ANTH 312T The Past and Future of Human Societies: The Mystery of Cultural Evolution (Not offered 1999-2000)*+
The field of anthropology centers on explaining human nature and human culture. Perhaps the greatest single issue addressed by anthropology is the mystery of human cultural evolution. Why have human societies over the past 10,000 years changed rapidly from small, simple egalitarian hunting and gathering bands to vast, complex, hierarchically organized urban civilizations? What are the processes, factors, and circumstances that have caused this transformation again and again across the world? The course will address these questions through readings of the major theorists from Spencer and Morgan to Marx and Engels, Tylor, Childe, Service, Fried, Harris, to modern neo-marxists and post-processualists. Through critiques of these theories, the course will provide a context in which students will evaluate the debates involved in research on cultural evolution, discuss the positive and negative aspects of this major transformation in human culture, and form their own theories of cultural change. Class format: tutorial. Requirements: five short papers and five presentations. No prerequisites, but an introductory anthropology course highly recommended. Enrollment limited to 10, with priority to upperclass students.