Welcome to “Change and Progress” a history of the modern world from approximately 1600 to the present. This is a survey course which means it covers a long period of time and a vast geographical area. However, the goal of the course is simple–help you better understand the world you live in today. In order to do this the course is selective in the topics it covers.  It focuses on the “building blocks” of the modern world. In other words, what were those key events, changes, developments, shifts in thought, etc. that gives us the world we live in today. You will notice that the topics included in this text are selective with this goal in mind. The goal is to provide the reader with a depth of understanding of key components of modernity.