ABSTRACT
In my experience, what generally passes for a global history curriculum or textbook is actually the chronology of European history with tangents. I do not think there is any deep-seated conspiracy or racism involved in this. There are four problems inherent in the design of traditional chronologybased global history curricula. (1) It is not meaningful to talk about an integrated global history before 1492 and probably not before European imperialism and industrialization remade the world in the 19th century. (2) The chronology of events in the different regions of the world do not line up easily and the European chronology is the best documented, certainly in English. (3) Historians, college courses, and hence social studies teachers have narrow areas of specialization, usually the United States and Europe. (4) The continued study of history in the traditional way by teachers leads to curriculum calendars overburdened by information overload.
