What Are Disciplines?
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / LESSON 1.4ACTIVITY WHAT ARE DISCIPLINES?1Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “What Are Disciplines?”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/PurposeExplore how looking at thesame event from the perspectives ofa variety of disciplinesgives you abetterunderstanding of the Big History story.Process1.As you review the “Disciplines” slideshow, answer the following questions:a.What is a discipline?b.If you could choose any discipline to study, what would it be and why?c.Choose one of the disciplines that’s important to Big History. What knowledge do you think this discipline contributes to Big History?d.What does it mean when we say that Big History is interdisciplinary?
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / LESSON 1.4ACTIVITY WHAT ARE DISCIPLINES?22.Read the following excerpt from the “What Is Knowledge?” article: “...for a long time, people believed that the Sun and planets orbited around the Earth. But in the early 1600s, an Italian mathematician named Galileo Galilei asked the question that challenged that belief: Does the Sun revolve around the Earth, or does the Earth revolve around the Sun?” Now,answer the questions below: a.What might a historian ask about how Galileo answered these questions about the Sun and Earth? (Take another look at the slideshow if you need a reminder of what a historian is.)b.What questions might an astronomer ask about this topic? (Take another look at the slideshow if you need a reminder of what an astronomer is.)c.What questions might a teacher ask about this topic?
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / LESSON 1.4ACTIVITY WHAT ARE DISCIPLINES?33.Now it’s time to assemble the best research team possible to understand this question: Does the Sun revolve around the Earth or does the Earth revolve around the Sun?Use the Disciplines Chartto help you assemble your team to investigate this question, and then fill out the table below with your selections.DisciplineWhat would someone from this discipline know or want to know about this question?Discipline 1:Discipline 2:Discipline 3:4.Why is your team the best for the job?