The aim of this course is to enable students to evaluate the history of civilization from the Roman Empire to the present day through its cultural, social, and economic dimensions. Within the scope of the course, students are expected to analyze the transformation of systems of production, the formation of social classes, the dynamics of urbanization, and the changes in artistic and architectural traditions throughout the historical processes extending from the Middle Ages to the modern world. Furthermore, the course aims to develop students’ ability to interpret the transformation of civilizations from an interdisciplinary and critical perspective by examining the effects of major historical turning points such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, modernization, globalization, and digitalization on social life and cultural production.

This course examines the history of civilization from the Roman Empire to the contemporary world through its cultural, social, and economic dimensions, covering the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the early modern era, the Industrial Revolution, processes of modernization, and the contemporary age. Within the scope of the course, the transformation of civilizations will be approached not primarily through political history, but through art, architecture, everyday life, systems of production, social classes, urbanization, and forms of cultural representation. Following an examination of the urban model, legal tradition, engineering achievements, and architectural legacy of the Roman Empire, the course will address the emergence of the feudal order in Europe and the Mediterranean world, the class structure of medieval society, the influence of religious institutions on social life, and the development of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Subsequently, within the context of the Renaissance and the Reformation, the rise of humanism, the emergence of scientific thought, transformations in artistic production, and the development of early capitalist relations of production will be discussed. The course will also evaluate the impact of geographical discoveries on the world economy, the processes of colonial expansion, the growth of trade networks, and the transformations in systems of production brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The expansion of industrial cities, the emergence of the working class, modern social structures, the rise of nation-states, and modern architectural movements will constitute major themes of the course. Finally, the effects of wars, technological transformations, globalization, consumer culture, and digitalization on social life, urban culture, art, and architecture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries will be examined. In this way, the course aims to enable students to evaluate the transformation of civilizations throughout history from a holistic perspective grounded in cultural production, social change, and economic relations.