David Christian (historian)
David Gilbert Christian (born June 30, 1946), a historian and scholar of Russian history, has become notable for teaching and promoting the emerging discipline of Big History. In 1989 he began teaching the first course on the topic, examining history from the Big Bang to the present using a multidisciplinary approach with the assistance of scholars in diverse specializations from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Big History frames human history in terms of cosmic, geological, and biological history. Christian is credited with coining the term Big History and he serves as president of the International Big History Association. Christian's best-selling Teaching Company course entitled Big History caught the attention of philanthropist Bill Gates, who is funding Christian's efforts to develop a program to bring the course to secondary-school students worldwide.
David Christian | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Gilbert Christian December 8, 1946 New York, N.Y. USA |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Awards | World History Association Book Prize Maps of Time (2005) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Oxford University B.A., D. Phil (1974) University of Western Ontario M.A. |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Influences | William H. McNeill |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
| Sub-discipline | Big History History of Russia |
| Institutions | Macquarie University in Sydney San Diego State University |
| Notable works | Maps of Time |
| Notable ideas | Pioneering the field of Big History |
| Website | https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/david-christian |