module
Peak Human
This module explores the scholarly work of Johan Norberg and his book Peak Human in order to investigate the characteristics of societies that have flourished throughout history. Students will read excerpts of Peak Human and engage in learning activities that help them comprehend the role that openness and curiosity play in creating the conditions for societies to flourish.
Lessons
Lesson
Peak Human: China’s Song Dynasty
Through this lesson, students explore the remarkable achievements of China’s Song Dynasty (960‑1279 CE), a period of unprecedented technological innovation, urbanization, and economic prosperity that nearly sparked an industrial revolution centuries before Europe.
Lesson
Peak Human: Renaissance Italy
This lesson examines how political fragmentation and competition among Italian city‐states during the Renaissance created an environment where innovation, art, and new ideas could flourish.
Lesson
Peak Human: The Abbasid Caliphate
In this lesson, students will discover how the Abbasid Caliphate (750‑1258 CE) created a vast free‐trade zone that enabled the Islamic Golden Age, producing groundbreaking advances in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy.
Lesson
Peak Human: The Dutch Republic
Through this lesson, students examine how capitalism, religious tolerance, and openness to innovation created a society that pioneered modern finance, produced masterworks of art, and established values of individual liberty that persist in the Netherlands today.
