| Due on 18 January:
The basic set-up is this: you have two papers, 1) Gadgil and Guha, and
2) Thirgood. Gadgil and Guha propose a conceptual model about how different
kinds of societies relate to their environment. Thirgood gives examples
of how different societies related to their environment. The question is
this: does the Gadgil and Guha model fit the observations in Thirgood?
Find just one example where the model fits, or doesn't fit. Write approximately
one page (double spaced) pointing out your example of where the model does
or doesn't fit the observations. The "different kinds of societies" I refer
to in G&G are 1) gatherers, 2) nomadic pastoralists, 3) cultivators/agriculturalists,
and 4) industrial societies.
Due on 25 January: Take your paper from last week, and expand it using what you have learned from class discussions and your additional readings this week. You can continue with the theme of how the conceptual framework (Gagil & Guha) fit the observations (Thirgood and Perlin), and discuss the ways in which deforestation and environmental degradation affect civilization, culture and art. Your paper should be about two pages, or a little more. Due on 1 February: Check the guidelines for writing a report for Voyages. You do not need to produce your final report this week. Your assignment for 1 February is to turn your question paper (assuming you've stayed with the same topic) into a research proposal. In practice this means having an introduction where you define the issues and introduce your questions or hypotheses, and a methods section where you describe the work you will do to address the questions. You will not have any results, so in lieu of a discussion you should write a few lines on the significance of your topic. |