Exploration: Hist and Future

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course uses an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating the sciences and the humanities, to explore the history and future of human exploration and discovery. It begins with the most distant story we can tell of early Homo sapiens venturing out of Africa some 60,000 years ago and ends with our reach into space—speculating on the future of human discovery. What are the catalysts for human beings to leave one place for another into the unknown? Often this has come as a response to climate changes, disasters, disease, and/or changes in food sources. In other cases the movement is caused by human conflict, seeking out new wealth and trade, or the development of a new technology that reduces the risks of travel. On some occasions the impetus has been simple human curiosity. In most cases these movements have had lasting effects on human politics and culture. This course takes a global approach—in some cases literally out of this world—to study the causes and effects of these human journeys. It also looks to the future to all that has not yet been explored to answer where we might go next and what impacts this may have. Texts include scientific studies, historical narratives, and primary source documents.