Memetics Fall 2004 Syllabus-- Professor Balkin

Cultural Evolution and Memetics

Professor Jack M. Balkin

Yale Law School

Syllabus (Preliminary)

The following books are assigned for the course. Readings in the Supplemental materials are noted as "Supp."

1. J.M. Balkin, Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology (Yale Univ Press 1998) ISBN: 0300072880

2. Susan J. Blackmore, The Meme Machine (Oxford Press 2000) ISBN: 019286212X

3. Pascal Boyer, Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought (Basic Books 2002) ISBN: 0465006965

4. Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (W.W. Norton & Company 1999) ISBN: 0393317552

5. Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (Penguie Books 2003) ISBN: 0142003344

6. Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny (Vintage Books 2001) ISBN: 0679758941

1. Introduction: Models of Cultural Evolution (9/7/2004)

Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene (selections), Supp.
Cronk, That Complex Whole (selections), Supp.

2. Memes and Cultural Software (9/14/2004)

J.M. Balkin, Cultural Software, pp. 1-97

3. Memetic Drive and Imitation (9/21/2004)

Susan Blackmore, The Meme Machine

4. Criticisms of the Memetic Model (9/28/2004)

Robert Aunger, The Electric Meme (selections), Supp.
Dan Sperber, An Objection To the Memetic Approach To Culture, Supp.
Maurice Bloch, A Well Disposed Social Anthropologists' Problems with Memes, Supp.

5. Niche Construction, Population Models, and Gene-Culture Co-Evolution (10/5/2004)

Kevin Laland and John Odling-Smee, The Evolution of the Meme, Supp.
Robert Boyd and Peter J. Richerson, Memes: Universal Acid or a Better Mousetrap?, Supp.
Kevin N. Laland and Gillian R. Brown, Sense and Nonsense, (selections), Supp.

6. Cultural Evolution and Human Nature (10/12/2004)

Stephen Pinker, The Blank Slate

7. Cultural Evolution and Social Norms (10/19/2004)

Gintis, Solving the Problem of Prosociality, Supp.
Ellickson, The Evolution of Social Norms: A Perspective from the Legal Academy, Supp.
Gary Alan Fine, Enacting Norms: Mushrooming and the Culture of Expectations and Explanations, Supp.
Karl-Dieter Opp, Social Networks and the Emergence of Protest Norms, Supp.
Satoshi Kanazawa and Mary C. Still, The Emergence of Marriage Norms: An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective, Supp.

8. Cultural Evolution and Ideology (11/2/2004)

J.M. Balkin, Cultural Software, pp. 101-294

9. Memetics and Religion (11/9/2004)

Pascal Boyer, Religion Explained

10. Diffusion of Innovations (11/16/2004)

Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel

11. Cultural Evolution and Human Progress (11/23/2004)

Robert Wright, Non-Zero

12. Networks, Cascades and Fads (11/30/2004)

Malcom Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (selections), Supp.
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Linked: The New Science of Networks (Selections), Supp.
Duncan Watts, Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (Selections), Supp.

13. Memetics and The Internet (12/7/2004)

Jack M. Balkin, Freedom of Speech From A Meme's Point of View
Cass R. Sunstein, The Daily We
Jack M. Balkin, Balkinization: What I Learned About Blogging in a Year
Jack M. Balkin, Balkinization: Political Discussion and Political Organization on the Internet
Clay Shirky, Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality
Laura Trippi, Power Laws, Discourse, and Democracy
Daniel Drezner and Henry Farrell, The Power and Politics of Blogs