Kenneth R. Curtis received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in African and Comparative World History. His research focuses on colonial to postcolonial transitions in East Africa, with a particular focus on the coffee economy of Tanzania. He is Professor of History at California State University Long Beach, where he has taught world history at the introductory level, in special courses designed for future middle and high school teachers, and in graduate seminars. He has worked to advance the teaching of world history at the collegiate and secondary levels in collaboration with the World History Association, the California History/Social Science Project, and the College Board's Advanced Placement World History course.
Valerie Hansen received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. She is Stanley Woodward Professor of History at Yale University, where she teaches courses on East Asian history, especially pre-modern China and Silk Road history. Her most recent books include THE OPEN EMPIRE: A HISTORY OF CHINA TO 1600, THE SILK ROAD: A NEW HISTORY WITH DOCUMENTS and THE YEAR 1000: WHEN EXPLORERS CONNECTED THE WORLD AND GLOBALIZATION BEGAN. As co-author of VOYAGES IN WORLD HISTORY, Dr. Hansen has written this edition's Chapters 1-15.
