Course Reader for HIST 410
Topics in Modern European History: The Rise of the West in Global Perspective
Prepared by Jonathan Daly
Week 3: Rethinking the “Rise of the West”
Jack A. Goldstone, “Efflorescences and Economic Growth in World History: Rethinking the
‘Rise of the West’ and the Industrial Revolution.” Journal of World History 13 (2002): 323-89.
Daniel Chirot, “The Rise of the West.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 50 (April 1985):
181-95.
Week 4: Framing big questions
David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (W. W. Norton, 1998). Pp. 29-44.
Marshall G. S. Hodgson, “The Great Western Transmutation,” in Hodgson, Marshall G. S.
Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe, Islam, and World History. Edited by Edmund
Burke, III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Pp. 44-71.
Charles Issawi, “Europe, the Middle East and the Shift in Power: Reflections on a Theme by
Marshall Hodgson.” Comparative Studies in Society and History. Vol. 22 (October 1980): 487504.
Macfarlane, Alan. The Riddle of the Modern World: Of Liberty, Wealth and Equality.
Macmillan, 2000. pp. 269-94.
Week 5: Anti-Eurocentrism
Arif Dirlik, “Is There History after Eurocentrism?: Globalism, Postcolonialism, and the
Disavowal of History.” Cultural Critique, no. 42 (Spring 1999): 1-34.
John. M. Hobson, The Eastern Origins of Western Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004. Pp. 1-3, 29-
Week 6: Science and Technology
Toby E. Huff, The Rise of Early modern Science: Islam, China, and the West (Cambridge U.
Press, 1993), pp. 1-7, 116-18, 141-48, 161-69, 314-20.
David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (W. W. Norton, 1998). Pp. 45-59.
Week 7: Cultural arguments
Christopher Dawson, Religion and the Rise of Western Culture. New York: Sheed and Ward,
1950. Pp. 3-19.
George Huppert, The Style of Paris: Renaissance Origins of the French Enlightenment (Indiana
University Press, 1999). Pp. 1-20.
Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God: How monotheism led to reformations, science, witch-hunts,
and the end of slavery. Princeton University Press, 2003. Pp. 121-57.
Erik Ringmar, “Audience for a Giraffe: European Expansionism and the Quest for the Exotic,”
Journal of World History 17, no. 4 (2006): 375-97.
Week 13: Geography and demographics
Ponting, Clive. A Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great
Civilizations. Penguin Books. Pp. 120-40.
John C. Weaver, The Great Land Rush and the Making of the Modern World, 1650-1900.
Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press, 2006. Pp. 3-7, 133-77, 402-17.
George Huppert, After the Black Death, 2nd ed. (Indiana University Press, 1998). Pp. xi-xii, 11733.
Week 14: The Military and the Nation-State
Geoffrey Parker, “Europe and the wider world, 1500-1750: The Military Balance,” in The
Political Economy of Merchant Empires, ed. James D. Tracy. Cambridge University press, 1991.
Pp. 161-95.
Thomas A. Brady, Jr. “The Rise of Merchant Empires, 1400-1700: A European Counterpoint,”
in The Political Economy of Merchant Empires, ed. James D. Tracy. Cambridge University
press, 1991. Pp. 117-60.
Week 15: Comparing cultures
Marshall G. S. Hodgson, “Cultural patterning in Islamdom and the Occident,” in Hodgson,
Marshall G. S. Rethinking World History: Essays on Europe, Islam, and World History. Edited
by Edmund Burke, III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. 126-70.
Macfarlane, Alan. The making of the modern world visions from the West and East. Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, Palgrave, 2002. Pp. 187-90, 197-201, 203-4, 205-6, 218-24,
229-30, 231, 239, 267-72.
Kenneth Pomeranz, Great divergence : Europe, China, and the making of the modern world
economy. Princeton University Press, 2000. Pp. 3-27, 31-68.
P. H. H. Vries, “Are Coal and Colonies Really Crucial? Kenneth Pomeranz and the Great
Divergence,” Journal of World History 12 (2001): 407-46.
