Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
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Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
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Narrated by:
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David Christian
About this listen
How is it possible for the disciplines of cosmology, geology, anthropology, biology, and history to fit together? These 48 lectures answer that question by weaving a single story from accounts of the past developed by a variety of scholarly disciplines. The result is a story stretching from the origins of the universe to the present day and beyond, in which human history is seen as part of the history of our Earth and biosphere, and the Earth's history, in turn, is seen as part of the history of the universe.
Like traditional creation stories told by the world's great religions and mythologies, this lecture series provides a map of our place in space and time. But it does so using the insights and knowledge of modern science, as synthesized by a renowned historian. While you may have heard parts of this story before in courses on geology, history, anthropology, biology, cosmology, and other scholarly disciplines, Professor Christian provides more than just a recap of those disciplines. "Because of the scale on which we look at the past, you should not expect to find in it many of the familiar details, names, and personalities that you'll find in other types of historical teaching and writing," he explains. "For example, the French Revolution and the Renaissance will barely get a mention. They'll zoom past in a blur. You'll barely see them. Instead, what we're going to see are some less familiar aspects of the past. We'll be looking, above all, for the very large patterns, the shape of the past.
"Prepare yourself for a journey through time and across space, from the first moments of existence to the distant reaches of the far future.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great CoursesListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 03-12-14
Drawn out in places but excellent.
There is a section in the middle that I found a little drawn out describing the emergence of human civilisations. However, I bought the series knowing that it was a big time investment and I was very satisfied overall.
The description of the big bang and star formation was particularly fascinating.
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- GKS
- 01-02-23
The chronology of everything, as a series of lectures.
As good story told by an academic about everything that ever happened. Really interesting. Well worth a listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 20-02-15
See the biggest picture!
Fascinating approach to a framework for all knowledge as history for citizens of the modern revolution of the planet Earth.
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- Booka
- 14-09-16
Excellent context to all the other Great Courses
If you could sum up Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity in three words, what would they be?
A story from the Big Bang to today in an attempt to determine the most significant trends and events during these 13.7 billion years.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I think these questions need updating by Amazon for Great Courses
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- Turquelblue
- 04-01-20
Forget the trees Look at the forests
This is my first exposure to Big History. The weaving of the strands of various academic disciplines into one constructive narrative makes such sense that I wish every school would start by teaching history this way.
Certainly every politician and leading businessman should be obliged to listen to at least the section on The Modern Era.
I highly recommend the book.
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- Anonymous User
- 26-03-15
Want to know the rules that govern the universe?
What did you like most about Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity?
This is a truly brilliant course, full of intriguing and illuminating ideas - worth every penny. Great courses are not all great! But this one is. I'd recommend it without hesitation, and I'd suggest that you listen to a sample in each case before buying. The voice matters - as you will be doing a lot of listening to the same one!
Who was your favorite character and why?
I've always been keen on history and astronomy but this has increased my enthusiasm and knowledgeability by a hundred fold.
What does Professor David Christian bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
David Christian is a first rate lecturer - clear, concise, presents information in bulletin points with a follow up explanation of each. And makes it all seem worth knowing. Catch myself saying, "oh, so that's what it is!" every lecture.
Any additional comments?
This type of learning works really well as an audio presentation. I like using my free time for listening to something with potential - have probably listened to hundreds of books that I never would have tackled on a printed sheet.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 09-07-16
a transdiciplinary approach to history
I really liked the big history course. I did not learn about any "events" but the perspective was really interesting. I think we need more of this new perspective on history. We need more history with a transdiciplinary approach that include science. We need also more history that talks about humanity as a whole and global trends rather than dividing history into different nation states.
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- Anonymous User
- 15-12-20
Excellent, just a little long in the end
Very enjoyable. The lecturer was excellent. A nice snapshot of the big events in history. Just a little long at the fibber, but otherwise it was really good
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sam Playfair
- 16-07-19
Very Good
👍🏼 A concise, zoomed out scientific, anthropological and geological history everything (including the present and future) Worth the time
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- Anonymous User
- 18-03-17
More please!
Very interesting but I still want to know what was there before the big bang. Maybe we will know in 30 years as suggested!
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