Comparative History of Europe

The course introduces students to the main stages of development of European civilization from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire to the beginning of the 17th century. The methodological approach of the course is based on the study of the processes that determined the course and results of the development of European civilization to the early modern times. The course will focus on a comparative analysis of political and cultural processes in Europe, the causes of the rise of European civilization, the everyday life of the medieval man and the historical changes in the economic environment. It will describe and analyze the fundamental changes in the economic, scientific, social and cultural development of European countries, the peculiarities of the ethnogenesis of the modern peoples of the continent, and the interaction with the rest of the world. Attention will be given to the European processes, such as the Renaissance, The Age of Discovery, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.