This week, ending in July 13 2017:
Today's thread is for open discussion of:
History in the academy
Historiographical disputes, debates and rivalries
Implications of historical theory both abstractly and in application
Philosophy of history
And so on
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion only of matters like those above, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
How big is the "big history" movement?
As an undergrad, one of my professors started her class by having us write a one page paper explaining what history is. I wrote that it covers all events since the big bang and received a comment reflecting her training which stated that historians focus solely on past human events. Obviously she was technically and practically correct, but now as I'm reading David Christian's "Maps of Time," I see that some historians are attempting to tackle a grand narrative of the universe with humans being an end product of physical, chemical, and biological forces. How popular is this movement, and how does it shape the way methodology is taught today?