ABSTRACT

The Routledge Companion to Big History guides readers though the variety of themes and concepts that structure contemporary scholarship in the field of big history.

The volume is divided into five parts, each representing current and evolving areas of interest to the community, including big history’s relationship to science, social science, the humanities, and the future, as well as teaching big history and ‘little big histories’. Considering an ever-expanding range of theoretical, pedagogical and research topics, the book addresses such questions as what is the relationship between big history and scientific research, how are big historians working with philosophers and religious thinkers to help construct ‘meaning’, how are leading theoreticians making sense of big history and its relationship to other creation narratives and paradigms, what is ‘little big history’, and how does big history impact on thinking about the future? The book highlights the place of big history in historiographical traditions and the ways in which it can be used in education and public discourse across disciplines and at all levels.

A timely collection with contributions from leading proponents in the field, it is the ideal guide for those wanting to engage with the theories and concepts behind big history.

part |34 pages

Introductory chapters

chapter 1|19 pages

What is big history? 1

part I|72 pages

Big history and science

chapter 2|22 pages

Big history and the study of time

The underlying temporalities of big history

chapter 3|15 pages

Big History and astronomy – space is big 1

The Fermi paradox: its relevance to big history and the human race

chapter 4|34 pages

Big History and macro-evolution

Evolutionary principles and mechanisms at biological and social phases of the big history

part II|170 pages

Big history, social science and the humanities

chapter 5|49 pages

Big history and anthropology

Our place in the multiverse: anthropology, civilization and big history

chapter 6|14 pages

Big History and archaeology

Archaeology is big history

chapter 7|10 pages

Big history and philosophy

Philosophical foundations of big history: why big history makes sense

chapter 8|22 pages

Big history and political science

Science, the deep past, and the political

chapter 9|31 pages

Big History and historiography

Deep tides and swirling foam: the influence of macro-historical trends on micro-historical events

chapter 10|18 pages

Big history and critical theory

Science, history and why theory matters

part IV|58 pages

Teaching big history

chapter 16|11 pages

Big history teaching in Korea

chapter 17|22 pages

Crossing thresholds

Using big history to meet challenges in teaching and learning in the United States

part V|85 pages

Big history and the future

chapter 20|22 pages

Underground metro systems

A durable geological proxy of rapid urban population growth and energy consumption during the Anthropocene

chapter 21|24 pages

The coming energy transition

What comes after fossil-fueled civilization? 1