The Fate of the World: The American Revolution Beyond the British Empire

About this course:

In this course, we investigate the geopolitical forces that shaped the American Revolution and the international consequences of the US break with Britain. We discuss how the familiar story of the American Revolution—its causes, course and consequences—changes when we think about the American Revolution as part and parcel of a titanic struggle among European empires and peoples for control of a vast, resource-rich new world. In each lecture, we tackle a different group of actors—Germans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, South Asians, Prussians, etc.—and situate their experiences at the center of dramatic narratives about the loss of the British Empire’s thirteen golden geese and the birth of the United States. This course will be recorded. Enrolled students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.