Teaching Thematically

Themes in the Global History Curriculum

I. Challenges and Dilemmas

-       low conceptual knowledge

-       lack of historical context – how to frame impact of an event?

-       difficulty of sewing together a larger narrative with cause and effect

-       getting to present and current events

-       covering multiple perspectives

II. How to create themes in a Global/World History Class

-       class you’ve never been in

-       Used to be Western Civ and European studies

-       Lack of interaction between different parts of the world

-       Chronologically, problem based, region based, and theme based curriculum

-       Teleological framework that presumes progress

-       What is the “modern world”?

-       Regional Studies…allows for little comparison between regions

-       Cross cultural exchanges – goods, diseases, ideas etc

-       Look at broader regions

III. Units – What thematic design allows

-       unit on religion

-       common vocabulary throughout a vocabulary

-       allows for comparison

-       allows for global history as a cross cultural phenomenon

-       present to past back to present

-       downsides: chronological gaps, tunnel vision, limits to broad historical narrative

IV. Religion  - Semester One

-       begin with the present

-       what defines a universal religion?

-       How did the start?

-       How did they spread

-       Faiths and empires and power

-       End with a Model UN: www.beaconschool.org/~Bfaithfu 

V. Globalization and Trade

 - Assessment by evaluating Jared Diamond and Linda Schaefer

 - Maps, statistics and Jeffrey Sachs

 EQ: 

What makes trade fair?

What is the connection between wealth and power?

How and why have people, goods, resources moved around the world?

Why are some countries rich and others poor?

What have been the effects of trade and cultural diffusion?

 Resources:

1.    Origins of the Modern World: Marks

2.   Cross Cultural Trade in World History: Curtin

3.   World History: Stearns

4.   Universal Religions in World History: Johnson and Johnson

Questions: How do you leave time to work on writing and skills?

 Small group activity – 

Migration

 - internal vs. external

Revolution

 - political vs.  economic vs. technological

Diseases

-       case studies – bubonic plague, aids

-       How do diseases move and shift over time?

-       How different people approach disease?

-       Eradicate disease concept as it influences Eugenics (Foucault)

Industrial Revolution

-       China – Last train home

-       England…

-       BRIC and MINTS