Week

Reading Topic and Assignment

1

8/31

Introduction to the class and introductory lecture

The World is Interdisciplinary

E.O. Wilson: Edward Wilson - Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge

2

9/7

Human Behavior and its Origins Matter for Social Cooperation.

Steven Pinker: The Blank Slate

Discussion from: The Blank Slate

3

9/14

Human Behavior and its Origins Matter for Social Cooperation.

What does the modern theory of evolution have to say about our social organizations? How might evolution help drive social development?

Optional Reading – (this is not an easy paper!)

Robert Trivers: The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism

Steven Pinker: The Myth of Violence

Phillip Zimbardo: On Human Behavior

4

9/21

The Rise of Political Cooperation and Administration is Partially a Function of Geography.

How do we explain the rise of political and especially administrative organization via technological and environmental change?

Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs and Steel - Farmer Power

Discussion from Guns, Germs and Steel

5

9/28

Modern Political roots. We will examine the roots of democratic thinking especially how it relates to citizen responsibility and activity. Central to the understanding of this section are the concepts of moral obligation, citizenship and virtuous behavior.

What are the assumptions of American political values as found in the writings of the writers of the Enlightenment, what social, economic and political changes took place along the way?

The Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution (read the entire web document)

Barry Schwartz: On Our Loss of Wisdom

6

10/5

Garret Hardin: Tragedy of the Commons

7

10/12

First Mid-term Exam - Review on Tues, Exam on Thurs

8

10/19

Economics, Democracy and Public Rights. Our Democratic system is based on a range of economic assumptions, we will examine these and the effects they have on our population and economy. How have they changed since the founding? Finally, how do we assess the private and public economy?

Liberty and Choice: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicChoiceTheory.html

Public good provision: http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/public_goods

The paradox of too much choice: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html

9

10/26

Economics, Democracy and Public Rights. (Con’t)

What does global poverty really look like, is there progress? (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html)

Can an economic approach to nonprofit public good work? The patient capitalist

Jacqueline Novogratz (http://www.ted.com/speakers/jacqueline_novogratz)

10

11/2

No Class Thursday (Thanksgiving)

11

11/9

The forms of Capital Vary

Social and Economic Capital – the case of Afghanistan. (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ashraf_ghani_on_rebuilding_broken_states.html)

See and Unseen Capital: http://www.sevenfund.org/pdf/Changing%20The%20Mind%20of%20a%20Nation.pdf

12

11/16

Political Culture is Influenced by Technology?

C.P. Snow: The Two Cultures

Benjamin Barber: Jihad vs McWorld

New models of Community and cooperation:

Tribalism - http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead.html

Collaboration - http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Institutions or Collaboration - http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/clay_shirky_on_institutions_versus_collaboration.html

13

11/23

George Lakoff and Political Language (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml)

More on Political Language:

http://www.slate.com/id/2168646/

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2000/11/wallraff.htm

14

11/30

Application – Climate Change as Politics

Google (and read): The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming Politics in a Post Environmental World

The Political Language of Climate Change (http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/03/05/05climatewire-death-by-sound-bites-the-language-of-the-capa-9991.html?pagewanted=print)

15

12/7

Review for second mid-term & Second Mid-term Exam on Thursday

12/14

Finals Week