Beyond East and West: the Early Modern World, 1400-1800

FAIN: EH-250814-16

Indiana University, Bloomington (Bloomington, IN 47405-7000)
Ibrahim Kaya Sahin (Project Director: February 2016 to December 2019)

A three-week college and university institute for twenty-five participants, examining the history of the early modern world, to be held at Indiana University.

This summer institute focuses on the history of the globe between 1400 and 1800 CE. Our goal is to stimulate interest in this critical period, help college teachers integrate global history into their teaching and research, and thus contribute to a diversity of content in the classroom. We are now increasingly aware of living in a global environment through the circulation of global cultural artifacts (ethnic food, modern art, music, literature, movies) as well as our exposure to global problems (the deterioration of nature, refugee crises, global market volatility). In order to better understand the implications of these developments, it is crucial to rethink their origins in the so-called early modern period. The institute will revisit the 1400-1800 period through the lens of cultural exchange, human interaction, and the movement of people and objects. It will do so by bringing together the experiences of European as well as non-European societies.