HIST 1101 — World History: Prehistory to Mongols
Through our shared exploration of the past, we will come to a better understanding of world history, its people, and what we could make for our futures. As students of the past, we investigate whose stories get told and whose stories have been left buried, ignored, or forgotten. Examining primary sources (things people created during their lives, for their own purposes) and secondary source claims (what “histories” say about that past) allows us to analyze how groups interacted in the past and how power affected individual lives and interactions from prehistory to the 14th Century. Individual and group analysis, and critically thinking together, gets us closer to understanding the choices, limits, and options that controlled past visions of the possible. Students will develop vital skills in source evaluation and analysis as well as how to communicate historical knowledge about current issues with clarity and nuance.