“We Didn’t Start the Fire” - Examining how Memory, History, and our Current Experiences Interact

Catalog description

In a global connected world where what happens on the other side of the planet is live streamed in real time, the experience of being a person living today can feel overwhelming. It can be argued that this is the worst time in human history. Is the world worse today than at any other time? What does our knowledge of memory and perception contribute to the understanding of the contemporary global context? In Billy Joel’s song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” over 100 cultural, social, political, and economic events which took place between 1948 and 1989 are highlighted. A recent remake by Fall Out Boy updates Joel’s song using events since 1989. The suggestion in these songs is that human history has been plagued with catastrophes and heralded with triumphs. In this course, students will identify the historical references in both songs comparing them to our current context. Students will study the scientific literature on memory and how memories impact people’s current view of the state of our world. The course will culminate in students creating a survey to learn more about how people perceive the historical and current world contexts, and how these ideas interact with each other. Survey results will be analyzed to share findings and develop conclusions. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to shape their own learning experience and development of critical thinking skills by contributing to each class session content, course materials, questions to discuss, and practicing research skills. This co-creation of the course between the professor and students is uniquely suited to the TIDES program and supports its objectives and outcomes.