Course Reader for HIST 410
Topics in Modern European History: The Rise of the West in Global Perspective
Prepared by Jonathan Daly
Part II: Primary sources
China
1. Key Chinese Values: Confucianism, in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World
History, vol. 1 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988),
2. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World
History, vol. 1 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988),
3. The New Cosmology and Ethics of Chou Tun-yi, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds.,
Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 512-15
4. A Numerical Universe in the Philosophy of Shao Ung, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds.,
Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 515-19
5. Principle and the Philosophy of Human Nature in Ch’eng Yi, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al,
eds., Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 525-27, 531-32
6. The Synthesis of Sung Neo-Confucianism in Chu Hsi, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds.,
Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 534-38, 548-57
7. Ch’eng Hao and the Mind of Heaven and Man, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds., Sources
of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 558-63
8b. Marco Polo in China, in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 1
(New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 135-39
8. Aidan Southall, Guilds and the Chinese City, in Reilly, ed., Worlds of History: A Comparative
Reader, 2nd ed. (Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins), vol. 1
9. Map: Chinese Naval Exploration, 1405-1433, in Reilly, ed., Worlds of History: A
Comparative Reader, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins), 2-3
10. “Essay on Merchants,” in Schlesinger et al., eds., Global Passages: Sources in World
History, vol. 2 (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), 3-7
11. The Late Harvest of Confucian Scholarship, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds., Sources of
Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 582-93
12. Wang Fu-chih, “On the Inapplicability of Ancient Institutions to Modern Times” and “On the
Use of Laws,” in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds., Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia
University Press, 1960), 597-98, 604-6
13. Ku Yen-wu, Beacon of Ch’ing Scholarship, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds., Sources of
Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 607-11
14. Jesuit Commentary on Chinese Disinterest in Western Science, in Wm. Theodore de Bary et
al, eds., Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 618-19
15. Li Chih-tsao, “Preface to the True Meaning of God,” in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al, eds.,
Sources of Chinese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1960), 626-29
16. George Macartney, An Embassy to China, in Schlesinger et al., eds., Global Passages:
Sources in World History, vol. 2 (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), 13-15
17. “A letter of Lin Tse-Hsu recognizing western military superiority, 1842," in John K.
Fairbank and Ssu-yu Teng, eds., China’s response to the west: A documentary survey, 18391923 (Harvard University Press, 1954), pp. 28-30
18. “Ch’i-ying’s method for handling the barbarians, 1844," in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu
Teng, eds., China’s response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University
Press, 1954), pp. 37-42
19. “On the adoption of western knowledge,”in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu Teng, eds., China’s
response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University Press, 1954), pp.
51-52
20. “On the better control of the barbarians,” in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu Teng, eds., China’s
response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University Press, 1954), pp.
54-57
21. “Li’s recommendation of western military methods, 1863," in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu
Teng, eds., China’s response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University
Press, 1954), pp. 70-72
22. “Wo-jen’s objection to western learning, 1867," in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu Teng, eds.,
China’s response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University Press,
1954), pp. 76-77
23. “Liang Chi’i-Ch’ao on reform, 1896," in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu Teng, eds., China’s
response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University Press, 1954), pp.
154-58
24. “T’an Ssu-t’ung on the need for complete westernization,” in John K. Fairbank and Ssu-yu
Teng, eds., China’s response to the west: A documentary survey, 1839-1923 (Harvard University
Press, 1954), pp. 158-61
25. Isabella Bird, “The Yangtzee valley and beyond,” in James R. Lehning and Megan
Armstrong, eds., Europeans in the World, vol. 2 (Prentice Hall, 2002), pp. 156-62
Islamdom
26. Ibn Ishaq, Biography of Muhammad (mid-8th century), in Lim and Smith, The West in the
Wider World: Sources and Perspectives, vol. 1 (Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins), 197200
27. The Islamic Religion, in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 1
(New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 107-11
28. Religious and Political Organization in the Islamic Middle East (Al-Wawardi, d. 1058), in
Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 1 (New York: Harper and Row,
1988), 112-15
28b. Averroes (1226-1298), On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy, in James R. Lehning
and Megan Armstrong, eds., Europeans in the World, vol. 2 (Prentice Hall, 2002), 103-8
28c. Usamah Ibn-Munqidh, Memoirs (ca. 1175), in Lim and Smith, The West in the Wider
World: Sources and Perspectives, vol. 1 (Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins), 279
29. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) on Islamic culture, in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in
