These Cybertext documents are designed for the Global History student to use as a supplement to the traditional high school or college text book. Although there is relatively little information on some historical figures such as Sargon I and the Ramses II, this is also true for recent figures such as Tojo and Yamamoto. Yet on most recent historical figures there is an abundance of information. Usually a student will have heard something about these persons before. As they encounter these individuals in the texts they will probably find that there is only a paragraph or two on each individual.
Many students find that more detail makes the subject more interesting.
The first use of this Cybertext collection is simply as supplementary reading. In Global History Seminar we have organized the entire course of Global History Seminar around the concepts of Great Empires in Human History, the People who Created Them, and the Ideas and Cultural Traits that sustained these empires. In this format, these Cybertext readings become the central focus of the course and textbooks and other readings become supplementary materials that establish historical context. Students should use these Cybertext materials as a starting point for further investigation into the great empires. They provide a common set of readings for students to use when they present their position papers addressing the questions of the CyberSchool Global History Seminar .