About this course
What are the causes of the vast differences in wealth between nations? Why have certain societies prospered whilst others still grapple with poverty? Will inequality between the developed and developing worlds be permanent? Addressing these questions and understanding today's global economy requires a historical perspective.
This course will begin with an introduction to Economic History as an interdisciplinary subject, and to the methods and sources economic historians use. You will then explore some of the key events of the past 500 years, including the Transatlantic slave-trade, colonialism, and the Industrial Revolution, examining their links to the phenomenon known as the 'Great Divergence', when levels of wealth in the Western world separated from everywhere else. We will then consider the more recent phenomenon of 'Convergence', and investigate why certain countries, including Japan and China, managed to catch up with their European counterparts, whilst others fell further behind. In the final part of the course you will reflect on the limits of 'Convergence', and assess whether inequality has become an immovable feature of global development. Throughout the course you will be introduced to frontline research and a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, with a particular focus on quantitative methods.
Course Convenor: Dr Nora Yitong Qiu
Nora Yitong Qiu is a historian of modern East Asia, with expertise spanning the period from 1600 to 2000. She is Assistant Professor in Modern East Asian History at University College London, where she is a permanent member of the research and teaching faculty. Her work explores the social and economic transformations of the Qing Empire, the Republic of China, and the People’s Republic of China, focusing on how power, identity, and state formation shaped interactions among diverse communities. Her research engages broader questions concerning inequality, modernization, and global development. She works across nine languages and employs both quantitative and qualitative methods.
She is a member of the European Research Council–funded Global Correspondent Banking 1870–2000 (GloCoBank) project, based at the University of Oxford. GloCoBank reconstructs the global history of banking and finance through large-scale datasets combined with archival research, offering new insights into the structure and evolution of international financial systems.
Nora’s current research spans four major areas: the material culture of Qing, Republican, and post-1949 China; legal pluralism and frontier governance in the Qing Empire; the development of East Asia’s payment systems and trading networks; and the environmental, economic, and political history of the Jiangbei region.
She received her PhD in Economic History from the London School of Economics in 2022. Before joining UCL in 2024, she taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, you will:
- Develop knowledge and understanding of Economic History as an interdisciplinary subject and its methodologies.
- Be able to demonstrate knowledge of key historical events and their role in long-term economic development.
- Be able to think critically about the sources and limits of economic growth.
Who is this course suitable for?
This course would suit students in a Humanities or Social Sciences field, especially History or Economics, but including Political Science and Sociology. This course would be especially beneficial to students aspiring to undertake graduate study in History or Economics.
Dates and availability
Available as a Residential course on the following dates:
Session 1: 29th June - 17th July 2026
Get in touch
If you have any questions, or would like to know more, please get in touch via the link below.