This introductory survey of world history focuses on the Ancient World (to 1000 BCE), the Classical World (1000 BCE - CE 500), and the Traditional World (500-1700). Topics will include the agricultural revolution, the creation of early civilizations in the Middle East, North Africa, South and East Asia, and the Americas (the Olmec, Maya, Inca, Aztec, and Mississippian civilizations ), the formation of Greek and Roman civilizations, the origins of religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and others, the interaction among the centers of civilizations and other areas of the world, and the beginnings of Europe’s rise to a position of economic and political power. Furthermore, we will also pay attention to the ethics (i.e., values and morals) of world history that have shaped both individual and socially-held beliefs and the formal and informal systems of belief from multiple viewpoints, including historical viewpoints by marginalized groups of people such as the Aboriginal community in Australia.
We will focus our attention on the following questions during the course:

1.	Where did the first civilizations develop?
2.	How did agriculture influence the development of civilizations?
3.	What features characterized ancient Greek society?
4.	What role did trade play in the rise of large political entities?
5.	What role did the Roman Empire play in history?
6.	What are the differences and similarities among Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism?
7.	What was the dynastic cycle?   
8.	Why were the Mongols able to conquer such a vast empire?
9.	What role did women play in different societies?
10.	What are the main elements of Islamic, Indian, Chinese and other traditional civilizations?
11.	What role did the Byzantine Empire play in the history of Western Europe?
12.	What is a feudal society?
13.  What are the main prehistoric cultures of the Americas? 
14.  How did the geography and climate of the Americas affect the Native Americans? 
15.	What problems do scholars face in reconstructing the history of Native American civilizations?
16.	What were the motives for the European voyages of discovery?
17.	Why did Martin Luther break with the Roman Catholic Church?
18.	What was the importance of the African empires to world history?
19.	How did China, Japan, and Korea develop politically, economically, and culturally?