Introduction

The World History Center at Northeastern University came into existence in September 1994 as an informal center. It is anticipated that it will gain outside funding, and with that, formal status. The center is designed to support basic and applied research and curriculum development in world history. Its rationale is that the teaching of world history cannot advance significantly until substantial new research is conducted in history at the global level. The center has links to undergraduate and graduate teaching in history, and to interdisciplinary teaching and research at Northeastern University. Most affiliated facultyand students participate in the department's M.A. or Ph.D. programs in world history.

The terms "world history" and "global history," while they are given distinct meanings by some historians, are here taken as essentially synonymous. The scope of world history thus includes studies beyond the national level, whether they be comparative, interactive or perhaps encompassing in analysis.
Affiliated Faculty (participants are listed with their regional and topical specializations within world history):

Campbell, Ballard (United States; comparative political)
Fowler, William M., Jr. (United States; maritime and early national)
Frader, Laura Levine (modern France; labor and gender)
Gilmartin, Christina (modern China; gender and politics)
Hall, Robert (African-American and African; religion, culture)
Herman, Gerald (modern Europe; culture, technology)
Manning, Patrick (Africa and Atlantic; social, economic)
Matos-Rodríguez, Felix (Caribbean, Latin America; gender)
McShane, Clay (United States; urban, social)
Shaffer, Lynda N. (Tufts University--World; social and political)

Graduate Students (* completed program)

Ph.D. program: Pamela Brooks, Yinghong Cheng, Desirée Evans, Sarah Swedberg.
M.A. program: Celeste Bernardo,Tara Cooney, Antonietta DiMeo, Whitney Howarth, Beimei Long*, Jean-Marie Makang, Eric Rist, Dolly Wilson.

World History Seminar

The Northeastern World History Seminar meets biweekly during the academic year. These presentations by campus and visiting speakers address current research and new interpretations in world history. The six sessions for 1995-96 included Jerry Bentley (University of Hawaii, editor of the Journal of World History) and Alfred Crosby (University of Texas - Austin).

Current Research

Faculty Research: Africans in colonial and early American Louisiana (Patrick Manning and Gwendolyn Hall, supported by NEH); Survey of world history since 1700 (Patrick Manning); African population in the slave-trade era (Patrick Manning); Global patterns in traffic control (Clay McShane); National comparisons in government structure (Ballard Campbell); Gender in China (Christina Gilmartin); Cultural history of the slave trade (Robert Hall); Gender in the Caribbean (Felix Matos); World War I (Herman).

Ph.D. theses in preparation: Western intellectual responses to the Soviet Union (Yinghong Cheng); Women in civil-rights politics: Alabama and Transvaal (Pamela Brooks). M.A. theses in preparation: African-American philosophy (Jean-Marie Makang); East Indian migration to the Caribbean (Desirée Evans).

Multimedia Curriculum Development

The World History Center is launching a long-term, collaborative initiative to develop multimedia materials (CD-ROM, World Wide Web, video) in world history. Using interactive technology should enable students to grapple with the interactive concepts required for understanding global dynamics. These materials, researched and produced by Northeastern faculty members and graduate students in association with other experts, will supplement the traditional text materials, and in some cases may replace them as the center of world history courses. The themes projected for the materials include migration, technology, religion, commerce, and government.

Currently Funded Work

• Annenberg/CPB Project grant ($621,000) for "Migration in Modern World History CD-ROM" -- Patrick Manning, director. Support for production of full CD-ROM (June 1996 - December 1997).
• Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, "Mainstreaming Methodology and World History for Undergraduates in History." Editing of resulting papers for publication now in process.
• Africans in Colonial and Early American Louisiana, collaborative award to Patrick Manning and Gwendolyn Hall (Rutgers Univ.) by National Endowment for the Humanities.

During 1995-96, the World History Center entered its second year of operations with activities of Prof. Patrick Manning and three History graduate students: Whitney Howarth, Beimei Long, and Desirée Evans. Participation of additional faculty members and graduate students is noted in the concluding section below. Projects included:

1. Submission of proposal for formal recognition of the World History Center to History Department and College of Arts and Sciences (January 1996).
2. Annenberg/CPB Project grant ($73,000) for "Migration in Modern World History" -- Patrick Manning, director. Production of Web Prototype on "Migration -- the Americas, 1600-1800" (November 1995 - March 1996).
3. Annenberg/CPB Project grant ($621,000) for "Migration in Modern World History CD-ROM" -- Patrick Manning, director. Support for production of full CD-ROM (June 1996 - December 1997).
4. NEH-supported project, "Mainstreaming Methodology and World History for Undergraduates in History" -- Patrick Manning, director; Desirée Evans, administrative assistant. This project was carried out in collaboration with five Boston-area institutions of higher education.
5. New England Regional World History Association. Patrick Manning, president; Gerald Herman, vice-president; Beimei Long, secretary and newsletter editor.
6. H-WORLD, the H-NET discussion list on world history. Edited by Patrick Manning, Kenneth Pomeranz (Univ. of California -Irvine), Daniel Segal (Pitzer College), and Assistant Editor Whitney Howarth.
7. The World History of Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation, an electronic journal distributed on the World Wide Web, the Internet and in print. Edited by Patrick Manning, John Saillant (Brown University), and Anthony Henderson-Whyte (Princeton University).
8. Program Committee of the 1996 American Historical Association convension. Patrick Manning, co-chair; Harvey Green, committee member; Patrick Preston, staff assistant.