It’s possible that we are in a new era—the Anthropocene. Although the Anthropocene has brought increases in quality of life (for most of the world), innovation, and collective learning, it has also brought climate change and other problems that greatly impact the Earth. Will we survive the Anthropocene?

Crash Course Big History Episode #9. The Anthropocene is an unofficial geological era that addresses the past century. In history, we often look at what’s happened in the distant past, but we also have to understand our recent past and how that impacts where we are right now. This video will help you think about the current world and what we might expect out of the future.

Preview

In this video, John and Hank Greene talk about the Anthropocene, an unofficial geological era in which humans have a massive impact over the biosphere. The underlying idea of the Anthropocene is that due to the increase of collective learning, there has been an enormous increase in complexity, making the last century substantially different from those before.

Key Ideas—Factual

Think about the following questions as you watch the video:

1. What does it mean to say that collective learning has grown exponentially?
2. What were some of the reasons so many people died in the twentieth century?
3. How is the distribution of wealth today different from the distribution of wealth during the agrarian era? How is being in the top 10 to 20 percent different than it used to be?
4. What are some of the positive things about the Anthropocene, and what are some of the negatives?
5. What are some of the possible scenarios for the future?
6. What are some of the dangers of the twenty-first century?

Thinking Conceptually

Do you think that the Anthropocene should be an official era in our history? Is it possible to name an era or really know what’s happening when we’re right in the middle of it?

This repeated activity should help you become familiar with a process for understanding unfamiliar words anytime you encounter them in the course.

Take out your vocab tracker and be sure to record new and unfamiliar words on it according to your teacher’s instructions.

Whether you believe that the Earth has entered the Anthropocene epoch or not, there is no denying that the acceleration of change in the last 250 years has impacted the biosphere. Further studies of climate change, and the nature of the role of humans in climate change, will ensure that the debate about the Anthropocene will continue.

You have looked at the evidence for acceleration in the modern world, but it’s also important that you examine the consequences of acceleration to gain a full understanding of this concept. This article provides evidence as to whether or not the newly proposed epoch, the Anthropocene, should really exist. This article also gives you a chance to use your well-developed claim testing skills to determine on side of the debate you’re on.

Skimming for Gist

Some scientists believe that human impact on the biosphere has become so significant that we have entered a new geological epoch, and they propose to call it the Anthropocene.

Understanding Content

By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What does the word Anthropocene mean?
2. What evidence do these scientists cite to make the case that the Earth has entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene?
3. What is “normal” change on Earth and in the biosphere compared with “human-driven” change?

Thinking Conceptually

At the end of the third close read, you should answer the following questions: What evidence would convince you that the biosphere has entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene? What claim testers helped you determine your answers?

Africa was a land well-suited for small, closely-knit foraging communities for many thousands of years. The rise of agriculture in Egypt and West Africa created many states that competed for land and resources. These states expanded and prospered until 1500 when the world zones began to unite, and slavery robbed the African population of millions of potential innovators. European imperialism also swept through the continent, as European nations established colonies across the continent. As populations have rebounded and begun to explode, sub-Saharan Africa has found itself at a supreme disadvantage. The primary goals for the region must be to industrialize and lower birth rates or it will experience an extreme, social catastrophe.

This reading will help you gain an understanding of population growth trends in sub-Saharan Africa and what lies ahead for the continent and its people as they progress into the Anthropocene.

Skimming for Gist

Prior to 1500, sub-Saharan Africa was part of an exciting story that placed it at the forefront of rising complexity. As a result of the slave trade and European imperialism, it was sent into a downward spiral that severely impacted collective learning and innovation. With exploding populations, Africa is now at a crossroads between benefiting from new, potential innovators or starving due to lack of resources.

