9 March 2005

Volume I, Issue 7

There’s a foot of light bright snow on the ground and it’s been a happy time for skiers, and will be for us too--if we manage to figure out how to put on our new snowshoes. One of the delights of working in Great Barrington is that the countryside is literally minutes away: there’s a lake up the hill, and undulating woods and fields only half a mile from town. This issue of World History To Go focuses on belief systems and creation myths, an appropriate subject as we begin to look for signs of springtime, the renewal of life.

Beginnings

Human origins are a perennial subject of scientific—-and religious—-debate and are an important aspect of world history. Some world historians, and in particular Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History editor David Christian (professor of history at San Diego State University), go far deeper than human origins in their study of history. David, in fact, takes us back to the origins of the universe in what he calls “Big History.” (For a fascinating and readable account of the whole of history, we highly recommend his new Maps of Time.) [Photo from nasa.gov.] Perhaps because he lived in Australia for 25 years, David is eloquent on the subject of creation myths from other cultures, the stories we tell about how the universe, the world, and human life came to be. Many teachers find that talking about creation stories is a useful way to show commonality and difference between cultures.

Born to Believe?

Inside the Berkshire Encyclopedia: Related articles in the encyclopedia, written by some of the world's greatest authorities, include: "Extinctions," "Human Evolution--Overview," "Paleoanthropology," and "Universe, Origins of." And for more about beginnings, and beliefs: "Creation Myths," "Religion--Overview," Science--Overview.

It’s fascinating to consider the question of why creation is not of great concern to most Muslims, even those with fundamentalist beliefs, or to Catholics, or even to Protestant creations outside the U.S. Anthropologist David Levinson, another editor of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, has suggested that Americans’ need for certainty may be the result of our short history as a nation and people, and our social mobility.

The elusive memory of a distant and perfect place--a time before our creation—-has been the subject of poets and philosophers, and also of psychoanalyst Carl Jung. William Wordsworth’s famous poem, “Ode: Intimations of Immortality," suggests this: "O joy! that in our embers/Is something that doth live,/That nature yet remembers/What was so fugitive!"

William McNeill points out that dreams suggest other worlds and supernatural beings, while some scientists find that belief has helped humans to survive. Are we born to believe? Here’s a fascinating article about the evolutionary advantages conferred by religious belief—a conundrum if there ever was one! “Test of Faith.”

Creation painting.

Check out our World History and HCI gear for 2005!

“Patterned after Berkshire's Encyclopedia of Modern Asia and Encyclopedia of World Environmental History--- there is no Western bias; there are numerous articles on African and Asian kingdoms and biographies of world figures from ancient through modern times. Sidebars, maps, black-and-white photos, and extracts from documents and books are judiciously distributed throughout the text---this specialized encyclopedia offers a fresh approach to answering the question: How did the world get to be the way it is? It is recommended for publi, high school, and university library reference collections."-—Library Journal, January 2005

Viking Perspectives

Viking culture, too, has creation myths that have had wide influence in world literature and music. C. S. Lewis, author of the popular children’s books about Narnia (soon to be a movie) and lifelong friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, was intensely interested in Nordic mythology, as he recounts in his autobiography. In fact, the influence is clear in the Lord of the Rings, too, as this article in the New Yorker explains: "The Ring and the Rings."

Free article for classroom use: “Viking Society” from the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, by Hugh R. Page, Jr., Notre Dame University, Associate Editor.

"Though attempting to cover as broad a subject as world history in five volumes seems impossible, the editors and their contributors have pulled the feat off with aplomb. No article runs more than approximately 10 pages, but each captures the essence of the topic being addressed as well as the distinct style of the contributor----. As McNeill states in his preface, the title is 'designed to help both beginners and experts to sample the best contemporary efforts to make sense of the human past by connecting particular and local histories with larger patterns of world history.' The encyclopedia succeeds admirably and belongs on the shelves of all high-school, public, and academic libraries. In short: buy it. Now."--Booklist **Starred Review** and Editors’ Choice.

• Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History
• Five volumes, 2,500 pages
• Edited by W. H. McNeill, Jerry H. Bentley, David Christian, David Levinson, Heidi Roupp, and Judith P. Zinsser
• Five volumes, 2,500 pages
• US$575, ISBN: 0-9743091-0-9 (hardcover: alk. paper)
Online: BerkshireWorldHistory.com

Persuasion

A forthcoming title in our Religion & Society series (the first six volumes have been published by Routledge and another three are in progress) is the Encyclopedia of Religious Media and Communication. The article on “Persuasion” offers some tips for presenting ideas:

• The rule of reciprocation. Giving creates a sense of obligation. People generally want to repay a favor.
• The rule of consistency and commitment. People are bound to past decisions.
• The law of social proof. Most of us tend to copycat behavior, we imitate rather initiate.
• The rule of liking. Home parties do well for sales because of the warm atmosphere.
• The rule of authority. Titles and the trappings of power move us to compliance.
• The rule of scarcity. The limited-number technique always gets customers.

I wonder if this could apply to teaching, too?

Formats & Feedback

If you'd prefer to get this newsletter in plain text (it leaves here looking good, but we realize that it may not be so beautifully legible in your browser), just click below to change your options, or email us. Berkshire is fascinated by the latest technologies, but also has a passion for old books. Drawings like this, of Great Barrington in 1855, are part of our growing archive of historical and contemporary images from around the world.

With warm regards,
Karen Christensen
karen@berkshirepublishing.com

Next issue: Adolescence in World History