World history

World history or global history (not to be confused with diplomatic, transnational or international history) is a field of historical study that emerged centuries ago, with leaders such as Voltaire, Hegel, Karl Marx and Arnold J. Toynbee. The field became much more active in terms of university teaching, text books, scholarly journals, and academic associations in the late 20th century. It examines history from a global perspective. It is not to be confused with comparative history, which, like world history, deals with the history of multiple cultures and nations, but does not do so on a global scale. World history looks for common patterns that emerge across all cultures. World historians use a thematic approach, with two major focal points: integration (how processes of world history have drawn people of the world together) and difference (how patterns of world history reveal the diversity of the human experiences). World history or global history (not to be confused with diplomatic, transnational or international history) is a field of historical study that emerged centuries ago, with leaders such as Voltaire, Hegel, Karl Marx and Arnold J. Toynbee. The field became much more active in terms of university teaching, text books, scholarly journals, and academic associations in the late 20th century. It examines history from a global perspective. It is not to be confused with comparative history, which, like world history, deals with the history of multiple cultures and nations, but does not do so on a global scale. World history looks for common patterns that emerge across all cultures. World historians use a thematic approach, with two major focal points: integration (how processes of world history have drawn people of the world together) and difference (how patterns of world history reveal the diversity of the human experiences). Jerry H. Bentley has observed that 'the term world history has never been a clear signifier with a stable referent', and that usage of the term overlaps with universal history, comparative history, global history, big history, macro history, and transnational history, amongst others. The advent of world history as a distinct academic field of study can be traced to the 1960s, but the pace quickened in the 1980s. A key step was the creation of the World History Association and graduate programs at a handful of universities. Over the next decades scholarly publications, professional and academic organizations, and graduate programs in World History proliferated. World History has often displaced Western Civilization in the required curriculum of American high schools and universities, and is supported by new textbooks with a world history approach.