We have always been lead to believe that one person knew all but it should have dawned on us that Alexander the Great was great, but who was holding the fort down 5,00 miles away while he was conquring more territory. Or who advised the pope to have another crusade, or the chinese to wall themselves in with the Great Wall. It has surprised me that so many different areas are alike. It also surprises me about how much historians have to make educated guesses about what happened in history and why. It surprised me when I learned that they think that all people orginated from one place but then began to move around and form their own communities.
Historians find things that all cultures and civilizations have in common.
I was also surprised about how much interesting information that I'm learning and realizing things that are very different from what I thought. Carolyn Hanson K. Lang UWEC What surprised me most about World History is the whole idea that we are being encouraged to develop our own ideas about it. Before my History 124 class with Kate Lang, it seemed to be taught to me that History was concrete answers only, there could never be different perceptions or interpretations. In elementary and high school, there were simply right answers and wrong answers. That is why I love my history class now, because we are encouraged to develop our own ideas about history, and share them with each other.