Understanding Content

By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions about Africa and the Anthropocene:

1. How did having a large population benefit agrarian societies?
2. How can population growth in Africa be a positive thing in the future, and what are some of its possible negative effects?
3. What are some goals and challenges sub-Saharan Africa needs to tackle in order to be successful in the Anthropocene?
4. Why has there been a slowdown in population growth in industrial societies?
5. How does developing an economy benefit the people in a country?
6. What is the importance of industrialization in a modern economy

Thinking Conceptually

Current estimates say that Africa might make up nearly one-third of the world’s population by 2100. Think about the meaning of the following statement from the article: “This is a lot of people—a lot of potential innovators—who can contribute to human collective learning in the next few centuries, bringing on whatever amazing transformations still await us. Conversely, if sub-Saharan Africa should sink into population crisis or economic disaster, the shock waves of such a catastrophe in such a large share of the world’s population would be felt around the globe.”

Be prepared to discuss your thoughts with the class.

Indigenous Americans began cultivating maize in Mesoamerica about 10,000 years ago. As long-distance connections intensified, maize soon spread across the Americas. As a result, humans began to rely on maize, and the crop helped increase social complexity. After 1492, European conquerors brought the crop back to Afro-Eurasia where it once again transformed human societies. Populations increased around the world as maize provided a new stable source of calories. Today, our global systems of food production have become increasingly complex. Maize is a key ingredient in this complexity, but it also shows us how fragile our global system has become.

The Big History course’s main theme is increasing complexity. By zooming in on the big history of one crop, you’ll focus on one example of this increasing complexity. This will help you make connections across units, in particular from Unit 6—Early Humans and Collective Learning to Unit 9—Acceleration. This video will also help you answer the Driving Question for this unit: To what extent has the Modern Revolution been a positive or negative force?

Preview

As a reminder, open and skim the transcript, and read the questions before you watch the video.

Key Ideas – Factual

Think about the following questions as you watch this video:

1. How has the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused food shortages in other regions of the world?
2. Where and when did humans begin cultivating maize?
3. How did maize transform societies in both the Americas and Afro-Eurasia?
4. How has maize become an essential crop in our world, today?
5. How might maize/corn help sustain food production in our era of climate change?
6. What does Michael Blake mean when he says, “Humans grow maize and maize grows humans”?

Thinking Conceptually

1. How can we test Alfred Crosby’s claim that the cultivation of maize in West and Central Africa helped to fuel the transatlantic slave trade?
2. How does the history of maize help you understand both the increasing complexity and fragility from Unit 6 to Unit 9?

Rapid population growth is one of the key features of the modern world and provides key evidence for the idea of acceleration. In this activity, you will study and analyze the nature and patterns of human population growth over the last 10,000 years. This will help you understand the differences between population growth before and after the Modern Revolution.

Carefully study the population chart on the Graphing Population Growth Worksheet and answer as many of the questions as you can. After a few minutes, share your progress with a few other students. Finish up the worksheets as a group, and be prepared to share your answers with the class.

1. How would you describe human population growth in the first 5,000 years represented in the graph?
2. How would you describe human population growth in the next 5,000 years represented in the graph?
3. What are two periods in the last 5,000 years where population rises and then drops or levels off?
4. Can you think of a reason for either of these instances of population drop or leveling off?
5. When did the most dramatic rise in human population begin?
6. How does this population rise compare to earlier ones?

For this closing activity, you'll construct an essay in which you discuss what you think are the three biggest impacts of human population growth in the modern era. In looking more closely at population growth, you will deepen your understanding of the impact of acceleration. As part of this, you will think about yourselves in relation to population growth and how it may affect your future.

With your class, quickly brainstorm what you think some of the benefits and drawbacks of population growth are. The reason for doing this is that you are going to write an essay about the impacts of population growth both on the Earth and on yourself. Your essay needs to include the following:

• The three biggest impacts of population grown on the planet. These can be positive or negative. These can be ideas that were generated by the class or ones that you come up yourself.
• Research (using claim testers) to support your assertions about population growth.
• Predictions about how these impacts will affect you in the future.

As usual, you’ll be graded using the Big History Writing Rubric. Review the rubric carefully before you write your essays, and then again after you’re done to make sure you’ve met all the criteria.

Your teacher will let you know how long your paper should be as well as how many sources you need to provide (your teacher may specify that some sources must come from places other than the Big History website). Be sure to take notes on these requirements and on what the class brainstormed!