This class will trace the origins, course, and legacy of the Second World War, viewing it as a contest among empires and countries aspiring to create empires. Although military topics will be covered, this is primarily a political, economic, and international history of the Second World War. We will pay particular attention to several thematic questions. Why did Germany and Japan seek to create empires, and how did their imperial projects differ from those of Western European powers in ideology and practice? How did the war change the way people thought about questions of economics, society, and class? How did the war shape American, Soviet, and European plans for a new, postwar international order? And finally, to what extent did the war bring an end to imperialism as a form of political governance?