History 214 - History of Global Inequality

Why are some nations so much richer and more powerful than others? This course demonstrates that global inequality is not natural; it has a history. Exploring patterns of exchange that developed among regions of the world over the past 600 years, we will ask about the role of power in the establishment of practices of production and exchange. We will explore how cross-regional productive systems benefited some participants at the expense of others. Having traced the consequences of unequal exchange over several centuries, we will ask how global trade and production would have to change for all participants to benefit equally. The course includes a community-based learning component.