Guns Germs and Steel
Many people have pondered the questions, "Why are there so many different cultures around the world?" and "Why are we not all the same?" The incredible variations in human cultures and languages are the results of differing historical experiences with the environment and natural resources. Plants and animals that have been domesticated have been particularly important in the evolution of cultural complexity. This episode reviews the major patterns of human migration diversity and the plants and animals that have contributed to the rise of various civilizations.
Production Credits
Presented by: Will McClatchey
Themes and Content by: Isabella Abbott, Al Keali'i Chock, Will McClatchey, My Lien Nguyen, Tamara Ticktin, and David Webb
Series Special Presentations and Content by: Tony A.B. Cunningham, Catherine Davenport, Orou Gaoue, Lisa X. Gollin, Y. Han Lau, Spencer Leinweber, Mark Merlin, Levon ‘ohai, Joseph Ostraff, Melinda Ostraff, Orlo Steele, Clay Trauernicht, Art Whistler, Namaka Whitehead, and Kawika Winter
Post Production Critique by: Al Keali'i Chock, Momi Kamahele, Kiope Raymond, and University of Hawai`i at Manoa Botany 105 Students (Fall 2005)
Camera Work by: David Reedy, David Strauch, and Michael B. Thomas
Video and Sound Editing by: Markus Faigle, David Reedy, David Strauch, and Michael B. Thomas
Audio Production by: Will McClatchey and David Reedy
Consulting by: Edo Biagoni, Kim Bridges, Pauline Chinn, Valerie McClatchey, Hae Okimoto, Nelda Quinsell, and Ingelia White
Funding provided by: University of Hawai'i, Department of Botany; University of Hawai'i, Information Technology Services; University of Hawai'i, College of Natural Sciences; University of Hawai'i, Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs; National Center for Academic Transformation; and University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Chancellor
Inspiration from: Isabella Abbott, Michael Balick, Brad Bennett, Brent Berlin, Paul Cox, Memory Elvin-Lewis, Timothy Johns, Beatrice Krauss, Walter Lewis, Richard Evans Schultes, Gail Wagner and the members of The Society for Economic Botany.
Video Options (30 min)
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Readings
Diamond, Jared. 1997. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. Norton, New York.
Bushnell, O. A. 1993. The Gifts of Civilization: Germs and genocide in Hawai'i. University of Hawaii Press.
Weatherford, Jack M. 1988. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World. Ballantine Books, New York.
Audio (31 min)