Fall 2026 – Histories of Change and Continuity

Course Information

This is a 3-credit course that carries the academic commitment, workload, and tuition associated with university-level study. Please review the course details and tuition information carefully before registering. If completed with a passing grade, the credits may be eligible towards a future degree or certificate program.

Course Description

This course examines the forces that transform societies and the frameworks that endure across periods of disruption and renewal. Through global case studies, students explore major transitions in ideology, technology, health, and governance, with attention to how change unfolds unevenly across cultures and historical moments. The course introduces students to historical thinking that emphasizes patterns, timelines, and scale, enabling them to identify what shifts, what persists, and why continuity often coexists with transformation.

Emphasis is placed on interpreting change through multiple lenses, including cultural, spiritual, and ethical frameworks. Students examine how communities understand disruption, respond to crisis, and negotiate the tension between preservation and progress. The course highlights how meaning, values, and identity shape historical responses to transformation and inform collective resilience. 

The course also introduces foundational foresight practices that connect historical analysis to future possibilities. Students apply tools such as trend analysis, STEEP scanning, and scenario building to trace how past changes influence present conditions and shape emerging futures. By integrating historical knowledge with future-oriented thinking, the course equips students to analyze transformation in depth and to articulate informed, ethical responses to change.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Analyze historical patterns of change and continuity in at least three global case studies across ideology, technology, health, or governance, identifying forces of disruption and elements of endurance.
• Evaluate tensions between preservation and progress by comparing spiritual, cultural, and strategic interpretations in selected historical transitions.
• Apply basic foresight tools to link past changes to present realities, mapping trends and drivers over short- and medium-term horizons.
• Construct two contrasting scenarios of future societal transformation based on historical patterns, assessing plausibility and stakeholder impacts.
• Critique ethical implications of change using criteria like integrity and renewal, justifying strategies that balance continuity with adaptation.
• Communicate insights on change through written briefs, visuals, and presentations that connect history to future possibilities.

Course Prerequisites

Course Materials

Students are responsible for purchasing all required textbooks before the start of class.
Ribāṭ textbooks are available at the Rabata Bookshop

Registration Information

Questions?
Contact registration@rabata.org

Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions and participate actively in their learning. Consistent attendance supports academic success and helps maintain a collaborative classroom environment. If an absence is unavoidable, students are responsible for communicating with their instructor, reviewing missed material, and completing any assigned work.

Technology Requirements

To ensure a successful online learning experience, all students must have regular access to a personal computer and reliable high-speed internet. Courses at Ribāṭ University are delivered through Canvas and may include video lectures, interactive discussions, digital readings, and multimedia assignments.
Students are responsible for maintaining the technology needed to participate fully.

Minimum Technical Requirements

Technology Skills

Additional Notes and Technical Support

• Students are expected to check course announcements and email regularly.
• Technical support is available for login issues, course access, and basic troubleshooting.