Routledge Companion to Big History

<p><em>The Routledge Companion to Big History</em> guides readers though the variety of themes and concepts that structure contemporary scholarship in the field of big history.</p><p></p><p>The volume is divided into five parts, each representing current and evolving areas of interest to the community, including big history’s relationship to science, social science, the humanities, and the future, as well as teaching big history and ‘little big histories’. Considering an ever-expanding range of theoretical, pedagogical and research topics, the book addresses such questions as what is the relationship between big history and scientific research, how are big historians working with philosophers and religious thinkers to help construct ‘meaning’, how are leading theoreticians making sense of big history and its relationship to other creation narratives and paradigms, what is ‘little big history’, and how does big history impact on thinking about the future? The book highlights the place of big history in historiographical traditions and the ways in which it can be used in education and public discourse across disciplines and at all levels.</p><p></p><p>A timely collection with contributions from leading proponents in the field, it is the ideal guide for those wanting to engage with the theories and concepts behind big history.</p> <p><b>Introductory chapters </b></p><p></p><p>Introduction to <i>The Routledge Companion to Big History</i></p><p>Craig Benjamin, Esther Quaedackers and David Baker</p><p></p><p>1 What is big history?</p><p>David Christian</p><p>PART I</p><p></p><p>Big history and science</p><p></p><p>2 Big history and the study of time: the underlying</p><p></p><p>temporalities of big history</p><p>Barry Wood</p><p></p><p>3 Big history and astronomy – space is big: the Fermi</p><p></p><p>paradox: its relevance to big history and the human race</p><p>Jonathan Markley</p><p></p><p>4 Big history and macro-evolution: evolutionary principles</p><p></p><p>and mechanisms at biological and social phases of the</p><p></p><p>big history</p><p></p><p><em>Leonid E. Grinin, Andrey Korotayev and Alexander Markov</em></p><p>PART II</p><p></p><p>Big history, social science and the humanities</p><p></p><p>5 Big history and anthropology: our place in the</p><p></p><p>multiverse: anthropology, civilization and big history</p><p>Barry H. Rodrigue</p><p></p><p>6 Big history and archaeology: archaeology is big history</p><p>Brian Fagan</p><p></p><p>7 Big history and philosophy: philosophical foundations</p><p></p><p>of big history: why big history makes sense</p><p>Armando Menéndez Viso</p><p></p><p>8 Big history and political science: science, the deep past,</p><p></p><p>and the political</p><p>Lowell Gustafson</p><p></p><p>9 Big history and historiography: deep tides and swirling</p><p></p><p>foam: the influence of macro-historical trends on micro-historical</p><p></p><p>events</p><p>David Baker</p><p></p><p>10 Big history and critical theory: science, history and why</p><p></p><p>theory matters</p><p>David Blanks</p><p></p><p>11 Big history, morality and religion</p><p>Cynthia Stokes Brown</p><p>PART III</p><p></p><p>Little big histories</p><p></p><p>12 A case for little big histories</p><p>Esther Quaedackers</p><p></p><p>13 The little big history of the Nalón River, Asturias, Spain</p><p></p><p><em>Olga García-Moreno, Diego Álvarez-Laó, Miguel Arbizu,</em></p><p></p><p><em>Eduardo Dopico, Eva García-Vázquez, Joaquín García Sansegundo,</em></p><p></p><p><em>Montserrat Jiménez-Sánchez, Laura Miralles, Ícaro Obeso,</em></p><p></p><p><em>Ángel Rodríguez-Rey, Marco de la Rasilla Vives,</em></p><p></p><p><em>Luis Vicente Sánchez Fernández, Luis Rodríguez Terente,</em></p><p></p><p><em>Luigi Toffolatti and Pablo Turrero</em></p><p></p><p>14 Sketch of a little big history of Private E.E. Benjamin</p><p></p><p>and the Great War</p><p>Craig Benjamin</p><p>PART IV</p><p></p><p>Teaching big history</p><p></p><p>15 The <em>Big History Project</em> in Australia</p><p>Tracy Sullivan</p><p></p><p>16 Big history teaching in Korea</p><p>Seohyung Kim</p><p></p><p>17 Crossing thresholds: using big history to meet challenges</p><p></p><p>in teaching and learning in the United States</p><p>Robert B. Bain</p><p>PART V</p><p></p><p>Big history and the future</p><p></p><p>18 Big history and the future of technology</p><p>Leonid E. Grinin and Anton L. Grinin</p><p></p><p>19 Big history and the Singularity</p><p>Akop P. Nazaretyan</p><p></p><p>20 Underground metro systems: a durable geological proxy</p><p></p><p>of rapid urban population growth and energy consumption</p><p></p><p>during the Anthropocene</p><p>Mark Williams, Matt Edgeworth, Jan Zalasiewicz,</p><p></p><p>Colin N. Waters, Will Steffen, Alexander P. Wolfe,</p><p></p>