ABSTRACT
The Big Bang theory postulates that an explosion of matter and energy set off the expansion of the universe. The universe was created by this explosion, and it continues to grow. This phenomenon is called Hubble’s Expansion, named after Edwin Hubble who observed in 1929 that galaxies in the universe are moving away from us. This factual observation – that galaxies are moving – implies that the universe itself is expanding. Cosmological research aside, the concept of expansion can help us use changes at the micro-level to deduce what ‘bigger picture,’ macro-level shifts might be occurring. Approached metaphorically, expansion can refer to both geographical distances and social differences. Expansion is a conceptual model to understand how groups simultaneously reinforce differences, or move away from each other, while continuing to be connected to each other as part of an interdependent system. The distances between groups can be categorized as physical, social, psychological, political, economic, or imagined differences.
