This book offers a range of documents to illustrate characteristic features of key civilizations during major stages of world history - from the beginnings of written records to the start of the modern age around 1500 C.E. - including contrasts and comparisons among major societies. Revised and updated with fourteen new documents and four new visual sources, the fifth edition of Documents in World History retains its global emphasis while improving its standard selections and political coverage, as well as expanding its coverage of Africa and the Middle East, including Persia.
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.