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Origins the Bulletin of the International Big History Association Volume IX Issue 2 Table of Contents

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Origins The Bulletin of the International Big History Association Volume IX Issue 2 Table of Contents My Big History Origin Story ........................................................................... 12 Experience in Amsterdam Benjamin Baumann ........ 3 Applied Big History ......................................................... 14 SETI and Big History Symposium Claudio Maccone ........ 5 2020 IBHA Conference ................................................ 15 Select Biliography on SETI ............................ 10 Javier Collado-Ruano ..................................................... 16 Editor: Lowell Gustafson (Villanova University, USA) Associate Editor: Esther Quaedackers (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) Book Review Editor John Mears (Southern Methodist University, USA) Origins. ISSN 2377-7729 Thank you for your Editorial Board Mojgan Behmand (Dominican University of California, USA) membership in Craig Benjamin (Grand Valley State University, USA) Please submit articles and other material to Origins, Editor, [email protected] the IBHA. Your David Christian (Macquarie University, Australia) membership dues Javier Collado Ruano (National University of Education, Ecuador The views and opinions expressed in Origins are not necessarily those of the IBHA Board. all go towards the Seohyung Kim (Ewha Womans University, South Korea) Origins reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any material submitted for publication. adminsitration of Andrey Korotayev (Moscow State University, Russia) the association, but do not by Lucy Bennison Laffitte (North Carolina State University, USA) International Big History Association themselves cover Jonathan Markley (University of California, Fullerton, USA) Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies our costs. The only paid position is a part time Barry Rodrigue (Symbiosis International University, India) Grand Valley State University adminsitrative assistant. Other costs are for Fred Spier (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) 1 Campus Drive our website, for example. Please consider a tax Nobuo Tsujimura (Institute for Global and Cosmic Peace, Japan) Allendale MI 49401-9403 deductible (in the US) gift to our 501(C)3 and Joseph Voros (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) http://ibhanet.org/ please consider remembering the IBHA in your Sun Yue (Capital Normal University, China) 616-331-8035 will. My Big History Experience in Amsterdam by Benjamin Baumann Last year, I had the honor and privileged to study Big History for my master’s degree with my father on the drives home from hockey practice. I would often bombard him at the University of Amsterdam. It was an experience that changed my life forever, as well with questions about the universe and philosophical ideas regarding our place within it. as how I see life now. This is how I became involved with Big History, what my experiences To my disappointment, these conversations never answered the questions to my complete were, what I learned, and what I have taken from these experiences. satisfaction. Beyond existential issues that still challenge scientists and theologians, in these discussions I wrestled with mysteries of time, distance and process. The question of My journey towards the study of Big History started as a boy in the heart of America, what happened before I came to exists always stuck with me and kept me fascinated with the state of Kansas, where I remember countless nights just staring at the stars in the the universe. night sky, trying to make sense of what I was seeing and my place in this mysterious universe. I distinctly remember having conversations regarding the stars and the universe As an undergraduate I was fascinated by science, but could not find inspiration in Origins: IX 2 Table of Contents Page 3 Benjamin Baumann “My Big History Experience in Amsterdam” laboratory work. So, I turned my attention to history, where I felt at home analyzing the progression I was intrigued by the way the ancient Greeks greatly influenced the cosmographic ideas of the of thought from ancient to modern thinkers regarding the unfolding patterns that led to this moment. colonial Americas. It was incredibly rewarding research and it taught me a lot about how to be a However, my undergraduate study of history, though wonderful and incredibly impactful, was not big historian, by asking big questions and finding useful connections across timelines. Ultimately, giving me the full historical picture. Deep excursions into fascinating but disconnected topics my research attracted kind praise by big historians and ancient historians at the University of did not fully address the developmental patterns I was seeking. It is one thing to know about Amsterdam. civilizations and the history of various beliefs regarding the creation of the universe, but that did not tell me how these civilizations came about and why. In the field of history, there is a gap in When my year in Amsterdam