Narratives

Globalization involves movement—of people, goods, cultures, etc. One of the challenges of analyzing and displaying this phenomenon is that static images and text fail to convey the historical complexities and geographical patterns. In this section, we use different forms of animation to represent movements across time and space.

We plan to include narratives of many forms of human contact and exchange as detailed below. Please select one from the following pull-down list.

Migrations

The first step of human history involves globalization. The peopling of the planet was the first great “historical” act of our species. We are all children of the same ancestors.

In the Migration section, we track the peopling of the planet across 100 millennia as well as the very real familial ties that bind us together.

Empires

The second set of narratives focuses on Empires. We follow Alexander the Great’s incredible conquest of Egypt and the Near East. In this early case of globalization, commercial and cultural links were forged with military might.

We then examine how the Byzantine Empire dominated the same part of the world and how its influence was curtailed prior to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

We also explore the expansion of the Goths in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.