How Big History Could Change the World for the Better
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Abstract
Big History is ideally positioned to act as a major driver of social change through the promotion of a rigorous and accessible scientific origin story. This origin story appeals to our species’ universal predilection for storytelling and unifies key scientific theories across disciplines within a single, coherent narrative. Below, I identify two interrelated problems that Big History can help combat: suboptimal cultural knowledge priorities, and scientific illiteracy. I then explore how Big History can be part of the solution, with reference to my own experience teaching Big History in Australia. I argue that if taught globally and promoted as a core part of the assumed knowledge of every culture, Big History could help facilitate a much needed shift towards a more enlightened, rational, scientifically literate, and future conscious society.
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