"World History of State and Law" Lehre@ENGAGE.EU - COIL (collaborative online international course)

I would like to invite you to join a collaborative international teaching initiative under the ENGAGE.EU framework. We are currently preparing an application for a University of Mannheim internal funding call (with a deadline of 15 June), and I am seeking interested partners from at least two ENGAGE.EU universities to co-develop and co-teach an interdisciplinary course entitled: “World History of State and Law” (Offered at the University of Mannheim) This interdisciplinary course bridges History, Politics, and Law to explore the evolution of state structures, legal systems, and societal frameworks from ancient civilizations to the modern world.

Topics include:

• Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and India

• Ancient Greece and Rome

• Feudal states (Franks, Byzantium, Arabian Caliphate, England, etc.)

• Bourgeois legal systems (Germany, France, USA, Japan)

• Contemporary comparative state and law (USA, Germany, France, England, Ukraine, China, etc.)

Pedagogical Innovation: As part of the course, I have developed a game-based learning tool titled “Handbook for Time Travelers”, a branching-scenario educational game that guides students through historical epochs. It enables learners to solve practical challenges based on historical governance and law, with the goal of transferring this knowledge to modern contexts. This model may serve as a replicable framework for gamification in interdisciplinary higher education.

Goals of the Collaboration:

• Develop and implement a COIL course or a transnational project module under ENGAGE.EU • Align course components with curricular goals of all participating institutions

• Facilitate cross-campus student collaboration and comparative case studies

• Jointly publish educational or scholarly outputs (optional)

Best regards, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Balykin, LL.M.

Research Associate | Universität Mannheim Chair of Contemporary History (Lehrstuhl für Zeitgeschichte)

E-Mail: ivan.balykin@uni-mannheim.de

Web: https://www.phil.uni-mannheim.de/zeitgeschichte/team/ivan-balykin/