7 Themes of History Patterns of Population The

7 Themes of History

Patterns of Population • The number of men and women in the world, the distribution of populations around the globe, and the migration patterns of people from one region to another have always had a large effect on all other types of change. The study of population size, density, and distribution is called demography.

Economic Networks and Exchange • This Key Theme has to do with the ways in which people have exchanged ideas and goods, sometimes over great distances, and how networks have provided the basic framework on which the presentday world economy has been built.

Uses and Abuses of Power • Differences in power are present at many different levels of human society: between individuals, between states, between social classes. But how do people use this power and how do they sometimes abuse this power?

Haves and Have-Nots • Some people have many things and some do not. How did things get this way and how does each group deal with this?

Expressing Identity • Who am I? What group do I belong to? Who are my friends? Who are my enemies? What is my identity? Think about nationalism.

Science, Technology, and the Environment • The study of science, technology and the environment has to do with the changing ways in which humans have used the knowledge they share through collective learning to exploit their physical and natural surroundings. As humans have discovered more and more ways of extracting energy and using animals, plants, and minerals for their own purposes, they have begun to change the biosphere at an increasing pace.

Spiritual Life and Moral Codes • Are morality and spirituality unique to human beings? How has human spirituality changed in the course of history? How have changing ideas of morality and spirituality shaped history? Spirituality may mean belief in a supreme creator, in an afterlife, or in the existence of mysterious spirits and magical forces. Our sense of spirituality shapes how we think of the world and our place in it. It also shapes our sense of morality, that is, the way in which we recognize differences between right and wrong. Spirituality has been a powerful force in human history.