Transforming History: A Curriculum for Cultural Evolution

by William Irwin Thompson

Education is now the major concern of many Americans. Education, however, is about more than teaching children how to function in life. It is a means of transmitting both a culture and a heritage. In this dynamic and far-reaching work, William Irwin Thompson, one of today's most innovative interdisciplinary thinkers, talks about how to transform a cultural legacy in the course of transmitting it. In the process of discussing this issue with the purpose of providing a home-schooling curriculum in the culture and history of humanity and the West, Thompson gives us a mind-rattling tour of our potential as human beings. He describes four "cultural ecologies" using a broad-based intellectual vista that takes in an expanse ranging from the Gilgamesh epic of 2000 B.C. to Disney, U2, and Ronald Reagan. The author's visionary approach takes education far beyond the bland, watered-down curricula forced upon so many students today. He not only presents a far-reaching system of knowledge, but suggests how we may stimulate the best and healthiest patterns of development in children and teenagers.

216 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

William Irwin Thompson is an American social philosopher, cultural critic, and poet. He received the Oslo International Poetry Festival Award in 1986. He describes his writing and speaking style as "mind-jazz on ancient texts". He is the founder of the Lindisfarne Association.