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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |34 pages
Introductory chapters
part I|72 pages
Big history and science
chapter 3|15 pages
Big History and astronomy – space is big 1
chapter 4|34 pages
Big History and macro-evolution
part II|170 pages
Big history, social science and the humanities
chapter 5|49 pages
Big history and anthropology
chapter 7|10 pages
Big history and philosophy
chapter 9|31 pages
Big History and historiography
part III|60 pages
Little big histories
part IV|58 pages
Teaching big history
chapter 17|22 pages
Crossing thresholds
part V|85 pages
Big history and the future