1.3 - What are Disciplines? - Island School History

Lesson Purpose

Big History is an interdisciplinary course - in other words, it looks at the history of the Universe and universal change from a number of very distinctive perspectives. Each perspective represents one or more areas of study (disciplines), and each area of study strives to answer a completely different set of questions about ourselves, our planet, and the Universe. No one discipline can know all there is to know about absolutely everything. It would be impossible to think of all the questions to ask, let alone have all the answers. The activities and videos that follow support the idea that if we look at any single object or event from the points of view of multiple areas of expertise, we can put together a rich understanding that goes far beyond a one-discipline approach.

The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To explain some of the ways in which you can draw on many different types of knowledge to ask and answer questions; 2.) To define a variety of disciplines and their chief areas of study

Activity 1 - Who Knows What?

Activity Objectives
In this activity, you will start to explore how examining the same event from different perspectives can result in drawing varied conclusions surrounding that event. This will help you understand why Big History is interdisciplinary, and how you can work to use a variety of disciplines to help you understand the Big History story.

Activity Tasks
Think about the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in New York, USA and write down your answers to the following questions:

What are the questions a historian would ask about what happened?
What would the kindergarten version of you ask about the event?
What would the fifth grade version of you ask about the event?
What would a doctor, a lawyer, a police officer, or a politician ask about this event?

Activity 2 - Are We Alone? H2

Activity Objectives
This short video takes a look at the question of why, if the Universe is so enormous, are occurrences of life on other planets proving so hard to find? This tricky question would be asked and answered quite differently by members of different disciplines or even “regular” people who simply have different interests and beliefs.

Activity Tasks

Watch the video 'Are We Alone? H2'.
Discuss - At the end of the video, Clifford Johnson suggests that the answer to the question, “Why are we alone?” is at the heart of Big History. What do you think he means? And do you agree that this is at the heart of Big History?

Activity 3 - Easter Island Mystery

Activity Objectives
In this activity you will look at a single event – the collapse of the population on Easter Island – and examine the causes of the collapse from multiple disciplines and based on multiple factors, which will help you practice how to look at phenomena from a variety of perspectives.

Activity Tasks

Look at the pictures of Easter Island on this page. In 1722, explorers happened upon this island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. When they arrived, they discovered over 800 giant statues and almost no people. This was strange, since the small number of people on the island couldn’t have built these statues—it would have taken a much larger civilization.
Discuss these questions: What kinds of events might have befallen the people of Easter Island? Could it have been disease, famine, or some other natural disaster?
Download this 'Easter Island Mystery' worksheet.
Look carefully at the first three images on the second and third page (Geographic Map, Statues and Chart)
In groups, discuss and answer these questions on the first page of your worksheet, sharing your answers with the class:
1. Describe what pattern the population graph shows for this time period.
2. Brainstorm as many explanations as you can that would explain this pattern.
Now read the 'Easter Island article'. How does this article change your perspective on what happened?
Complete the table on the last page of your Easter Island Mystery worksheet, share your answers with the class.

Activity 4 - Ways of Knowing: Introduction to Cosmology

Activity Objectives
This video provides you with a deeper understanding of what cosmology is, what cosmologists do, and what kinds of questions they ask. Gaining a better sense of the practices and goals of different disciplines helps you understand how to examine phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Activity Tasks

Watch the video on this page about Cosmologists. Cosmologists study the vast history of the Universe by using telescopes to look back in time. Light travels incredibly fast, but just the same, it takes a long time to get from the far reaches of the Universe to Earth. Looking at the stars is like looking back millions and millions of years.
Using the video, answer these questions:
1. 0:40 What is cosmology?
2. 1:45 What do cosmologists do?
3. 5:52 What are the remaining mysteries of the Universe for cosmologists?
Discuss these questions with the class:
1. What do cosmologists mean when they say they can look at and observe the history of the Universe?
2. What exactly are they looking at and how do they look at it?
3. What kinds of questions do they ask about those things?

Activity 5 - Ways of Knowing: Introduction to Astrophysics

Activity Objectives
As the last video did, this one provides you with a deeper understanding of what astrophysics is, what astrophysicists do, and what kinds of questions they ask. Gaining a better sense of the practices and goals of different disciplines helps you understand how to examine phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Activity Tasks

Watch the video on this page about astrophysicists. Creating experiments, using telescopes to look into the night sky, and puzzling over mathematical and physical theories – these are some of the things astrophysicists do to learn about the Big Bang and the Universe.
Using the video, answer these questions:
1. 0:51 What is astrophysics?
2. 1:50 What are the different types of astrophysicists and how do they inform us about the Universe?
How is astrophysics different from cosmology?

Activity 6 - What do you know? What do you ask?

Activity Objectives
This activity is a follow-up to the opening activity in which you decided what different people would ask about a significant event. Now, instead of having different versions of yourselves and other professions you’re familiar with, you’ll ask the questions from the viewpoint of the new disciplines that you've learned about in this lesson. This will help you solidify your understanding of the different kinds of questions different disciplines ask. Most important, this activity is clearly focused on helping you integrate interdisciplinary thinking. What Do You Know? What Do You Ask? is an activity that repeats throughout the course.

Activity Tasks

Download this worksheet. Write down the event we talked about at the start of the lesson: 9/11
Now complete the rest of the questions, thinking carefully about which disciplines would help you the most, what they would know and they would want to find out about 9/11.
Share your answers with the rest of the class - who did you pick and why is your team the best?

Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities

1. Einstein never received a Nobel Prize for his Theory of Relativity. But he did get one for the law of the photoelectric effect.
2. In the future, the Universe will begin to expand exponentially, doubling in size approximately every 10 billion years.
3. Different disciplines ask different questions about the scale and nature of the Universe.
4. Test your knowledge of today's lesson with the short multiple-choice quiz below:

TAKE THE QUIZ!