which Cooper is undoubtedly familiar), or the pre-Columbian American empires. However, the book is successful in expanding the traditional story to encompass a wider Eurasian scope, drawing, undoubtedly, on Burbank's expertise in Russian history. The authors' unique contribution is that they 'focus instead on how different empires emerged, competed, and forged governing strategies, political ideas, and human affiliations over a long sweep of time' (p. 2).
Empire: Past and Present_Syllabus_22F
A great deal of human history is the history of empires. This course examines historical and contemporary empires within a comparative context wider than modern European imperialism. With a regional focus on Eurasia, the class explores key aspects of empire building: military expansion, indirect rule, unequal exchange, environmental impact, ideological hegemony, colonial policies, and ruling strategies towards heterogeneous regions, religions, races, and ethnic groups. Though most empires perished in the twentieth century, we will discuss how, where, and why their political, economic, and cultural legacies persist in the post-colonial period. This course also proposes empire as an important lens for understanding contemporary global powers-which inherit, incorporate, and invent imperial institutions, identities, and strategies. Empire is not a historical relic; it is alive somewhere or about to revive elsewhere. Throughout the course, we will track three contemporary powers that still exert enormous influence on global politics, security, and economy: America, Russia, and China. By revealing the logic behind their decisions and behaviors, and by situating them in comparison to their precedents, counterparts, or competitors-Britain, Japan, and Rome-this course offers students the analytic tools to engage in pressing debates in domestic and international politics. Assignment and Assessment 1. Class Attendance (10%) 2. Class Participation (10%) 3. Five Response Memos (10%) 4. Writing Assignments: Three Essays (70%) a) Essay I (15%): 4-page Topic Overview. b) Essay II (20%): 6-page Comparative Review.
Empires, States, and Political Imagination Department of History
2011
In much of social science as well as in popular conceptions, the nation-state is regarded as the central unit of historical activity. Yet even during most of the last two centuries, the idea of a "nation" was only one way of representing political affiliation. An analysis of empire-both in the present and the past-opens up possibilities for examining a wider range of social linkages, imaginations, and behaviors. This course will focus on the comparative study of empires from ancient Rome and China to the present, and upon the variety of ways in which empire-states have established and constrained claims to rights, belonging, and power. The study of empire expands our debates over rights, citizenship, economic regulation, and accountability without letting them fall into an assumed gap between the nation-state and the global. Each week's class will consist of a discussion based on assigned reading. Students will write a short (1 page) reaction to the reading and post it to the Blackboard site for this class by 8:00 am on Monday before each class. The other writing assignments are an exploratory essay (6-8 pages, due October 28) and a final paper (12-14 pages, due December 19), reviewing the literature on a topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructors and, for most students, coordinated with the follow-up seminar described below. There will be a follow up course to this one taught in spring 2012 by Professors Benton, Burbank, and Cooper. The spring semester course will be a research seminar on empires and will presume that students have either taken the fall course or have equivalent preparation. Students continuing in this course should use the second of the two required papers to work toward defining the topic for research the following semester. The final paper should include a review of the existing historiography relevant to the chosen topic, a statement of the problem to be investigated, and a preliminary list and discussion of primary sources to be used. In the event that the fall course is oversubscribed, we will give priority to students who intend to take the research seminar in the spring. All students should consult with an instructor about the focus and content of their final papers before November 15. Where to Find Readings: Four books are available for purchase at the NYU Bookstore. Copies of these books are also on reserve at Bobst library. All other readings will be posted on the Blackboard site of this course.