Sociology 125 C.
Chase-Dunn
Evolutionary Sociology Winter 2017
v. 1/6/17
Systematic comparisons are made
between different kinds of human world-
Termite
Castle
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 Chumash 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 also considered.
Grading is based on attendance (15%),
the midterm exam (February 16, 30%), the final exam (March
24; 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 14, 25%). A short 1-page description of your paper topic is
due on February 7. 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:
David
Christian, Maps of Time (ebook or used copies available on Amazon)
Paul Colinvaux,
Why Big Fierce Animals are Rare (Princeton University Press, 1978)
Lynn H. Gamble 2015, The First Coastal Californians (Santa Fe: School for Advanced
Research
We
will also read Julian Huxley’s Ants. This
will be made available on the course web site under Course Materials.
Readings
marked with an asterisk (*) are required. Others are
recommended. All required 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
Sociocultural evolution.
*David
Christian, Maps of Time,
Introduction, “A modern creation myth” and Chapters 1-3
C. Chase-Dunn and B.
Lerro, Social Change, Preface, Part
1, and Chapter 1,
Stephen Sanderson, Social Evolutionism
Peter
Turchin 2016 Ultrasociety (Beresta
Books)
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 B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter
3,
January 19 Ecology
*Paul
Colinvaux, Why Big Fierce Animals are Rare Preface, Chapters 2-8
Mark
Q. Sutton and E.N. Anderson, Introduction
to Cultural Ecology, Chapters 1 and 2
John Tyler Bonner The
Evolution of Complexity by Means of Natural Selection Chapter 3 “The size of organisms in
ecological communities”
January 24 More
Ecology
*Paul
Colinvaux, Why Big Fierce Animals are
Rare, Chapters 13-16, and 18.
Peter
Turchin, Ultrasociety, (2026::81-90)
the Price equation and multilevel selection in biology
January
26 Social Insects
*Julian Huxley, Ants (available on the
course web site)
Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson 2011 The leafcutter ants : civilization by instinct
New York: W.W. Norton
John Gowdy, and Lisi Krall 2015 "The
economic origins of ultrasociality."Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22): 1-63.
January 31 Emergence of
Cultural Evolution
*David Christian, Maps of
Time, Chapters 6 and 7
John Tyler Bonner The
Evolution of Complexity by Means of Natural Selection Chapter 8 “The evolution of culture”
February
2 The
Comparative World-Systems Approach
*T.D. Hall and C.
Chase-Dunn, “Global social
change in the long run”
Chapter 3. in C. Chase-Dunn and S. Babones (eds.) Global
Social Change
Chase-Dunn, C., & Hall, T. (1997). “Ecological
degradation and the evolution of world-systems.” Journal of
World-Systems Research, 3(3), 403-423. http://www.jwsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Chase-Dunn_Hall-v3n3.pdf
C.
Chase-Dunn and T.D. Hall, Rise and Demise
Thomas
R. Shannon, An Introduction to the
World-Systems Perspective
February
7 (Turn in Research Paper topics) Hunter-gatherer world-systems
Lynn H. Gamble (ed.), First Coastal Californians, Forward,Chaps 1-5
Lowell
John Bean, Mukat’s People
Jeanne E. Arnold (ed.) 2004 Foundations
of Chumash complexity. Los
Angeles : Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California
C. Chase-Dunn and B.
Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 5
“World-systems of hunter-gatherers”
February
9 (Midterm
Study Questions Handed Out)
Hunter-gatherer
world-systems
*Lynn H. Gamble, First Coastal Californians, Chaps 8-11
C.
Chase-Dunn and K. Mann, The Wintu and
Their Neighbors
February
14
Hunter-gatherer world-systems
*Lynn
H. Gamble, First Coastal Californians,
Chaps 11,13,16
Christopher Chase-Dunn, Eugene N. Anderson, Hiroko Inoue, and Alexis Álvarez 2013 “The Prehistory of Money: Protomoney and the meaning of exchange in precontact Southern
California”
https://irows.ucr.edu/papers/irows80/irows80.htm
February
16 MIDTERM in-class
short answer essay exam
February
21 no class
February 23 no class
February
28 Horticulture, the Rise of states and the emergence
of the central systems
*David Christian, Maps of
Time, Chapters 8, 9 and 10
C.
Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 6 “The Gardeners”
C. Chase-Dunn and Elena Ermolaeva, “The ancient Hawaiian
world-system”
Wilkinson, D. (2004).
“The power configuration sequence of the central world system, 1500–700 BC.”
Journal of World-Systems Research, 10(3), 655-720. http://www.jwsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/jwsr-v10n3-wilkinson.pdf
C.
Chase-Dunn and B. Lerro, Social Change, Chapter 9 “The Temple and the Palace”
C. Chase-Dunn, Daniel Pasciuti, and Alexis Alvarez, “the Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian World-Systems”
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
March
2 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
7 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. http://www.jwsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Chase-Dunn-v5n2.pdf
March
9 Birth
of the Modern World
*David
Christian, Maps of Time,
Chapter 13, “Birth of the modern world”
March
14 (Research
Paper Due) (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
16 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. http://www.jwsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/jwsr-v11n2-chasedunn.pdf
Mann, M. 2016 “Have human societies evolved? Evidence from
history and pre-history” Theory and
Society 45:203-237.
March 24 (Friday) Final Exam 11:30am-1:30 pm
