H-World Discussion Network

	about search site map editors donate contact help

Welcome to H-World

The H-WORLD discussion list serves as a network of communication among practitioners of world history. The list gives emphasis to research, to teaching, and to the connections between research and teaching. The editors seek to facilitate not only the exchange of information and ideas, but also the formulation of debates on issues in research, teaching and conceptualization of world history that will help to define the direction and the tendencies within this growing field of study.

Because world history is a new and developing field, H-WORLD seeks to make a special effort to establish institutions and collections of resources for world history. The H-WORLD Gopher provides an archive of previous discussions, plus collections of syllabi, descriptions of academic programs, bibliographies and other resources. The H-WORLD Web page provides a review of current discussions, and provides links to other Internet resources in world history.

H-WORLD works in close association with the World History Association.

The dominant language of H-WORLD is English, but communications in other languages are welcome.

What is World History?

World history, for the purposes of H-WORLD, is defined broadly to include history beyond the national level. Thus defined, it includes comparative, interactive, transregional and planetary studies of history. It includes but is not limited to history of ancient and modern "civilizations." It includes "big history," which reaches back before human evolution, and also includes contemporary global history. World history can even be intensely local, when it focuses on global forces influencing the life of a given community, or when an individual or community is taken as a metaphor for larger issues. In any of its definitions, world history emphasizes connections among historical phenomena. Because world history is relatively new as an organized field of study, its conceptual framework and canons of presentation are in flux, so that "how to look at world history?" is as central to discussions on this list as are "what happened in world history?" and "how to teach world history?"