Unit information: How Societies Evolve in 2022/23

Unit name	How Societies Evolve
Unit code	ARCH20064
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Kit Opie
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	Department of Anthropology and Archaeology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

A simple reading of Darwinian natural selection suggests that evolution only takes place between competing individuals. However, societies are based in large part on cooperation. How then did those societies evolve? This course explores the mechanisms by which cooperation can evolve through natural selection and the resulting societies, in primates, hominins and modern humans. Group living has major implications for behaviour, reproduction and cognition, where the balance of costs and benefits can result in unexpected outcomes, which can be seen across primate species. We then turn to social evolution in hominins and how this shaped early modern human society. Finally, we assess a number of hypotheses for the evolution of large-scale human societies over the last 5,000 years. The common features of the evolution of societies can give us insights into contemporary human social life and help us identify future trends in social change.

Your learning on this unit

1. Explain the mechanisms by which cooperation can evolve through natural selection.
2. Evaluate the main theories for the origin of human and non-human primate social systems.
3. Describe the variety of primate social systems and draw out details of their underlying structure.
4. Discuss the major implications of group living for reproductive strategies, social behaviour and cognition in humans and other primates.
5. Draw out the main features of hominin social structures that contributed to early modern human societies.
6. Analyse the implications of gene-culture co-evolution for the emergence of human societies.
7. Review the key stages in the evolution of large-scale human societies and assess the various hypotheses for these changes.

How you will learn

Weekly lectures, bi weekly seminars, supported by self-directed activities and student presentations

How you will be assessed

Presentation (0%, required for credit – formative) [ILOs 3-6]

Timed Assessment (100%) [ILOs 1-7]

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ARCH20064).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.