Includes bibliographical references and index.

[This book] is a debate-style reader designed to introduce students to controversies in world history. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading historians and commentators on world history, reflect a variety of viewpoints and have been selected for their liveliness and substance and because of their value in a debate framework.... [It] actively develops students' critical thinking skills. --Back cover.

Pt. 1. The ancient world. Issue 1. Did homo sapiens originate in Africa? Issue 2. Was Sumerian civilization exclusively male dominated? Issue 3. Was Mesoamerica's Olmec civilization influenced by African sources? Issue 4. Does Alexander the Great deserve his reputation? Issue 5. Did Christianity liberate women? Issue 6. Were internal factors responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire? -- Pt. 2. The Medieval/Renaissance worlds. Issue 7. Did the Byzantine Empire benefit from the rule of Justinian and Theodora? Issue 8. Did environmental factors cause the collapse of Maya civilization? Issue 9. Could the Crusades be considered a Christian holy war? Issue 10. Does the modern university have its roots in the Islamic world? Issue 11. Did women benefit from the Renaissance? Issue 12. Was Zen Buddhism the primary shaper of the Samurai warrior code? -- Pt. 3. The premodern world. Issue 13. Did China's worldview cause the abrupt end of its voyages of exploration? Issue 14. Did Christopher Columbus's voyages have a positive effect on world history? Issue 15. Did Martin Luther's reforms improve the lives of European Christians? Issue 16. Were the witch-hunts in premodern Europe misogynistic? Issue 17. Was the Scientific Revolution revolutionary? Issue 18. Did the West define the modern world? Issue 19. Was gender a major issue in Queen Elizabeth I of England's reign? Issue 20. Were the Spartans fighting for a compromised view of freedom at Thermopylae?