This innovative textbook demystifies the subject of world history through a diverse range of case studies. Each chapter looks at an event, person, or place commonly included in comprehensive textbooks, from prehistory to the present and from across the globe – from the Kennewick Man to gladiators and modern-day soccer and globalization – and digs deeper, examining why historians disagree on the subject and why their debates remain relevant today. By taking the approach of 'unwrapping the textbook,' David Eaton reveals how historians think, making it clear that the past is not nearly as tidy as most textbooks suggest. Provocative questions like whether ancient Greece was shaped by contact with Egypt provide an entry point into how history professors may sharply disagree on even basic narratives, and how historical interpretations can be influenced by contemporary concerns. By illuminating these historiographical debates, and linking them to key skills required by historians, World History through Case Studies shows how the study of history is relevant to a new generation of students and teachers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part 1 – Prehistory to 600 BCE 1. Urge Overkill: Kennewick Man and the Settling of the Americas 2. Horsing Around: The Domestication of Mammals 3. #AncientEgyptMatters: The Black Athena Debate Part 2 – The Age of Empires, 600 BCE – 600 CE 4. Stretching the Past: A History of Yoga 5. Whose Key to China? Confucius in History 6. Making Waves: The Bantu Migrations across Central Africa 7. Bread and Circuses: Sport and Society in Imperial Rome Part 3 – Cross-Cultural Interactions, 600 – 1450 CE 8. Veiled Meanings: Islam and Gender 9. Going Berserk: The Vikings and Violence 10. Cosmopolitan Culture: Life along the Swahili Coast 11. This Island Earth: Environmental Change on Easter Island Part 4 – The Origins of Global Interdependence, 1450 – 1750 CE 12. Supreme Sacrifice: Assessing Aztec Religion 13. Orunmila Saves: Polytheism and World Religions 14. Heavy Metals: Silver and the World Economy 15. “We'll Always Have Paris”: The Origins of Modernity Part 5 – Accelerating Global Integration, 1750 – 1900 16. Germ Warfare: Disease and the Age of Revolutions 17. Tokyo Drift: Japan and the Industrial Revolution 18. Light and Shade: Studying Colonialism in the Dutch East Indies Part 6 – The Modern World, 1900 – Present 19. Open Wounds: The Horrors of the Second World War 20. Global Goals: Soccer and Globalization Conclusion Index