This course provides an overview of the field of comparative higher education, beginning with perspectives from the different civilizations which fostered higher learning in the pre-modern era. It considers theories from comparative education and disciplines such as history, sociology and anthropology as they apply to understanding higher education in global context. It also takes both a regional and a thematic approach in looking at higher education across different societies. Themes covered in the course include gender in higher education, curricular patterns across different societies, student issues and the relation of higher education to the state.