We currently face unprecedented challenges on a global scale. These problems do not neatly fall into disciplines. They are complicated, complex, and connected. Join us on this epic journey of 13.8 billion years starting at the Big Bang and travelling through time all the way to the future. Discover the connections in our world, the power of collective learning, how our universe and our world has evolved from incredible simplicity to ever-increasing complexity. Experience our modern scientific origin story through Big History and discover the important links between past, current, and future events. You will find two different types of lectures. ‘Zooming In’ lectures from multiple specialists enable you to understand key concepts through the lens of different disciplines, whilst David Christian's ‘Big History Framework’ lectures provide the connective overview for a journey through eight thresholds of Big History.
Big History: Connecting Knowledge
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Big History: Connecting Knowledge
Macquarie University
教学大纲 - 您将从这门课程中学到什么
周
1Big History, Critical Thinking, & Transdisciplinarity
Welcome to Big History! This is where we use the power of a transdisciplinary perspective to explore broad trends in the grand narrative of 13.8 billion years. In this module you'll learn how Big History works, explore critical-thinking, how we know what we know, and learn about the first "3 Thresholds of Increasing Complexity", milestones around which Big History is organized, starting at the beginning of the Universe, space, time, and everything in existence.
5 个视频（共 45 分钟）, 15 个阅读材料, 2 个测验
5 个视频
ZOOMING IN: Richard Menary - What is the relationship between historical & scientific explanation?5分钟
ZOOMING IN: Jenny Duke-Yonge - How do we decide what to believe?9分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Christian - How did our Universe get more complex?14分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Baker - Big History, Critical Thinking, & Transdisciplinarity6分钟
15 个阅读材料
Resources10分钟
Glossary10分钟
How This Course Works10分钟
The Big History Forums10分钟
International Undergraduate Scholarship Opportunity10分钟
The Big History Bonus Points Scheme10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD: David Baker - Starting Out10分钟
2 个练习
Big History, Critical Thinking, Transdisciplinarity14分钟
Claim Testers2分钟
周
2The Universe, Stars, and Planets
Our journey across space and time has begun. In this module, in a timeline that covers billions of years, we'll explore the origins of the universe, new stars & elements, and the solar system. You'll have the opportunity to examine cosmology, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and geology.
9 个视频（共 82 分钟）, 22 个阅读材料, 2 个测验
9 个视频
ZOOMING IN: Quentin Parker - What is the observable evidence for the Big Bang?9分钟
ZOOMING IN: Quentin Parker - How do we know how stars form?10分钟
ZOOMING IN: Ian Jamie - Where did the elements come from?6分钟
ZOOMING IN: Ian Jamie - What is the periodic table?9分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Christian - Why is Threshold 4 significant?8分钟
ZOOMING IN: Craig O'Neill - How did the solar system form?17分钟
ZOOMING IN: Dick Flood - What is our Earth's history and how do we know it?13分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Baker - The Universe, Stars, & Planets4分钟
22 个阅读材料
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD: David Baker - From the Inanimate Universe to Life10分钟
2 个练习
The Universe, Stars, and Planets24分钟
Claim Testers2分钟
周
3The Evolutionary Epic
Travel through the evolutionary epic from the origin of life c.3.8 billion years ago, the evolution of complex forms after c.550 million years ago, to the evolution of some very odd primates - humans. Zoom in and explore evolutionary biology, geology, palaeontology, and anthropology.
8 个视频（共 72 分钟）, 21 个阅读材料, 2 个测验
8 个视频
ZOOMING IN: Michael Gillings - Where did life come from?7分钟
ZOOMING IN: Simon George - How do we get dates for Earth's history?13分钟
ZOOMING IN: Michael Gillings - How does evolution work?9分钟
ZOOMING IN: Glenn Brock - How do palaeontologists study the history of life?10分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Christian - Why is Threshold 6 important?8分钟
ZOOMING IN: Greg Downey - Why did our ancestors evolve such unusual abilities?11分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Baker - The Evolutionary Epic2分钟
21 个阅读材料
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD: David Baker - The "Two Cultures" Meet10分钟
2 个练习
The Evolutionary Epic30分钟
Claim Testers2分钟
周
4Human History
After billions of years of cosmic evolution, our own rather peculiar species has emerged to cultivate even greater heights of increasing complexity. In this module, we will explore the long trend of human development from the origin of our species c.200,000 years ago to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. You will explore archaeology, paleography, and ancient, medieval, and early modern history.
7 个视频（共 61 分钟）, 15 个阅读材料, 2 个测验
7 个视频
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Christian - Why is Threshold 7 important?11分钟
ZOOMING IN: Susanne Binder - Where did writing come from?9分钟
CASE STUDY: Susanne Binder - Reading Hieroglyphs3分钟
ZOOMING IN: Peter Edwell - What were the Silk Roads?12分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Christian - What were the main changes in agrarian civilizations?11分钟
BIG HISTORY FRAMEWORK: David Baker - Human History3分钟
15 个阅读材料
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Timeline10分钟
Glossary10分钟
Resources10分钟
Glossary10分钟
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD: David Baker - Collective Learning's "Snowball Effect"10分钟
2 个练习
Human History20分钟
Claim Testers2分钟
4.8
83%
热门审阅
创建者 BG•Jan 7th 2016
Finally! A creation myth based on evidence and multiple scientific disciplines for all humans is here! The time for stories based on speculation and superstition for the chosen group is finally over.
创建者 MS•Aug 1st 2017
Very informative, cross and inter-disciplinary course. Lot of effort is put into formulating and developing the course. Thanks for all the people who have contributed to run the course successfully.
讲师
David Christian
ProfessorBig History Institute
David Baker
Associate LecturerBig History Institute
关于 Macquarie University
Macquarie is a hub of inspired and unconstrained thinking. Macquarie was founded with a unique purpose: to bring minds together unhindered by tradition. Created to challenge the education establishment, Macquarie has a rich track record of innovation. Macquarie actively shapes the complex issues that define the future of humanity.
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