The historiographical approach that treats world history as a history of cross-cultural interactions — biological exchange, cultural diffusion, trade networks — rather than a parade of separate civilizations.
Against civilizational isolationism: traditional world history (Toynbee, Spengler) treated civilizations as independent organisms. Bentley and world historians: the key phenomena are interactions — the Silk Roads, biological exchange (Crosby), disease transmission, religious spread. These interactions are the causal drivers of historical change. Columbian Exchange (Crosby): Old World diseases killed ~90% of New World populations; New World crops (maize, potato) revolutionized Old World nutrition. Framework for the Journal of World History.
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