Atlantic World

WHAT IS THE ATLANTIC WORLD, AND WHY STUDY THE ATLANTIC WORLD AT UWG?

The world today owes much good and bad to the Atlantic World, a term the past generation of
historians developed to describe the interconnected societies and cultures around the Atlantic
Ocean from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Those years saw an unprecedented exchange of
populations, ideas, crops, diseases, raw materials, and manufactured goods. Within the last
twenty years, scholars have explored these transnational exchanges and come to argue that
neither Africa, the Americas, nor Europe can be completely understood without placing their
histories within a comparative context. This approach has become increasingly influential in the
discipline of History. With its broad-ranging faculty studying issues ranging from comparative
slavery and emancipation, to English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish colonization, to the world
of indigenous peoples, UWG's Department of History offers M.A. students a deep and textured
introduction to Atlantic World studies and its approach of studying the past from a comparative,
transnational perspective. By exploring America's long-term global connections, master's
students will gain a competitive edge when applying to Ph.D. programs and positions in
secondary education.

Participating Faculty and Fields of Expertise:

Dr. Michael de Nie (Modern Britain and Ireland; British Empire)
Dr. Charles Lipp (Early Modern Europe; French America; Atlantic World; Canadian Studies)
Dr. Aran MacKinnon (South African History; Global Studies)
Dr. Ann McCleary (Early American History; Material Culture)
Dr. Keith Pacholl (Colonial America; American Revolution)
Dr. Gary Van Valen (Latin America; Atlantic World)
Dr. Colleen Vasconcellos (Caribbean History; Slavery; Atlantic World)

Course Requirements for the Atlantic World Field:

I. Major Field: Five courses required as per the following:

1. Atlantic World Core
2. Europe/U.S. class
3. Latin American/Caribbean class
4. Africa/Slavery/Diaspora class
5. Elective in any of the above areas

II. Minor Field: Three class as per the following:

1. Atlantic World Core
2. Two classes in different geographical areas as defined for major
field above.

Contact Information:

For more information about this concentration and the Graduate Program in History, contact

Dr. Nadya Popov
Graduate Studies Coordinator
npopov@westga.edu .