Disciplines
By using multiple disciplines to study the past, we knock down the dividing walls between thinkers, allowing students to glean insights from not only traditional historical writing but also the social sciences, STEM, and the humanities. These materials provide examples of interdisciplinary history, and model how students can approach their own questions.
Featured Materials
Disciplines – Who Knows What?
Opener
Disciplines – Who Knows What?
Different people never see the same thing in the same way. Often, even when they disagree about a lot, it's just because they have different interests. This short activity provides an example of how different disciplines focus on different things.
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Activity
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Something big has just happened. You have been tasked to assemble a panel of experts to look into it. Whom do you call and why?
Disciplines – What Do You Know, What Do You Ask?
Activity
Disciplines – What Do You Know, What Do You Ask?
Something big has just happened. You have been tasked to assemble a panel of experts to look into it. Whom do you call, and why?
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Activity
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Something big has just happened. You've been tasked to assemble a panel of experts to look into it. Whom do you call, and why?
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Activity
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Something big has just happened. You have been tasked to assemble a panel of experts to look into it. Who do you call, and why?
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Activity
Disciplines – What Do You Know? What Do You Ask?
Something big has just happened. You have been tasked to assemble a panel of experts to look into it. Whom do you call, and why?
Disciplines – What Do You Know, What Do You Ask?
Closer
Disciplines – What Do You Know, What Do You Ask?
Something big has just happened. You have been tasked to assemble a panel of experts to look into it. Who do you call, and why?
Explore the lesson plan
Lesson 2.2
What Are Disciplines?
No single area of study—or discipline—can cover all there is to know about the history of the Universe. We need the knowledge of a long list of experts: cosmologists, historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, astronomers...and many more.
View Lesson
Teaching This Skill
Disciplines Cards
Develop deeper understanding of the disciplines that contribute to our knowledge.
Disciplines Chart
The who, what, and why of some of the disciplines that engage with Big History questions.
Blank Disciplines Cards
Conduct research to learn about different disciplines.