World History Topics
Historical Periodization
World History course content is structured around the investigation of course themes and key concepts in six chronological periods. The six historical periods, from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present, provide a temporal framework for the course.
Historical Themes
1. Interaction between humans and the environment
Historical Periodization
World History course content is structured around the investigation of course themes and key concepts in six chronological periods. The six historical periods, from approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present, provide a temporal framework for the course.
| Period | Period Title | Date Range |
| 1 | Technological and Environmental Transformations | to c. 600 B.C.E. |
| 2 | Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies | c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E. |
| 3 | Regional and Transregional Interactions | c. 600 C.E. to c. 1450 |
| 4 | Global Interactions | c. 1450 to c. 1750 |
| 5 | Industrialization and Global Integration | c. 1750 to c. 1900 |
| 6 | Accelerating Global Change and Realignments | c. 1900 to the present |
Historical Themes
1. Interaction between humans and the environment
1. Demography and Disease2. Development and interaction of cultures
2. Migration
3. Patterns of Settlement
4. Technology
1. Religions3. State-building, expansion and conflict
2. Belief Systems, philosophies, and ideologies
3. Science and Technology
4. The arts and architecture
1. Political Structures and forms of governance4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
2. Empires
3. Nations and nationalism
4. Revolts and revolutions
5. Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations
1. Agricultural and pastoral production5. Development and transformation of social structures
2. Trade and Commerce
3. Labor Systems
4. Industrialization
5. Capitalism and socialism
1. Gender roles and relations
2. Family and kinship
3. Racial and ethnic constructions
4. Social and economic classes