Sociology 125                                                                                                  C. Chase-Dunn

Evolutionary Sociology                        Winter 2006

Tuesday-Thursday 8:10-9:30                                                                           Sproul 1102

v. 1/4/06    

        

            This is a reading and lecture course about big history and sociocultural evolution. The course focuses mainly on the emergence of complexity and hierarchy in human world-systems in the context of the biosphere and the geosphere. We will examine biological and cultural evolution in plants, insects and animals, especially focusing on the emergence of patterns of conflict and cooperation in order to place human socio-cultural evolution in comparative perspective. Insect and animal societies, including multispecies intercolony systems, display many of the organizational features that have emerged in human social evolution. We will use insights from theoretical ecology to help to understand the similarities and the differences. The evolution of human settlement systems from the large annual migration routes of paleolithic nomads to the contemporary system of world cities is compared with the settlement systems of nomadic and sedentary insect and animal world-systems.  

            Systematic comparisons are made between different kinds of human world-systems with emphasis on evolutionary transformations of the logic of social change. General theories of social evolution and big history are surveyed and we compare stateless, state-based and modern capitalist human world-systems. We study sedentary foraging world-systems by focusing on the indigenous

Cahuilla of Southern California. The dynamics

of the rise and fall of chiefdoms, states, empires, and modern hegemons are compared with each other and with cycles of rise and fall that occur in insect and animal systems. Globalization, deglobalization and the future of human society are considered.

            Grading is based on attendance (15%), the midterm exam (February 21, 30%), the final exam (March 16, 30%) and a short (maximum 15 page typed, double-spaced) research paper that describes the structures of a premodern human world-system or a non-human world-system (March 7, 25%). A short 1-page description of your paper topic is due on February 9. The midterm and the final will be in-class essay exams. Study questions will be handed out in class the week prior to the exams. 

            The following books are available at the UCR Bookstore and are on reserve:

Lowell John Bean, Mukat’s People (University of California Press, 1974)

David Christian, Maps of Time (University of California Press, 2004)

Paul Colinvaux, Why Big Fierce Animals are Rare (Princeton University Press, 1978)

We will also read Julian Huxley’s, Ants and parts of Chase-Dunn and Lerro’s Social Change. These will be made available on the course web site under Course Materials. The course web page is at http://iLearn.ucr.edu/

Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are required. Others are recommended. All required

Termite mound in Australia

 

readings should be completed before the class meeting for which they are assigned.  All required readings are on reserve in Rivera Library or on the course web site.

January 10

            Introduction and overview of the course. Start reading.

January 12

            History, biological and cultural evolution. World-systems as the contexts for explaining social evolution.

            *C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Preface, Part 1, and Chapter 1, (course web site)

            *David Christian, Maps of Time, Introduction, “A modern creation myth”

                        Stephen Sanderson, Social Evolutionism

                        David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapters 1-3

January 17  Evolution of the biosphere and the biological evolution of humans

            *David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapters 4 and 5

            C. Chase-Dunn and Bruce Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 3

January 19

            Ecology

            Paul Colinvaux, Why Big Fierce Animals are Rare Preface, Chapters 2-8

January 24

            More Ecology

            Paul Colinvaux, Why Big Fierce Animals are Rare, Chapters 13-16, and 18.

January 26

            Social Insects

            Julian Huxley, Ants (available on the course web site)

January 31

            Emergence of Cultural Evolution

            *David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapters 6 and 7

February 2

            The Comparative World-Systems Approach

            *C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 2,” The comparative world-systems    approach” (course web site)

            C. Chase-Dunn and T.D. Hall, Rise and Demise

            Thomas R. Shannon, An Introduction to the World-Systems Perspective

February 7

            Hunter-gatherer world-systems

      Lowell John Bean, Mukat’s People Chapters 2-5

            C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change,, Chapter 5 “World-systems of hunter-    gatherers”

February 9 (turn in short description of research paper topic)

            Hunter-gatherer world-systems

      Lowell John Bean, Mukat’s People Chapters 6-9

            C. Chase-Dunn and K. Mann, The Wintu and Their Neighbors

February 14

            Continuing intensification: horticulture

*David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 8

C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 6 “The Gardeners”

February 16 (Midterm Study Questions Handed Out)

Rise of states

*David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 9

C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 9 “The Temple and the Palace”

February 21 MIDTERM in-class short answer essay exam

February 23

            Rise of the Central System

*David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 10 “Long trends in the era of agrarian civilizations”

C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 12 “The Central System”

            David Wilkinson, “Central Civilization” Comparative Civilizations Review 7: 31-59 (Fall) 1976

February 28

            The Europe-centered system and the rise of the modern system

*David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 11 “Approaching Modernity”

Janet Abu-Lughod, Before European Hegemony

Peter Spufford, Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe

            Giovanni Arrighi, The Long Twentieth Century

            C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapters 13-15

March 2

            Emergence of a global system

            *David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 12, “Globalization, commercialization and             innovation”

            C. Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 16 “The 19th century wave of globalization”

            C. Chase-Dunn, "Globalization: A World-Systems Perspective" Journal of World-Systems        Research, Vol V, 2, 1999, 165-185.

March 7 (Research Paper Due)

            Birth of the Modern World

            *David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 13, “Birth of the modern world”

March 9 (Final study questions handed out)

                  The Age of Extremes

                  *David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 14, “The great acceleration of the 20th century”

                  Erik Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes

March 14

            After Globalization

            *David Christian, Maps of Time, Chapter 15 “Futures”

            Christopher Chase-Dunn “Social evolution and the future of world society” Journal of World-Systems Research 11,2: 171-192, 2005.

March 16 Final Exam

 

 

5000 Year Emergence of the Central System (adapted from Wilkinson 1987)