I've been enjoying these posts about progress studies Michael! One question I have for you: How do you see the role of education within progress studies? As you quoted from the article, progress researchers tend to have a prescriptive focus to their work. But how would you describe those that are trying to teach progress? I ask since this is the focus of a lot of my work. I don't necessarily offer prescriptive takes, but I try to understand a lot of history, technology, science, and innovation through the lens of progress in the hopes of educating.
Yes I did see your post! I loved the exploratory questions you pose for a hypothetical student in your post. It seems like a good way to go about the subject (though as you wrote in a separate post, we still have work to do establishing the basics of progress studies as a field).
I wanted to also say: You've been on a roll with your writing recently and I haven't been able to catch up with commenting on them, but I hope to do so soon. I really appreciate you trying to get at the heart of progress studies as a field.
I am planning a post or maybe series of posts on an entire Progress-based curriculum. It is going to take some time for get my thoughts in order on that topic, so it will probably not be for another few months.
I am looking forward to reading your comments, particularly on the Progress Studies series. I have been a little disappointed that other Progress Fellows have not commented. You are my stalwart!
Excellent question. Are you a teacher or professor yourself?
I used to be a professor, so I have been thinking a lot about this question. I will be addressing this issue in future posts, so I will be brief here.
1) I do think the concept of progress can be easily integrated into education, whether as a specific course in history or even better as a foundation of a new curriculum. It has the benefit of making all the names, dates and events of history more memorable and relevant.
2) I think the concept is simple enough to work for K-12 as well as complex and useful enough for university.
3) I think my book, From Poverty to Progress, is the best place to start. It can be used as a foundational textbook for high school history or university history. Some college professors have already expressed interest in using it in their courses.
I think this post can give you an idea of how to use the material in class:
Thanks for the resources Michael! In fact, I'm currently a PhD student in quantum computing, but education has always been a topic I've thought about. I've been pondering myself what kind of courses we could build for K-12 versus universities, because I think a lot of these ideas are worth having in a curriculum.
If you are interested in science, you might check out the field of "Big History." I think that it dovetails nicely with the concept of Progress quite nicely, and I have an entire chapter on it in my book.
I think Big History can be used as a foundation for an entire educational curriculum that covers science, history, and social sciences:
I've been enjoying these posts about progress studies Michael! One question I have for you: How do you see the role of education within progress studies? As you quoted from the article, progress researchers tend to have a prescriptive focus to their work. But how would you describe those that are trying to teach progress? I ask since this is the focus of a lot of my work. I don't necessarily offer prescriptive takes, but I try to understand a lot of history, technology, science, and innovation through the lens of progress in the hopes of educating.
Not sure if you caught this post. It is aimed at K-12 teachers, but I think it is relevant to your question:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/how-to-teach-progress-and-history
Yes I did see your post! I loved the exploratory questions you pose for a hypothetical student in your post. It seems like a good way to go about the subject (though as you wrote in a separate post, we still have work to do establishing the basics of progress studies as a field).
I wanted to also say: You've been on a roll with your writing recently and I haven't been able to catch up with commenting on them, but I hope to do so soon. I really appreciate you trying to get at the heart of progress studies as a field.
I am planning a post or maybe series of posts on an entire Progress-based curriculum. It is going to take some time for get my thoughts in order on that topic, so it will probably not be for another few months.
Thanks. I got a sudden burst of wind!
I am looking forward to reading your comments, particularly on the Progress Studies series. I have been a little disappointed that other Progress Fellows have not commented. You are my stalwart!
This post might also give you ideas on how this graphic can be used as a foundation for a class on progress:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/all-of-human-history-in-one-graphic
Excellent question. Are you a teacher or professor yourself?
I used to be a professor, so I have been thinking a lot about this question. I will be addressing this issue in future posts, so I will be brief here.
1) I do think the concept of progress can be easily integrated into education, whether as a specific course in history or even better as a foundation of a new curriculum. It has the benefit of making all the names, dates and events of history more memorable and relevant.
2) I think the concept is simple enough to work for K-12 as well as complex and useful enough for university.
3) I think my book, From Poverty to Progress, is the best place to start. It can be used as a foundational textbook for high school history or university history. Some college professors have already expressed interest in using it in their courses.
I think this post can give you an idea of how to use the material in class:
https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/key-insights-from-from-poverty-to
Thanks for the resources Michael! In fact, I'm currently a PhD student in quantum computing, but education has always been a topic I've thought about. I've been pondering myself what kind of courses we could build for K-12 versus universities, because I think a lot of these ideas are worth having in a curriculum.
If you are interested in science, you might check out the field of "Big History." I think that it dovetails nicely with the concept of Progress quite nicely, and I have an entire chapter on it in my book.
I think Big History can be used as a foundation for an entire educational curriculum that covers science, history, and social sciences:
https://techratchet.com/big-history-learning-path/
Here is also a great book on how the sciences are gradually moving toward each other. He also includes some social science:
https://techratchet.com/2020/03/19/book-summary-convergence-the-idea-at-the-heart-of-science-by-peter-watson/