Caveat 1: Incompleteness of Content.
A caveat is a word of caution, and caveats are in order for the reader of this course material. Because this course is high-level and covers epochs of human experience, it cannot cover even a portion of important events during those time. These means that key points in history will be missed. For example, gender as now seen from a LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer, Intersex) perspective will have to be seen from the distance of the present on the past, where views have changed markedly over time. This is also difficult for humans who are multi-racial and/or multi-ethnic, a movement that has only just begun to gain scientific attention. You will have to do additional research in these areas on your own to fill in those gaps. This course, however, will give you a framework within which to do so.
Tobacco farming in Virginia, circa 1650.
Is there value in covering about 2,500 years of history in one short course? The answer poised here is YES. It is only by having this overarching view that you can begin to see the fuller arc of history. One goal that I hope you reach through the many different small points of history presented here is to become more cognizant of the freedoms we have to express our identities in the late 20th and 21st centuries. It is important to recognize how fragile our freedoms are, and how easily overwhelmed they might be by the strong resistance to change from those who would cling to the past. If there is one message to take away from this course, it would be that message.
Caveat 3: This Course Is Not Value-Free.
As stated above, a value of this course is that you come to see clearly from a historical perspective that our current freedoms of expression have been hard fought and are not guaranteed in the future. If you value your freedom to declare who you are, then please be motivated to protect those rights when challenged, as they are now being challenged, and will continue to be challenged. This rapid survey of Western history gives us a taste of different epochs and of what life is like when basic freedoms are curtailed.
Caveat 4: Recognizing Presentism.
Presentism is a predisposition to view all historical events through the lens of present-day standards. For example, it is so easy to want to apply today’s standards to practices in the past that are abhorrent to us. This struggle occurs with even seasoned scholars of history. Therefore, we are all guilty of some form of Presentism. We will interpret events in terms of our own current beliefs. Our only defense against the problems of Presentism is that we are aware that it is happening and think explicitly about how it informs our understanding. We can ask ourselves as we read if we are superimposing our own values, experiences, and perspectives on the material. Part of being aware of Presentism is to be as fully aware as you can be of WHO YOU ARE.
A mural by Carl Morris showing agriculture workers; painted in 1942 and installed in 1943.
Identifying yourself in present space and time at the beginning of the course helps you distinguish yourself from people in past times and places. Self-awareness may seem like a weak defense against misunderstanding past circumstances—but it is the best defense we have here. Please make the best use of your knowledge of yourself in your understanding of others, as you distinguish yourself from others in historical contexts.
Caveat 5: Divisions of Eras Are Necessarily Arbitrary.
In a course like this, it is necessary to create large “chunks” for placement of key concepts. Realize that cultural phenomena do not change just as a new century begins. Lives of key people cross century boundaries, as do concepts, institutions, ways of knowing, and ways of being.
Caveat 6: Use of Anachronisms to Facilitate Understanding.
Terms will be used in this course to designate concepts and places that would not have been used in the age that is being discussed. For example, the term scientist was not invented to designate scientists until the 1840s (Rentoul, 2014), but it is useful to refer to the changes in Natural Philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries as a shift toward scientific thinking. Europe is used as a designation for, well, Europe before the idea of Europe was conceived. Terms such as the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages were certainly not used by people living in those times. Where possible, attempts will be made to indicate when these modern terms are being imposed on a time when such terms did not exist. Being aware of the use of these terms informs us that even the concept of Western Civilization is imposing the present way of thinking on events and movements in the past. Looking ahead, it would certainly be interesting to consider how our current cultures will be designated by future scholars.
