This is the first part of a two-year Regents-level honors course that begins with an examination of the creation of the world, humanity, and civilizations.  Throughout our studies, we will learn to understand the importance of geography, economics, and political science in the development of civilizations, and we will examine, as historians and as historical characters, how these civilizations grew into greatness, interacted with one another, and declined into decay.  Perhaps most importantly, considering contemporary international tragedies, we will explore the major religions of the past and of the present to understand better their connections, their differences, and their impacts on individuals, nations, and the world. Finally, we will follow the exploration and colonization of “new worlds,” and we will uncover the scientific and philosophical roots of revolution that pushed the world into modernity.  In the end, our studies will take us many places.  We will have traveled from the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia to the Yellow River of China.  We will have witnessed the feudal society of Japan and the caste system of India.  We will have experienced the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of the wealthy kingdom of Mali.  We will have observed the influence of polytheism and the consequences of Protestantism.  We will have viewed the Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages and the pyramids of Egypt.  We will have participated in the democracies of ancient Greece and the absolute monarchies of seventeenth century Europe.  Simply stated, we will have experienced world history, learning from the past, understanding the present, and preparing for the future.