Globalization in World History by Stearns, Peter N. [Routledge, 2009] (Paperback) [Paperback]

by Peter N. Stearns

Globalization in World History by Stearns, Peter N. [Routledge, 2009] (Paperb...

Genres: History, World History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Peter Nathaniel Stearns is a professor at George Mason University, where he was provost from January 1, 2000 to July 2014.
Stearns was chair of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (now named Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences) at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, he founded and edited the Journal of Social History. While at Carnegie Mellon, he developed a pioneering approach to teaching World History, and has contributed to the field as well through editing, and contributing to, the Routledge series, Themes in World History. He is also known for various work on the nature and impact of the industrial revolution and for exploration of new topics, particularly in the history of emotions.
He is active in historical groups such as the American Historical Association, the Society for French Historical Studies, the Social Science History Association and the International Society for Research on Emotion.

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much has been written about globalization, but historians have only recently begun to study the phenomenon. Usually, their focus is on the question when exactly this globalization started, and whether or not this is the first time that a global network was created. Peter Stearns gives a creditable overview of the different opinions on this issue and presents his own view. Only at the end does this book water down a bit, because he wants to stay too close to current events. More in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sense of History]

Peter Stearns (George Mason University, US) ventures into a world history in this short book, packed in a good 180 pages! That's an achievement in itself, and he's doing pretty well, actually. His focus is the globalization discussion, and in particular the debate when exactly globalization started. In recent years, that boundary has been constantly shifting. Economists and others argued that the globalization we are now experiencing is so far-reaching that since about 1990 (others held it at 1970) we have entered a truly new historical period. After that, the boundary line moved further and further back in time: to 1945, then 1800 or 1750, then 1500 and, according to some, even 1200. The latter, very early date, was apparently the signal for historians to get involved in the debate.

Stearns guides us through the issue, proposing a periodization himself. According to him, the first impetus for globalization in the African and Eurasian space was noticeable from the year 1000 AD, the different networks became considerably more intertwined from about 1500 and they also shifted up gear; he then speaks of proto-globalization. An idiosyncratic, but well-reasoned choice of his is to locate the next turning point around 1850, and not – as traditionally – around 1750, at the start of the Industrial Revolution. His argument is that it was not until around 1850 that the real consequences of that revolution began to weigh on the world, especially because of the great strides that were made in transport and communication. I'm not entirely convinced, but oh well, periodization is a perennial problem, because history is, after all, a fluid stream, with very few unequivocal caesuras. The most important thing is that a reasoned assessment is made, with clear criteria. And Stearns certainly does that.

For the more recent period, the 20th and especially the 21st century, I find his exposé somewhat weaker and above all more predictable. But that does not alter the fact that his short resumé does add something to the entire globalization debate. He shows, for example, that, in addition to benefits, globalization in every phase also created new inequalities (“globalization, in all its chronological phases, has always brought problems of equity and adjustment in its wake”). And that steps in globalization on the one hand always built on foundations that had been laid in a previous period, but that there has never been or can be a necessary evolution towards complete globalization (“There are periods of relative stability punctuated by new factors that begin to accelerate change, and there are periods of at least partial retreat”). Stearn's attempt is of course only a start because of its brevity, but his approach is balanced and interesting. Historians do have a contribution to make in the debate: “The history of globalization may invite, as part of its complexity, a more nuanced view of the whole process than most globalization theories have emphasized.” Not a must-read, but a meritorious contribution.

[Jonathan van de Velde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stearns explores the proces of globalization throughout human history. Starting around 1200 BCE, he divides the history of globalization into phases of increasing globalization and transition-periods. Within each phase, he explores different aspect of globalization: technology, language, trade, migration, travel, politics and culture among others. He concludes each phase with the question: Is this phase the start of globalization?
The book gives a clear and structured overview of the history of globalization, but there are some small factual inaccuracies and sometimes the personal opinion of the author shimmers trough in the text. I have only noticed these inaccuracies and opinions in the examples used to explain different aspects of globalization so they don't weaken the main idees of the text but they can be slightly irritating.

[Thomas Hoekstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stearns creates a very densely packed overview of globalisation including every part of the world. He manages to remain very factual whilst also including his own views on the matter making for a very educational book on the matter. When studying history or geography this sure is an important piece of literature.