Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity

Overview

In “Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity,” you’ll explore the history of everything—from the moment the Universe grew from the size of an atom to the size of a galaxy in a fraction of a second. This course brings together various academic disciplines such as cosmology, geology, anthropology, biology, and history to weave a comprehensive narrative of our existence.

These 48 lectures by Professor David Christian of Macquarie University answer how human history is interconnected with the history of our Earth and the Universe. It offers a map of our place in space and time using insights from modern science, helping us understand our role within the cosmos.

Course Structure

• What Is Big History? (31 min)
  • Introduce the concept of Big History and its significance.

• Moving across Multiple Scales (30 min)
  • Explore the immense time spans necessary for understanding Big History.

• Simplicity and Complexity (30 min)
  • Examine the unifying theme of increasing complexity since the creation of the Universe.

• Evidence and the Nature of Science (31 min)
  • Understand the role of scientific evidence in studying our history.

• Threshold 1: Origins of Big Bang Cosmology (31 min)
  • Delve into the creation of the Universe at the moment of the Big Bang.

• How Did Everything Begin? (30 min)
  • Survey historical ideas about the creation of the Universe.

• Threshold 2: The First Stars and Galaxies (31 min)
  • Learn how gravity created the first stars and galaxies.

• Threshold 3: Making Chemical Elements (30 min)
  • Discover how stars form chemical elements fundamental to life.

• Threshold 4: The Earth and the Solar System (29 min)
  • Shift focus to the formation of our solar system and Earth.

• The Early Earth: A Short History (31 min)
  • Examine the tumultuous early history of our planet.

• Plate Tectonics and the Earth’s Geography (31 min)
  • Understand the movement of the Earth’s crust and its implications.

• Threshold 5: Life (30 min)
  • Define life and explore its adaptability over time.

• Darwin and Natural Selection (31 min)
  • Discuss Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection.

• The Evidence for Natural Selection (31 min)
  • Review evidence supporting Darwin’s theories.

• The Origins of Life (31 min)
  • Explore theories on how life emerged from non-life.

• Life on Earth: Single-Celled Organisms (29 min)
  • Learn about the first major biological transitions in Earth’s history.

• Life on Earth: Multi-Celled Organisms (31 min)
  • Trace the evolution of multi-cellular organisms.

• Hominines (30 min)
  • Investigate the evolution of modern humans from ancestral primates.

• Evidence on Hominine Evolution (31 min)
  • Understand the evidence used to construct the story of human evolution.

20. Threshold 6: What Makes Humans Different? (31 min)
    • Examine unique characteristics of humans, such as language.

• Homo sapiens: The First Humans (31 min)
  • Investigate the first members of our species and their lives.

• Paleolithic Lifeways (31 min)
  • Explore the way of life during the Paleolithic era.

• Change in the Paleolithic Era (32 min)
  • Understand significant shifts in human history during this time.

• Threshold 7: Agriculture (30 min)
  • Learn how agriculture changed human society and the environment.

• The Origins of Agriculture (30 min)
  • Analyze factors that led to the rise of agricultural practices.

26. The First Agrarian Societies (32 min)
    • Examine the development of early agricultural societies.

27. Power and Its Origins (30 min)
    • Discuss the emergence of social organizations and power structures.

• Early Power Structures (31 min)
  • Explore how societies evolved from small clans to complex states.

• From Villages to Cities (32 min)
  • Discover the evolution of urban civilization.

30. Sumer: The First Agrarian Civilization (33 min)
    • Delve into the achievements of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia.

• Agrarian Civilizations in Other Regions (31 min)
  • Examine other early agrarian civilizations globally.

• The World That Agrarian Civilizations Made (32 min)
  • Explore shared features of agrarian societies.

• Long Trends: Expansion and State Power (31 min)
  • Analyze the expansion of agrarian civilizations over time.

• Long Trends: Rates of Innovation (31 min)
  • Discuss how agrarian civilizations managed populations and resources.

• Long Trends: Disease and Malthusian Cycles (29 min)
  • Understand the cycles of growth and collapse in history.

36. Comparing the World Zones (31 min)
    • Question similarities and differences between world regions.

• The Americas in the Later Agrarian Era (31 min)
  • Investigate agrarian developments in the Americas.

• Threshold 8: The Modern Revolution (31 min)
  • Discuss the accelerated pace of change in human history.

• The Medieval Malthusian Cycle, 500–1350 (29 min)
  • Describe socio-economic changes during this era.

• The Early Modern Cycle, 1350–1700 (29 min)
  • Explore the connections established during the early modern period.

• Breakthrough: The Industrial Revolution (32 min)
  • Analyze the impact of the Industrial Revolution on society.

• Spread of the Industrial Revolution to 1900 (31 min)
  • Review the global transformations initiated by industrialization.

• The 20th Century (33 min)
  • Examine critical events and trends shaping the 20th century.

• The World That the Modern Revolution Made (32 min)
  • Portrait of modern society influenced by technological advancement.

• Human History and the Biosphere (32 min)
  • Reflect on human impact on the environment and biosphere.

46. The Next 100 Years (31 min)
    • Speculate on future historical trends and developments.

• The Next Millennium and the Remote Future (30 min)
  • Theorize about future life and the ultimate fate of the Universe.

• Big History: Humans in the Cosmos (31 min)
  • Conclude by pondering humanity’s place in the Universe.