24-H203 Humans: A People’s History  Â
This course, based on research for a new book, provides an examination of the human experience over 100,000 years from the point of view of the common people as opposed to elites. It focuses on the history of democracy, which it argues begins with early humans, not with Athens as a distorted Eurocentric history claims. Indeed, when we study history from the point of view of the common people, Athens is no more than a slave society where a pocket of people was granted participation in public life. Early human societies were egalitarian and democratic and the common people in later societies attempted to restore those early human values. Slave revolts, serf revolts, peasant and labour uprisings were deliberate efforts to recreate egalitarian societies. They compose far more of human history than we are often told and have led to many more successes than many people think.
Instructor:Â Dr. Alvin Finkel
Dr. Alvin Finkel is one of Canada’s most prolific and best-selling historians. Dr. Finkel was a full professor of history at Athabasca University during a 36-year period of teaching there. He is the author, co-author, and editor of 14 books and over 60 book chapters and articles. His books include the two-volume History of the Canadian Peoples, which is now in its 7th edition; Compassion: A Global History of Social Policy; Social Policy and Social Practice in Canada: A History; The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion; The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta; and Working People in Alberta: A History. His latest book is Humans: The History of Democracy.
