Narrative: Interpretations

The Narrative section shows a historian's interpretation on the unit theme. Students can see the authors' line of argument and use this as a basis for developing and supporting their own interpretations in the next section. Below is a brief summary, by unit, of each narrative section.

Unit 1. Migrations in world history, 1500-2000.
Introduces migration in general and migration since 1500. Argues that to make sense of the history of migration users should identify their own current interests, and explore them in their study of the past.

Unit 2. Exploration and conquest, 1400-1600
Explores the nature of encounters among peoples who have not previously known each other. Contrasts the well-traveled Indian Ocean with the newly crossed Atlantic. Traces the rise of empires led by rulers based in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Unit 3. Commerce and religion 1500-1700
Argues that small numbers of migrant merchants and missionaries, by opening pathways and beachheads, played as important a role in the history of migration as did the larger migrations that later followed in their paths.

Unit 4. Families on the move, 1550-1750
Explores the history of migration through the family. Contrasts the families created in areas where migrants were mostly male with areas where whole families migrated.

Unit 5. Carrying and borrowing culture, 1650-1750
Working from a distinction between material culture and expressive culture, this narrative focuses on the different patterns of connection and change in culture. Examples emphasize food, dress, language, and music.

Unit 6. Forced migration, 1700-1850
Describes the enslavement of Africans in the Atlantic conext of such other cases of compulsion as the migration of convicts and the enslavement of Gypsies, Russians, and Thais. The analysis explores the new systems of power and dominance created through forced migration.

Unit 7. Migration and identity, 1750-1850
Two centuries of accelerated migration left peoples around the world seeking new identities to fit with their new location. The rise of identities and classifications by race and ethnicity was one result. This unit emphasizes the importance of migration in understanding the rise of nationalism.

Unit 8. Global economy, regional migrations, 1800-1900
The industrial economy of the nineteenth century was global in its span and required new work forces in every region. This narrative traces comparisons and interactions of short-distance and long-distance migrations of workers.

Unit 9. Empire and migration, 1850-1920
The era from 1850 to 1920 saw larger migrations than ever before—movements from Europe, India, and China and within Africa and the Americas. Concurrently, industrial powers on three continents created vast new empires. This narrative considers the links between these two great historical transformations.

Unit 10. Diasporas and culture, 1880-1950
Centuries of migration created a world of many overlapping diasporas. Many people chose, however, to identify themselves in terms of nations. This narrative considers the contributions of diasporas and nations to the cosmopolitan, trans-national culture which expanded in the twentieth century.

Unit 11. Nations and Refugees, 1900-1980
Expansion of the ideas of nationhood and national purity led to expulsion of those seen as bringing impurity to the nation. As a result, the twentieth century brought a growing number of refugees. In some cases, the move to expel certain peoples from nations led to mass killings and efforts at genocide.

Unit 12. Families in cities, 1920-1990
Cities, having grown with industrialization, expanded in every region in the twentieth centuries. Families now became centered in urban rather than in rural areas, and changed their strategies and structures as a result.

Unit 13. Identities in a global age, 1970-2000
Growing connections among communities led in some cases to adoption of wider and more global identities. In other cases, it resulted in new emphasis on the differences and specificities of each community.

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