빅 히스토리(Big History)의 이론과 문제점 = Theories of Big History and Its Problems

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the rise of Big History and its structure and paradigm including definition, theory, approach or perspective, contents, characteristics and major problems and issues. Big History is a new field of historical study that examines history on a large scale across long time frames through a multi-disciplinary approach and gives a focus on the alteration and adaptations in the human experience. The definition of “Big History is the attempt to understand, in a unified, interdisciplinary way, the history of cosmos, earth, life, and humanity”. It arose as a distinct field in the late 1980s and is related to, but distinct from, world history, as the field examines history from the beginning of time-Big Bang to the present day. In some respects, the field is thus similar to the older universal history. Big History looks at the past on all time scales, from the Big Bang to modernity, seeking out common themes and patterns. It uses a multi-disciplinary approach from the latest findings, such as biology, astronomy, geology, climatology, prehistory, archeology, anthropology, cosmology, natural history, and population and environmental studies. Big History arose from a desire to go beyond the specialized and self-contained fields that emerged in the 20th century and grasp history as a whole, looking for common themes across the entire time scale of history. Conventionally, the study of history is typically limited to the written word and the systematic narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; yet this only encompasses the past 5,000 years or so and leaves out the vast majority of history and all events in time, in relation to humanity. The first courses in Big History were experimental ones taught in the late 1980s by David Christian at Macquarie University in Australia and by John Mears at Southern Methodist University and more recently at San Diego State University. Since in USA then, a number of other universities in the world including Ewha Women`s University in Korea have offered similar courses. An important book in Big History was published in 1996 by Fred Spier from the University of Amsterdam that was entitled, The Structure of Big History: From the Big Bang until Today, and Big History and The Future of Humanity in 2010 which offers an ambitious defense of the project and constructs a unified account of history across all time scales. One of the most famous historians in Big History is David Christian and his notable text is Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History, which explores the trajectory of history from the first micro-seconds of the Big Bang, to the creation of the solar system, to the origins of life on earth, the evolution of humans, the agricultural revolution, modernity, and the 20th century. In his book, and DVD and CD on Big History course available through The Teaching Company, Christian examines large-scale patterns and themes, and provides perspective of time scales. One of among his books, The Fleeting World: A Short History of Humanity was translated into Korean in 2009. Cynthia Brown`s Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present also was put into Korean in 2007. Currently in the process is a text book on Big History for McGraw Hill by David Christian, Cynthia Brown and Craig Benjamin. Craig Benjamin teaches a course, Big History, at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Fred Spier`s new text, Big History and the Future of Humanity, was published by Wiley-Blackwell in spring 2010. As of 2010, about 50 professors are offering as many courses in Big History around the world. There is a movement underway to make Big History the basic course for students in higher education throughout the world.