Why Do Civilizations Perish? Analysis of Jarred Diamond's "Collapse"
2010
Maria
Term paper for “Intercultural Competence and Cross-Cultural Research”
6/21/2010
Why Civilizations Perish:
Past, Present and Diamond’s Hypothesis for tomorrow
Table of Contents Introduction 3 Hypothesis 3 Method 3 Background 4 The Diamond Hypothesis 4 Results 5 Past 5 The Mayan Society 5 The Roman Empire 9 China Present and Future 14 Introduction 14 People’s Republic of China 14 Historical background 15 China’s problem 17 Diamonds five point framework vs. China 20 Expected future 23 Haiti and the Dominican Republic 24 Introduction 24 Application of Diamond’s Hypothesis 25 Summary and Conclusion 30 Overall Conclusion 31 References 33 Declaration 35
Introduction
Civilizations have grown and some have perished in the past, due to different reasons. Depending on different scientists and facts, the reasons to past civilization falls are disputed. Some focus more on social reasons, while others focus more on ecological explanations. Looking at the current situation in the world, one might wonder if there is a risk for similar happenings today, or perhaps in the future and if there is anything to learn from the past and previous mistakes. With Jarred Diamonds book “Collapse” in focus for this report, written for the course “Intercultural Competence and Cross-Cultural Research”, his theories on why civilizations perish are discussed and compared to other facts that contradict stated in the book.
Hypothesis
Is the Diamond theory always proven in different cases of perished societies and can it be applied on future outcomes?
Method
The focus of our sources has been from the book, Collapse, by the author Jared Diamond. Other sources have been from the internet to find different point of views than those of Diamond. Emma Hamilton has covered the first part, Past, Attila Bodor has written about Chinas present and future and Maria Shishmanova has written about the neighboring countries Haiti and the
Maria
Term paper for “Intercultural Competence and Cross-Cultural Research”
6/21/2010
Why Civilizations Perish:
Past, Present and Diamond’s Hypothesis for tomorrow
Table of Contents Introduction 3 Hypothesis 3 Method 3 Background 4 The Diamond Hypothesis 4 Results 5 Past 5 The Mayan Society 5 The Roman Empire 9 China Present and Future 14 Introduction 14 People’s Republic of China 14 Historical background 15 China’s problem 17 Diamonds five point framework vs. China 20 Expected future 23 Haiti and the Dominican Republic 24 Introduction 24 Application of Diamond’s Hypothesis 25 Summary and Conclusion 30 Overall Conclusion 31 References 33 Declaration 35
Introduction
Civilizations have grown and some have perished in the past, due to different reasons. Depending on different scientists and facts, the reasons to past civilization falls are disputed. Some focus more on social reasons, while others focus more on ecological explanations. Looking at the current situation in the world, one might wonder if there is a risk for similar happenings today, or perhaps in the future and if there is anything to learn from the past and previous mistakes. With Jarred Diamonds book “Collapse” in focus for this report, written for the course “Intercultural Competence and Cross-Cultural Research”, his theories on why civilizations perish are discussed and compared to other facts that contradict stated in the book.
Hypothesis
Is the Diamond theory always proven in different cases of perished societies and can it be applied on future outcomes?
Method
The focus of our sources has been from the book, Collapse, by the author Jared Diamond. Other sources have been from the internet to find different point of views than those of Diamond. Emma Hamilton has covered the first part, Past, Attila Bodor has written about Chinas present and future and Maria Shishmanova has written about the neighboring countries Haiti and the
References: Internet Articles Ancient Rome (2010) In Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Retrieved 08.04.2010 in http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9106272 Gregg Easterbrook (2005) The New York Times, Retrieved 26.05.2010 in http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/books/review/30EASTERB.html?_r=3 Jared Diamond (2010) The Globalist, Retrieved 18.05.2010 in http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?storyid=4776 Jonathon Porritt (2005) The Guardian, Retrieved 26.05.2010 in http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jan/15/society Linda Lyons (2010) Gallup, Retrieved 18.05.2010 in http://www.gallup.com/poll/26614/island-divide-haiti-vs-dominican-republic.aspx McNeill, John Robert. (2005) Diamond in the Rough: Is There a Genuine Environmental Threat to Security? A Review Essay, Retrieved 25.04.2010 in http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/international_security/v030/30.1mcneill.pdf Michael Kavanagh (2005) Grist, Retrieved 25.04.2010 in http://www.grist.org/article/kavanagh-collapse/ Romerska Riket (2010) Nationalencyklopedin Online, Retrieved 08.04.2010 in http://www.ne.se/lang/romerska-riket Books Diamond, J. (2005). Collapse: How societies choose to fail or survive. England: Clays Ltd for Penguin Books -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Diamond,J. (2005). Collapse: How societies choose to fail or survive. England: Clays Ltd for Penguin Books [ 2 ] [ 11 ]. Diamond,J. (2005). Collapse: How societies choose to fail or survive. England: Clays Ltd for Penguin Books [ 12 ] [ 17 ]. Diamond, J. (2005). Collapse. London, England: Penguin Books., page 337 [ 18 ]