Modern Global History (MA) Program at a Glance

The Modern Global History Program is a 2-year MA program designed for an international student body. It combines the expertise of historians from two outstanding academic institutions: Jacobs University Bremen, founded in 1999 as the first private research university in Germany and attended by students from over 90 nations, and the University of Bremen, one of the country’s leading public research universities. The language of instruction is English. This is a tuition-free program.

What This Program Is About
Have you ever asked yourself …

• When did globalization begin in Asia?
• How did the sciences infl uence colonialism and how did colonialism impact on the sciences?
• What is the difference between global history and the history of globalization?
• How did migrants’ experiences in the 19th century differ from those of the 20th century?
• To what degree is Latin American history part of the history of the »West«?
• Why did communism assume different features in different parts of the world?
• How did the Cold War affect the life of a peasant in Cambodia?

Major themes of Modern Global History are values and life-worlds, conflicts and violence, knowledge and communication worldwide in the 19th and 20th centuries. While the nation state remains one of the program’s important analytical categories, the focus is on processes of intercultural contact and transnational exchange. The program has particular strengths in the modern history of South, East and Southeast Asia, North and Latin America as well as Western and Eastern Europe/Russia.

Modules
1. Topics

The module "Topics" interlinks methodological and specific regional approaches to analyze selected central problems of transnational and global history. The three courses offered combine central perspectives of cultural history approaches with an analysis of important issues of global relations. The professors choose case studies from different world regions, corresponding with their respective areas of expertise.

2. International Relations

The "International Relations" module fulfils a double function. On the one hand, it introduces students to established – as well as new – approaches to international history and international relations. Consequently, it provides the theoretical and methodological basis for the MA program. Theory-oriented course components will be complemented by empirical components, which focus on concrete examples pertaining to questions and methods of global history. Altogether four courses will be offered in this module and students will choose two of them.

3. Connected Histories

The module "Connected Histories" fulfils a double function as well. It introduces students to recent approaches of cultural, global and entangled history, transnational history as well as postcolonial studies. It also provides – together with module M2 – the theoretical and methodological basis for the MA program. Theory-oriented course components will be complemented by courses which focus on partial problems of global and entangled history. The empirical components will be related to European and non-European history. Furthermore, this module is linked with module M4, "World Regions". Altogether, three courses will be offered in this module and students will choose two of them.

4. World Regions

The module "World Regions" provides students with insights into the modern and contemporary history of major world regions (Africa, Asia, Russia/Eastern Europe, Latin America, Europe). The regional expertise of the faculty members becomes particularly relevant in this module. The seminars that students attend will provide a problem-oriented approach to important historical developments of the various world regions. Several courses will be offered in three semesters and once more, students will choose to take two of them.

5. Research

In this module, students will learn how to develop their own research and methodological competence, and will be advised and supported in the process of writing their MA thesis. Moreover, students will be familiarized with central issues of current research, and will also present concepts and their MA projects to classmates for discussion. Guest lecturers will provide insights on the most up-to-date national and international research.

For further information please see the program handbook.

Jacobs University Bremen

Prof. Dr. Satyanarayana Adapa
Visiting Professor of History

Prof. Dr. Marc Frey
Professor of History

Prof. Dr. Hans Kippenberg
Professor of Comparative Religious Studies

Prof. Dr. Nicola Spakowski
Professor of History and Chinese Studies

Prof. Dr. Rainer Tetzlaff
Professor of African and Development Studies

Prof. Dr. Corinna Unger
Professor of Modern European History

Prof. Dr. Welf Werner
Professor of International Economics

University of Bremen

Prof.em. Dr. Wolfgang Eichwede
Professor of Russian and Eastern European History

Prof. Dr. Delia González de Reufels
Professor of Latin American History

Prof. Dr. Doris Kaufmann
Professor of Modern German and European History

Prof. Dr. Bernard Zangl
Professor of International Relations

Graduates who complete the program will be in an excellent position to seek careers in (inter-) cultural management, government services, journalism, inter national agencies, museums, document centres, and business, on a national and the international level. They will also be prepared for doctoral studies in history and related fields.