was over, it was bitter sweet. I learned so much in that year, but overarching conceptualization, Students for example may learn all about the Roman Empire and I was also excited for my next phase of life. My dream of studying Big History had come true and how the Romans lived and even what they did, but not how the Romans came to exist and where they justified my choice. Ironically, many of those childhood questions that got me interested in the topic fit in the stream of human development. These big picture questions are often overlooked because in the first place, remain unanswered, but my appreciation for them and my fascination with our they do not fit comfortably within any of the subfields in which scholars tend to specialize. After universe has only grown. Big History has taught me so much regarding the origins of our universe, all, Big History requires unusual breadth of knowledge, as well as vivid imagination. Scholars are the rise of life, the history of humanity, and as Esther kindly pointed out one particular lecture, extremely cautious about ranging beyond familiar terrain. Therefore, when I learned of the field all the potential ways humanity could be doomed. This is always lovely to remember on a bright of Big History after a colleague of my father mentioned it, I knew I had found what I was looking sunny day, but more positive alternative futures beckon as well. Big History’s overarching theme for. I had always imagined the idea of a history telling the story of our universe from the big bang is telling a story from the Big Bang Theory to the present. This progression informs speculation to the present and Big History was doing just that. about what the future may hold, based on the main guiding principle in Big History that energy flows through matter in certain goldilocks conditions creating complexity, and when complexity Therefore, after discovering this field, I set out a journey to get involved with it. I started by increases, based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics, chaos increases as well. This is Big History sending out emails to Big Historians and the response was overwhelming. I was shocked by how at its core, but for me Big History means more. Big History for me, is embracing this mysterious welcoming and engaging everyone in the Big History community was to my questions. Somewhere existence we call life, by daring to seek answers to questions that people have never been able to down the line my name was passed on to the University of Amsterdam and my Big History journey answer and by compiling what we do know into a humbling and incredible story, which makes us would set off from there. Big Historians Esther Quaedackers and Dr. Fred Spier offered me the all feel lucky to be a part of this increasingly complex and chaotic universe. possibility of studying Big History by combining it with the field of Ancient Studies for a master’s degree, which was an offer I could not refuse. Then, by August 2017, I was in Amsterdam on a one-year journey across the world, studying Big History and from what I have been told, becoming the first ever student to do so for a master’s degree in that field. While there, I received tremendous support and instruction in the field of Big History from Esther and Fred, as well as Dr. Jan Willem van Henten from Ancient studies. All were monumental in their contributions to my academic growth. I could not have asked for a better group to work with, they truly were a dream team. At the University of Amsterdam, I split my time between ancient history courses focused around the history of astronomy in the Greco-Roman world and Big History courses. These Big History courses included an introductory survey course, where guest lecturers came in each class to lecture students about a different phase of Big History from the Big Bang to the present and future. These lecturers included astronomers, biologists, historians and more. All helping tell the story of our universe through the lens of Big History. Another course focused on what’s called a Little Big History Project, where I would choose a topic and draw connections to each phase of Big History as determined by me. My most important course, however, was my master’s thesis. Using the Big History methodology, I examined the relationship between the colonial Americans and the ancient Greek world, regarding cosmography. More specifically I examined how these people understood the universe and their place within it. Origins: IX 2 Table of Contents Page 4 International Symposium on CALL FOR PAPERS [email protected] Life in the Universe 2019 Big History, SETI and the Future of Humankind Kursaal Congress Center, Republic of San Marino (Italy) July 15-18, 2019 Viale (Blvd) John F. Kennedy, 17 47890 San Marino Republic of San Marino (RSM) Origins: IX 2 Table of Contents Page 5 Claudio Maccone Life in the Universe 2019: Big History, SETI and the Future of Humankind It is a pleasure to invite you to the first San Marino Symposium on LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE: • Big History Educational approaches for different ages and sector Big History, SETI and the Future of Humankind.
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