Debating the Industrial Revolution

Peter N. Stearns is Professor of History at George Mason University, USA. A leading expert on world history, he has authored and edited numerous acclaimed books, including The Encyclopedia of World History (2001), Globalization in World History (2009) and World Civilizations: The Global Experience (2006).

• 1. Introduction: Nature and Significance of the Debates2. Defining the Industrial Revolution3. Early Explanations4. Expanding the Analysis5. A More Global Perspective6. Conclusion: The Current Status of DebateBibliographyIndex

Intended for use in classrooms, priced reasonably, and written at a level accessible to an American college freshman, Debating the Industrial Revolution by Peter Stearns serves both process- and content-related purposes. Each chapter addresses major “debates” about industrialization—the role of natural resources, for instance, or of proto-industrialization, or of individuals in helping to advance social and economic transformation. Simultaneously, Stearns introduces such basic elements of historical process as determining the difference between correlation and causation, understanding quantitative versus qualitative arguments, and attempting to recognize that historians’ biases may influence their ability to fairly consider interpretive questions.