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Book
Teaching Big History
(2014)
  • Richard B. Simon, Department of Literature and Languages, Dominican University of California
  • Mojgan Behmand, Office of Academic Affairs, Dominican University of California
  • Thomas Burke, Department of Literature and Languages, Dominican University of California
  • Esther Quaedackers, University of Amsterdam
  • Seohyung Kim
  • Kiowa Bower, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dominican University of California
  • Neal Wolfe
  • James B. Cunningham, Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dominican University of California
  • Cynthia Taylor
  • Martin Anderson
  • J. Daniel May
  • Philip Novak, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Dominican University of California
  • Debbie Daunt
  • Jaime Castner, Office of Academic Affairs, Dominican University of California
  • Ethan Annis, Archbishop Alemany Library, Domican University of California
  • Amy E. Gilbert, Archbishop Alemany Library, Domican University of California
  • Anne Reid, Archbishop Alemany Library, Domican University of California
  • Suzanne Roybal, Archbishop Alemany Library, Domican University of California
  • Alan Schut, Archbishop Alemany Library, Domican University of California
  • Cynthia Brown
  • Harlan Stelmach, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Dominican University of California
Abstract
Big History is a new field on a grand scale: it tells the story of the universe over time through a diverse range of disciplines that spans cosmology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and archaeology, thereby reconciling traditional human history with environmental geography and natural history.Weaving the myriad threads of evidence-based human knowledge into a master narrative that stretches from the beginning of the universe to the present, the Big History framework helps students make sense of their studies in all disciplines by illuminating the structures that underlie the universe and the connections among them.Teaching Big History is a powerful analytic and pedagogical resource, and serves as a comprehensive guide for teaching Big History, as well for sharing ideas about the subject and planning a curriculum around it. Readers are also given helpful advice about the administrative and organizational challenges of instituting a general education program constructed around Big History. The book includes teaching materials, examples, and detailed sample exercises.This book is also an engaging first-hand account of how a group of professors built an entire Big History general education curriculum for first-year students, demonstrating how this thoughtful integration of disciplines exemplifies liberal education at its best and illustrating how teaching and learning this incredible story can be transformative for professors and students alike.
Keywords
  • Big History,
  • Higher Education,
  • First Year Experience,
  • FYE
Publication Date
December 23, 2014
Editor
Richard B. Simon, Mojgan Behmand, and Thomas Burke
Publisher
University of California Press
ISBN
978-0520283541
Citation Information
Richard B. Simon, Mojgan Behmand, Thomas Burke, Esther Quaedackers, et al.. Teaching Big History. Oakland, CA(2014)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/mojgan_behmand/45/