When people question why would it be important to study World History, one might answer, well most of the great societal issues that we grapple with today were relevant thousands of years ago.  Such as, urban versus rural lifestyle, ecology and the degradation of the land and water, class structures and the chasm between rich and poor, and gender equality and the role of women in a predominately male dominated society, to name a few.  Who could imagine that our ancestors from thousands of years ago grappled with these very issues that we still are working on today?  Not me!