This will involve an exposition of the forces altering societies through time and these range from changes in ecology to developments in technology, social organization, ideology, population growth, and natural and unnatural disasters, among others. Students will need an appreciation of cybernetics, which involves the positive and negative feedback loops that describe the interactions among these factors. Student teams could choose a particular historical example and analyze the forces at work.
Pioneer Open Summer Study (POSS) is completely independent from the Pioneer Research Program. Students who participate in POSS CANNOT list POSS as a Pioneer Research Program credit in their college applications for the following reasons:
This course will require independent critical thought, the ability to interrelate variables at different levels of analysis, and good teamwork to facilitate this. While students may select a class of variable they wish to be responsible for, they will need to communicate their progress, or lack of same, to their teammates to assist in the final presentation. Those who can manage complexities well will thrive. The course will be challenging.
Douglas Raybeck is professor emeritus of anthropology at Hamilton College. He received his PhD in anthropology from Cornell University in 1975. He has published more than 60 papers and six books, four of which were coauthored. Topics have ranged from fieldwork in Kelantan, Malaysia, to psycholinguistics, study skills, the likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligence, and future studies. He is currently working on a second edition of his most successful work, Mad Dogs, Englishmen and the Errant Anthropologist: Fieldwork in Malaysia. He is widely regarded as a wonderful person.
Having selected a particular example of socio-cultural change, each team of students will develop and present their research findings in Zoom available for other teams to suggest questions and to make constructive suggestions. Each team will also submit their findings in writing comprising no less than ten pages and no more than twenty double-spaced with appropriate citations. Each section should include the identity of its author and its bibliography. Finally, the course mantra is that a good, easy teacher is an oxymoron, so it would be well to look up that word.
To be eligible to participate in Pioneer Open Summer Study, the following requirements must be met:
