History Of Histories

A Survey Course idea I had, in horrified reaction to Number One Son being in an AP World History course that covers everything in 1 year through an infinite number of meaningless factoids.

The idea: each week (after an initial Macro Timeline review) cover one big/famous History Model/Narrative. That way you (a) learn multiple glosses of history based on a form of Story Telling; (b) learn the meta-lesson that every history is a Model, so Critical Thinking is necessary.

Some models/texts/videos - please make recommendations!

• Cartoon History Of The Universe (actually way too long)
• Bill Bryson: A Short History Of Nearly Everything (science-focused) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything
  • cf Powers Of Ten
• James Burke: Connections
• RossSpiralCurriculum http://spiral.rosslearningsystem.org/spiral/#/ description... RossSchool’s curriculum is based on world cultural history and the evolution of consciousness and reflects the collaborative work of its Founding Mentors the mathematician Ralph Abraham and the cultural historian WilliamIrwinThompson. Academic Programs include Arts, After School, Service Learning, Advisory, Buddies, College Counseling, Midwinter Term, Tennis Academy, Boarding, Innovation Lab@ Ross Academy, Summer Term, Field Academy, World Travel Academy. The school also offers Lifelong Learning courses for the community. (cf article about founder's move into Charter School creation)
• David Christian's Big History
• Will And Ariel Durant: The Lessons Of History (summarizing The Story Of Civilization)
• Arnold Toynbee: A Study Of History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Study_of_History#Criticism
• John Green's Crash Course - hmm is there a Narrative there?
• Jared Diamond: Guns Germs And Steel
• Robert Anton Wilson: Everything Is Under Control (Conspiracy Theory)