How It Came to Be Other Resources
Core Readings
- H. Sapiens Notes
- Diamond, Jared. "The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race." - Link (3 pp, 5 min)
- Shepard, Paul. (1998). "10,000 Years of Crisis." The Tender Carnivore and the Sacred Game. pp. 1-26. link
Shepard portrays the shift to agriculture as a key element in decline of humanity and planet. (40 min)
- Population Reference Bureau. "World Population Graph." Link
- Miller, G. Living in the Environment. "Kilocalories per Person per Day." Link
- Heilbroner, Robert. (1999). "The Economic Revolution." The Worldly Philosophers. pp. 18-41. Link (Also available at Stanford Libraries.)
Heilbroner chronicles the emergence of mercantilism in Europe that marked the beginnings of a transformation from agrarian to industrial society, and from tradition-based social relationships to money-mediated society. (25 min)
- Seavoy, Ronald. Famine in Peasant Societies. Link Read highlighted text and skim the rest. (30 min)
Seavoy argues that peasants prefer periodic famine to leisure. On the basis of examples drawn from diverse places and times he asserts that the only way to induce peasants to work hard enough to extract surplus from them is to deny them a "subsistence compromise," which he defines as working enough to feed everyone during normal years, and accepting that some will die during years of poor harvest.
- Ponting, Clive - "Creating the Third World." Green History of the World. Link (30 min)
- "Swing Riots. Wikipedia. Link (5 pp, 10 min)
Swing riots in early 19th century England resulted from enclosure, mechanization, burdensome mandatory tithe, and rent, and were instrumental in evolution of workhouses as means to control the poor.
