Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
My guest today is Dr. Douglas Favelo, who’s a history professor at Patrick Henry College, and he’s going to be teaching a course in World History for our AP program at PHC Prep this fall. Doug, thanks for joining us.

Dr. Favelo:
Thank you for having me here.

Mike:
World history is one of those core high school and college courses that seem kind of vaguely important—but I don’t think students always realize how relevant it is to their lives. What does something that happened hundreds of years ago or halfway around the world have to do with the average student today?

Dr. Favelo:
Well, the world has become a much smaller, more interconnected place—for better, for worse. I think 9/11 made that crystal clear to us. How someone on the other side of the world thinks really can have a great impact on us. And their thinking, like ours, is shaped in many ways by their past.

Economically, we really are in a global market: we have to be aware of the cultures and histories where we are doing business, if we’re going to be competitive. We all know the impact that China has on our economy.

Religions from all over the world have made inroads into American culture. And in politics we must understand the histories of places like the Middle East, so that, as Americans, we can be more informed in our policy making.

Mike:
So, if we want to know the context that we’re living in, we’ve got to know history. I’m Mike Farris.