Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
This work of historical engagement is unique in a number of ways. First, it unabashedly and unashamedly takes an evangelical-charismatic Christian world-view. We hope to balance out the biases and propaganda of the “City of Man” by not excluding the “City of God” and by admitting that the latter is the most wholistic and realistic of the different world-views as we introduce students to their world. Students are meant to be building their own worldviews as well as their ethical identity and awareness.
Two, it is an adaptive or elastic text that can be added to or subtracted from, improved, corrected and amended. Three, it is a multi-authored work where different professionals contributed pieces over the years. Many were meant to contribute but the general editor found it necessary to contribute heavily to this first edition not because he thinks of himself as an expert on all areas but because it was simply time for this text to be implemented and placed on the world wide platform that ORU has established with the “Faculty Showcase.” Fourth, it has been a dream of many historians to do a textbook and so this really had its inception in the hearts and minds of the original architects of the original Humanities courses at ORU. These original architects, particularly, J. Franklin Sexton envisioned and forged a fully orbed four course Humanities curriculum that covered the beginning of civilization until now. Thus, originally, many of the pieces in this text were printed lectures that went along with video lectures for the course that was called Humanities 213.
These materials and the general outline of the topics were and still are excellent and none of the power or original intent was lost even as they were updated and edited for this text. Thus, many of the original teachers of humanities at ORU are raised again to life and renewed and celebrated in this present form. However, this is now meant to be for students anywhere in the world to understand basic history and to help history students whether at ORU or somewhere else in the world to understand our perspectives.
Many acknowledgements need to be made here. This text is dedicated to the memories of Harold J. Paul and J. Franklin Sexton as the two founders and chairmen of the ORU History and Humanities department. Further heartfelt thanks goes to Ruth Sexton, David Ringer, John W. Swails, Bill Collier, Sonny Branham, and Paul Vickery for their assistance, editorial help, encouragement and contributions. A special thanks goes to Beverly Garrison who read through the text thoroughly and told me exactly what she thought.
Recommended Citation
Pranger, Gary, "ORU History & Humanities Modern World - Reader I 1600 - 1850" (2019). Textbooks. 1.
https://digitalshowcase.oru.edu/textbooks/1