World History, vol. 1 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988),
30. Ibn Khaldun, A Refutation of Philosophy, from Guity Nashat Course packet.
31. Suleiman the Lawgiver and Ottoman Military Power: The report of a European Diplomat, in
Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 2 (New York: Harper and Row,
1988),
32. “Namik Kemal’s description of causes of European advance,” from Guity Nashat Course
packet, pp. 109-12
33. Jamaluddin al-Afghani (1839-1897), “Islamic reformist writings,” from Guity Nashat Course
packet, pp. 203-6
34. Jamaluddin al-Afghani (1839-1897), “Islam and the West in the 19th century,” in Peter N.
Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 2 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 7881
35. “The resurgence of Islam in the contemporary Middle East,” in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds.
Documents in World History, vol. 2 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 175-79
James R. Lehning and Megan Armstrong, eds., Europeans in the World, vol. 2 (Prentice Hall,
2002).
Europe
36. Feudal Documents (11th-13th centuries), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West:
Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 154-58
37. Ideals of Courtly Love, in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 1
(New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 179-83
38. A Contemporary Description of Twelfth-Century Clairvaux, in C. Warren Hollister, ed.,
Landmarks of the Western Heritage, vol. 1 (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1967), 338-40
39. A Christian Debate: Canon Lawyers in the Twelfth Century, in Peter N. Stearns, ed., World
History in Documents: A Comparative Reader (New York and London: New York University
Press, 1998), 106-9
40. Church (Canon) Law on Marriage, Twelfth Century, in Peter N. Stearns, ed., World History
in Documents: A Comparative Reader (New York and London: New York University Press,
1998), 137-38
41. John of Salisbury (ca. 1115-1180) on Tyranny, in C. Warren Hollister, ed., Landmarks of the
Western Heritage, vol. 1 (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1967), 343-44
42. Magna Carta (1215), in Peter N. Stearns et al., eds. Documents in World History, vol. 1 (New
York: Harper and Row, 1988), 164-68
43. Francis of Assisi, Admonitions (ca. 1220), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West:
Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 170-75
44. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica (1266-73), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the
West: Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 175-80
45. John Buridan (ca. 1296-ca. 1366), Questions on the Eight Books of the Physics of Aristotle,
in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967),
264-68
46. Catherine of Siena, Letters (1376), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West:
Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 184-88
47. Christine de Pisan, The Book of the City of Ladies (ca. 1405), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed.,
Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman,
2001), 195-200
48. Benedetto Cotrugli, On the Dignity and Office of Merchants, in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The
Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 274-75
49. Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), On the Dignity of Man, in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The
Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 302-5
50. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (1513), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West:
Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001),
51. Desiderius Erasmus, In Praise of Folly (1509), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the
West: Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001),
52. Sir Thomas More, Utopia (1516), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West: Readings
in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 233-36
53. Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (1520), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of
the West: Readings in Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 258-61
54. Bartolomé de las Casas (1474-1566), Brevissima Relacion, in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The
Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 321-26
55. Defense of Liberty against Tyrants (1579), in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The Traditions of the
Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 378-82
56. Richard Hooker, Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (1590s), in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The
Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 382-85
57. The Edict of Nantes (1598), in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed., Sources of the West: Readings in
Western Civilization, 4th ed., vol. 1 (New York: Longman, 2001), 308-9
58. The Petition of Right (1628), in C. Warren Hollister, ed., Landmarks of the Western
Heritage, 2 vols. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1967), 1:501-4
59. Sir William Harvey, On the Motions of the Heart and Blood (1628), in J. H. Hexter et al.,
eds., The Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 437-39
60. Blaise Pascal, Thoughts (1650s), in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The Traditions of the Western
World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 385-88
61. The English Bill of Rights (1689), in C. Warren Hollister, ed., Landmarks of the Western
Heritage, 2 vols. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1967), 1:527-29
62. John Locke, Second Treatise on Government (1690), in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The
Traditions of the Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 486
63. The Virginia Bill of Rights (1776), in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The Traditions of the Western
World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 524-525
64. The Declaration of Independence (1776), in J. H. Hexter et al., eds., The Traditions of the
Western World (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967), 526-29