Human Societies: An Evolutionary Introduction to Cultural Sociology

This book by the late German sociologist Bernhard Giesen offers an ambitious and original reconstruction of human history. Originally written for a series of 25 lectures at Yale university, this book can be read as an evolutionary account of humanity that avoids any linear and simplistic narrative of progress. Like Graeber and Wengrow, Giesen rejects the notion of "evolutionary stages", arguing instead that forms of social organization (e.g., families) and cultural practices (e.g., rituals) that can be found in the earliest human societies are still relevant today. This unique perspective on human evolution is informed by Giesen's own theory of cultural selection, which argues that cultural codes and practices are selected for and reproduced in relation to specific social situations. Along the way, Human Societies introduces basic (cultural) sociological concepts, showcasing their historical origins and contemporary relevance: Cultural practices such as rituals and initiation rituals in particular; symbolic binaries such as sacred and profane; the axial-age distinction between the mundane this-worldly and the transcendent otherworldly; Weber's charismatic, traditional, legal-rational authority. The last chapters address modern phenomena such as individualization and functional differentiation, which includes accounts of the emergence of autonomous social spheres such as science, art and politics. Students will find in it an accessible and fun-to-read overview of human history and an introduction to (cultural) sociological concepts and thinking. Teachers, on the other hand, will be able to appreciate it as an inspiration for their own teaching and thinking. While not specifically targeting experts in the various fields it covers, its unique cultural-sociological perspective and the unmatched creativity of Giesen's thought could also be of interest for specialists in the field.