History 150 - Birth of Modrn Europe1300-1700

This lecture course examines the formation of European society and culture during its transition from principalities and fiefdoms to early modern states, from feudalism to capitalism, from serfdom to both free and slave labor; the course will examine too many classic terms historians have used to distinguish crucial aspects of this period: the Renaissance, world explorations, the Reformation and Counter Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the rise of absolutism and struggle for constitutionalism, the Thirty Years War, the witch-persecutions, and the birth of European overseas empires.