Time Map: An Introduction to Big History

Author: Christian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The Time Map integrates natural history and human history into a grand and accessible narrative. This is a great achievement, similar to how Isaac Newton used the law of uniform motion to connect the Earth and celestial bodies in the 17th century; it is even closer to the achievement of Charles Darwin in the 19th century, who used the process of evolution to show the connection between humans and other forms of life. These books expand the geographical and temporal scope of historical research, showing that as early as 1989, when David Christian began writing textbooks, Christian spontaneously wondered, "Why can't we start from the origin of the universe?" His colleagues immediately asked him to share his ideas. Unlike other historians who limited their teaching scope to world history, Christian decided to start from the universe itself. In the year he jokingly called this research "Big History," he also hesitated, and colleagues from other departments, who were dedicated to teaching different courses in their respective fields, extended a helping hand to him.