课程信息
Welcome to this Big History course! In this course, renowned scientists and scholars from the University of Amsterdam and beyond will take you on a journey from the Big Bang until today while addressing key questions in their fields. After completing this journey you will have developed a better understanding of how you and everything around you became the way they are today. You will also have gained an understanding of the underlying mechanisms that have helped shape the history of everything and how they wil help shape the future. Last but not least, you will have developed the skill to use this knowledge to put smaller subjects into a bigger perspective with the aid of the little big history approach, which can help you develop some new ideas on these smaller subjects.
Globe

100% 在线课程

立即开始，按照自己的计划学习。
Beginner Level

初级

Clock

完成时间大约为17 小时

建议：4 weeks of study, 3-5 hours/week
Comment Dots

English

字幕：English, Spanish
Globe

100% 在线课程

立即开始，按照自己的计划学习。
Beginner Level

初级

Clock

完成时间大约为17 小时

建议：4 weeks of study, 3-5 hours/week
Comment Dots

English

字幕：English, Spanish

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

1

Section
Clock
24 minutes to complete

Introduction

...
Reading
4 videos (Total 24 min)
Video4 videos
How can we summarize 13.8 billion years in one brief course?5m
How big is big history?6m
What are little big histories?4m
Can big history reunify all our knowledge?7m
Clock
4 hours to complete

Cosmic History

...
Reading
9 videos (Total 80 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes
Video9 videos
Why do we think big history started with a Big Bang?15m
What are the elementary particles our universe is made of?9m
What are the fundamental forces that determine how our universe behaves?7m
Is our Standard Model of elementary particles and fundamental forces complete?6m
Why are massive stars so important to us?6m
How do stars die?7m
What does our cosmic neighbourhood look like?9m
Does our Solar System have a history?7m
What is underlying all of big history?9m
Reading2 readings
A tour of cosmic history10m
Little Big History Example Connections10m
Quiz1 practice exercises
Cosmic history16m

2

Section
Clock
4 hours to complete

The History of Earth and Life

...
Reading
10 videos (Total 90 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes
Video10 videos
How did life emerge on Earth?11m
How did evolution lead to the incredible diversity of life we see around us?11m
Why do species look the way they do and how are they all related?9m
How did life develop on the early Earth?5m
What happened on our planet during mass extinctions?8m
Why has our Earth cooled over the past millions of years?8m
How can understanding the evolution of the brain help us understand human history?8m
How did brain evolution lead to the development of our consciousness?9m
Can we understand the evolution of our species without the aid of sexual selection?7m
Can we develop a theory of the biosphere?9m
Reading2 readings
A tour of the history of Earth and life10m
Little Big History Example Connections10m
Quiz1 practice exercises
The history of Earth and life16m

3

Section
Clock
5 hours to complete

Human History

...
Reading
15 videos (Total 139 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes
Video15 videos
Why did people start to farm?7m
Can big history tell us something new about the emergence of agriculture?6m
What is the use of religion in the history of our species?9m
Why did states, writing and state religion emerge together?10m
How are civilizations influenced by climate change?13m
When did globalization begin and what did it mean to different people across the globe?8m
How was life in Europe affected by early globalization?7m
What made industrial production possible?9m
What are the main consequences of the Industrial Revolution?10m
What have been the consequences of the Industrial Revolution for our environment?9m
How is our international financial system developing?10m
How are financial institutions affecting society?6m
How is artificial intelligence developing?9m
How will artificial intelligence influence your future?5m
Can we construct a theory of human history?14m
Reading1 readings
A tour of human history10m
Quiz1 practice exercises
Human history16m

4

Section
Clock
2 hours to complete

Wrap up

...
Reading
2 videos (Total 14 min), 1 quiz
Video2 videos
What will the future of life, Earth and our universe look like?7m
What can big history tell us about the short term future?6m
4.6

Top Reviews

By PS•Apr 27th 2018

Its a excellent course, teachers explain many interesting things about the space, the history of the universe, our planet and the future of the space explorations.

By SC•May 21st 2017

Fantastic diversity of top teachers from so many disciplines all tied together to show the Big Picture! Thank you all!

Instructor

Avatar

Esther Quaedackers

Lecturer in Big History

About University of Amsterdam

A modern university with a rich history, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) traces its roots back to 1632, when the Golden Age school Athenaeum Illustre was established to train students in trade and philosophy. Today, with more than 30,000 students, 5,000 staff and 285 study programmes (Bachelor's and Master's), many of which are taught in English, and a budget of more than 600 million euros, it is one of the largest comprehensive universities in Europe. It is a member of the League of European Research Universities and also maintains intensive contact with other leading research universities around the world....

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