Syllabus
- Introduction: Globalization and the Paradox of Prosperity and Freedom
- Rights and Revolution
- Industrialization and Imperialism
- World Wars
- Cold War Division and Decolonization
- Human Rights and Rules-Based Order under American Dominance
- The World We Inhabit
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The creation of the modern world is a paradox. The modern emergence of human rights, national sovereignty and nations committed to equality and democracy has advanced in tandem with new systems of subjugation, hierarchy and warfare. Resistance to oppression has, at times, devolved into dictatorship and totalitarianism. The modern era has produced global movements for human rights intervention and post-conflict justice regimes to address attempts at annihilation of ethnic and religious minorities—and has met those challenges at times with success, and other times with failure. From the advent of human rights during the Enlightenment, across waves of revolution, the present era is marked by immense suffering, a climate crisis, and democratic erosion, and simultaneously with unparalleled prosperity, development and global activism for freedom. Has the modern era diminished suffering where people live healthier, more equitable and longer lives? Is this true only for some?
We’ll work as historians and approach global stories through four primary lenses (or strands):
Our examination of the past and present will rely on a diversity of voices from across the world by reviewing important events of the modern era (mid-1700’s to the present day) from different perspectives: Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Along the way, we’ll give special attention to the role that women play in making change and resisting the constraints of gender. Despite the modern ascendancy of Europe, and the dominant legacy it leaves across the globe, we’ll consider the seismic role that Africans, Asians and Latin Americans play in writing the global narrative, especially the creation of a human rights and models of resistance.
This course will not prioritize dates and facts; rather the focus here is on historical thinking and understanding the power of historical representation. Towards that end, we’ll occasionally examine case studies of the contest over historical representation (ie. public monuments and national curriculum). Our focus will be on case studies that are situated in larger narratives, such as The Lancashire Cotton Famine and what that episode reveals about the relationship of commodities to justice and race, rather than cram as many events and details as possible into the syllabus. My hope is to refresh this course and periodize the past in a manner that makes sense out of the present era.
Our syllabus will provide students with opportunities to assert values and develop skills to express them. Specifically we'll focus on: writing, research, validating sources, analyzing evidence such as primary sources, argument, and citation. In the process, students will frequently work in groups and collaborate to solve problems.
Lastly this course will raise difficult questions that demand that students be prepared to trust and be open-minded. We’ll begin the year with community building exercises and build a classroom foundation to better exchange fact-based ideas about race/racism, the peril of climate change and threats to democracy. Welcome to BigHistory!
We’ll work as historians and approach global stories through four primary lenses (or strands):
- Human rights, democracy and the struggle for inclusion
- Identity (race, class, gender, nationality)
- Resources and their limits (food, disease, energy and climate change)
- Arts
Our examination of the past and present will rely on a diversity of voices from across the world by reviewing important events of the modern era (mid-1700’s to the present day) from different perspectives: Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Along the way, we’ll give special attention to the role that women play in making change and resisting the constraints of gender. Despite the modern ascendancy of Europe, and the dominant legacy it leaves across the globe, we’ll consider the seismic role that Africans, Asians and Latin Americans play in writing the global narrative, especially the creation of a human rights and models of resistance.
This course will not prioritize dates and facts; rather the focus here is on historical thinking and understanding the power of historical representation. Towards that end, we’ll occasionally examine case studies of the contest over historical representation (ie. public monuments and national curriculum). Our focus will be on case studies that are situated in larger narratives, such as The Lancashire Cotton Famine and what that episode reveals about the relationship of commodities to justice and race, rather than cram as many events and details as possible into the syllabus. My hope is to refresh this course and periodize the past in a manner that makes sense out of the present era.
Our syllabus will provide students with opportunities to assert values and develop skills to express them. Specifically we'll focus on: writing, research, validating sources, analyzing evidence such as primary sources, argument, and citation. In the process, students will frequently work in groups and collaborate to solve problems.
Lastly this course will raise difficult questions that demand that students be prepared to trust and be open-minded. We’ll begin the year with community building exercises and build a classroom foundation to better exchange fact-based ideas about race/racism, the peril of climate change and threats to democracy. Welcome to BigHistory!
My commitments
I aim to create a classroom environment where you:
- Have fun and laugh, and hear excellent music from around the world.
- Find compassion when you experience stress.
- Feel comfortable to ask questions, struggle intellectually, and keep trying when you don't yet understand (just like your teacher does).
- Are challenged to learn about really important things — Climate change, race/racism, gender and other identities, promoting democracy — and recognize that your future depends on you understanding these concerns.
- Encounter culturally diverse content, with stories of resistance from multiple continents
- Practice freedom and prepare to defend it