In this class we are social scientists. We study people and the interactions between them. In a “hard science” like biology or physics we would set up experiments with control and test groups and limit as many variables as possible. However, it is through the futility of that process that we recognize that with humans there are an infinite number of variables to control for, and in attempting to do so we eliminate the very complications that make humans so interesting. Therefore we will plow through the largest database ever made- human history, with its infinite complications and perspectives- to explore fundamental questions of mankind. Why is there conflict? What will happen in the future? Why are we how we are today? Could things be different? Can we get along? Who are we? The answers can be found in our histories.