For most of human history, western Europe has contained technologically-backwards and politically-disorganized groups of people. However, during a 400 year period starting around 1500 AD, Europeans conquered much of the World. For thousands of years preceding the European ascendancy, Chinese, Mesoamerican, and African civilizations were both technologically and politically far more complex than the tribes of Western Europe. So, why were a few tribes in western Europe, in a relatively short period of time, able to spread their languages, economic systems, political systems, clothing styles, institutions, religions, people and technology across much of the world?

In addressing this question, we’ll build a general theory of societal evolution that accounts for the differences we observe among human groups, and we’ll apply this theory to understanding the European expansion that occurred after 1500 AD.

Instructor: Joe Henrich

Office: 3113 Hershey Hall (next to botanical gardens and bio-med library)

Office Hours: Tuesday 10:30am-12; Thursday 1pm-2:30pm

Email: henrich@ucla.edu

Phone: Office: 213-2314; 206-7898; Home 575-4335

Website: www.sscnet.ucla.edu/99W/anthro98t-1

My office hours provide guaranteed times when I'll be in my office, however you are welcome to drop by anytime—I'm frequently in my office. We can also make an appointment to meet if my office hours don't fit your schedule. Appointments are especially encouraged if you think we'll need more than about 15 to 20 minutes. If you need to make an appointment, ask a simple question or deliver a message, email is the best method.

The class website will provide an updated copy of the syllabus and new information as the class goes on. There will also be a discussion board where students can ask questions and discuss issues covered in the class.

• Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond 1997

• The Pursuit of Power by William H. McNeill 1982

• Readings Packets

Grading on summaries: The first three summaries will be graded with hypothetical scores from 0 to 20, but only officially recorded as "C" or "N" ("credit" or "no credit"). Any reasonable effort will receive a "C." In the following class students will receive their summaries back with constructive comments. Starting on summary 4 (week 4), after having developed solid summary writing skills and an understanding of the instructor's preferences, students’ summaries will be graded from 0 to 20 and recorded for all time. Only the summary portion will be evaluated, not the reflections, commentaries or critiques (unless these parts are missing entirely).

To summarize the substantive argument(s) in the reading you should first read all the assigned reading and identify the underlying points. Your summary should start with these points and bring support and evidence to them. Don’t rely on the author’s order of presentation or his use of space—he’s writing a popular book and you’re writing a scholarly page. For example, Diamond often starts off a chapter with a personal or historical tale that makes a bigger point. Your summary should lead off with the "bigger point", and support it with Diamond’s examples or evidence. Often Diamond’s tales take up more space than his explicit point or the more convincing evidence, but this should not be reflected in your organization or use of space. Students should also keep the discussion questions (see weekly outline below) for each class in mind while reading and use them to organize their thoughts and summaries.

Mid-term Examination: This is a piece of cake. By week 7, we will have read, discussed and criticized about 9 different sub-arguments from Diamond. The test will consist of 3 or 4 questions (from about 9 possibilities) and you will have to summarize each argument and criticize it. Much of the summary information can be gleaned from Diamond’s book, but the criticism component will require careful attention to class lectures and discussions. Time will not be a factor on this examination.

Draft Paper: This is simply an opportunity for students to get feedback on their papers. No evaluations will be made. I highly recommend that you turn in a full draft and be prepared to rewrite it substantially. However, I’ll accept anything, even a partially written paper or a basic outline. Failure to turn in at least a basic outline will have the most drastic and dire consequences.

Final Paper: The final 9-11 page paper is an excellent opportunity to go beyond the material presented in the course. Find a puzzle to solve, or a piece of history, archaeology, biology or anthropology that especially interests you. Because of the breadth of knowledge required to address big questions, no one can be an expert (it’s impossible). As you’ll see, many of the arguments presented in class and in the readings are built on claims and assertions about history, ethnography, genetics, epidemiology, etc. Pick a claim that you’re skeptical about and go find if it’s true. Papers that boldly argue counter to claims presented in class or in the book are especially encouraged! I’ll point out possible paper topics as we go along.

3. Demonstrate how theory and evidence from fields as diverse as archaeology, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, anthropology and botany can be integrated and synthesized into scientific explanations of history.
4. Teach students to compose arguments and use evidence to defend their arguments, both verbally and in writing. Teach students about what constitutes "evidence" in the comparative sciences.
5. Pose a set of empirically-ground hypotheses that together, at least partially, explain some of the stark differences we see in technological development, political control and economic growth among groups of people from around the world.
6. Demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinary research by showing how compelling arguments can be made when data and analysis from very different fields (e.g. linguistic, archaeological and genetic data) converge to support the same hypothesis.

Week 1

Class 14 Mid-term Examination

Class 20: Summary and Discussion. Possible guest speaker: Jared Diamond.

Finals Week: Paper due Thursday 3pm.