Conceptualizing global world history: A study of participants at the Aspen World History Institute, 1996

"Conceptualizing and Implementing Global World History" is a study designed to combine scholarship in world history and education to improve world history education for the twenty-first century by reconceptualizing the Western Civilization and Area Studies approaches to a new form of global world history.;The study was conducted at the Aspen World History Institute in 1996, and included five secondary teachers, including the two directors, and four college history professors, and seven guest speakers at the Institute. A qualitative study using Lincoln and Guba's interpretist paradigm and Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory informed the study to allow the participants to define the practical elements associated with the conceptualization and implementation of global world history in secondary and college settings.;The study identified aspects of global world history relative to content and pedagogy. Eight categories regarding world history content emerged in the data analysis: new conceptualizations of world history, new roles of regional studies, prominence of comparative history, inclusion of gender history, global citizenship education, geography and environmental studies, thematic and interdisciplinary approaches and new periodizations. It narrates historical events from multiple perspectives emphasizing social and cultural history. Regional histories provide a depth of historical content that are then compared to place them in a broader context. Cross cultural contexts provide a means to examine images of Western and non-Western experiences and their connections. Geographical knowledge further explains the interconnectedness of the continents.;Citizenship is seen through ethnic identity, national identity, and more universal human concerns. Furthermore, it recognizes the complexity of issues such as peace and security and environmental concern which transcend political boundaries.;The broad based scholarship of William Mc Neill, L. S. Stavrianos, Eric Wolf, Janet Abu-Lughod, and Immanuel Wallerstein, and Jerry Bentley provide examples of global approaches across time and space. Students explore global themes through thematic approaches and by using disciplinary skills. However, to do this with credibility, students in teacher preparation programs and secondary students will need ongoing opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge through course work in Western and non-Western history that offers a depth and breadth about political, economic, cultural, social, and geographical and environmental aspects of history.