Premodern To Post Modern Society Essays - Economic Systems, Foraging

Premodern To Post Modern Society Western liberal scholars have divided human history into three phases: the premodern, the modern and the post modern. Each phase has no definite end, rather they layer on top of each. For example, a thoroughly post modern society has elements of premodern and modern in it. There is no one exact time when the premodern ended and the modern began: each society reached them differently. Western Europe entered the modern era in the sixteen hundreds while the rest of the world was still premodern. Even now, most industrialized countries are post modern, yet most of the Third World is modern or even premodern. The premodern phase spans a huge amount of time, from prehistory until the rise of modern institutions. The premodern can further be divided into two periods, before and after settled agriculture. Before a society adopts settled agriculture, they live of the land, hunting and gathering. The political organization of such groups is roughly like a wolf pack: there is a dominate leader figure (not necessarily male) that leads a more or less egalitarian community. An excellent example of hunter-gatherers is the Kung bushmen of the Kalahari dessert. The Kung live in small family groups in an extremely hostile environment yet they have adapted. Since they do not cultivate plants for food there is no point in owning a parcel of land. Each small tribe can support itself on it's surrounding land with resources to spare. Private ownership of land is unherad of. Since the technology of the Kung is rudimentary, everyone in the tribe has the same skills at manufacturing as everyone else. If one m ember of the tribe wishes to make a loincloth, he simply makes it himself, every member of the tribe can exactly this. There is no way to differentiate status, everyone has exactly the same skills. The division of labor between man and women is slight. Both take an active role in feeding the family; the man hunts while the woman gathers. Women and men are treated equally. Serious crime like murder or robbery are unheard of among the Kung. There is no reason to steal when every product can be made easily with the resources at hand. The only thing stealing would accomplish is isolation from the rest of the tribe. Also, there was very little in the way to steal. The Kung live in tune with nature, they use only a few simple tools such as digging sticks and spears. As the Kung all live in a close knit tribe stealing from one another is like stealing from a close friend. There is no faceless anonymity of the victim for the perpetrator. The thief knows and lives with the person who he is stealing from. Even if one individual committed a minor offense among the Kung, they themselves are not directly punished. Instead, there is a ritual to banish the demon who enter the perpetrators body and willed him to misbehave. There is no forced confinement or resentment. Societies such as the Kung were very small. Each person must forage or hunt for their food. To sustain a population of even a small amount of people the surrounding wilderness must be big enough to continually regenerate itself in the following years. This did not lead to a large population density as it takes large tracts of land to support people without going barren. This is why hunter gatherer groups are so small; the land cannot support many people in its present state. The Kung continue to survive by adapting to the land, instead of adapting the land to better suit their needs. If it suited them and they had the technology, the Kung could plow fields and build irrigation system to bring water into the dessert. The cost of this is huge labor output, yet the benefit is increased food production. With increased food production comes larger and larger populations. A small population is not the only disadvantage of hunter gatherers. Science and technology suffer in a tribal system s uch as the Kung. Gathering food and caring for children occupied the entire time. There were no dedicated scholars or scientists. Only with food surpluses reaped by settled agriculture could people

Doctor Visit with Troubling Symptoms (ESL Dialogue)

Doctor Visit with Troubling Symptoms (ESL Dialogue) Some Troubling Symptoms Patient: Good afternoon. Doctor: Good afternoon. Have a seat. So, what have you come in for today?Patient: Thank you. Im feeling ill, Ive got quite a bad cough, but I dont seem to have a fever. Doctor: I see. How long have you had these symptoms?Patient: Oh, Ive had the cough for two weeks, but feeling ill just these past few days. Doctor: Are you having any other problems?Patient: Well, Ive got a headache. Ive also had a little bit of diarrhea. Doctor: Do you produce any phlegm when coughing?Patient: Sometimes, but its usually pretty dry. Doctor: Do you smoke?Patient: Yes, a few cigarettes a day. Certainly no more than a half a pack a day. Doctor: How about allergies? Do you have any allergies?Patient: Not that Im aware of. Doctor: Does your head feel stuffy?Patient: Yes, for the past few days. Doctor: OK. Now lets have a look. Could you please open your mouth and say ah? Key Vocabulary symptomsto feel illcoughfeverto have a coughheadachediarrheaphlegmto coughallergystuffyto feel stuffy More English for Medical Purposes Dialogues Troubling Symptoms - Doctor and PatientJoint Pain - Doctor and PatientA Physical Examination - Doctor and PatientPain that Comes and Goes - Doctor and PatientA Prescription - Doctor and PatientFeeling Queasy - Nurse and PatientHelping a Patient - Nurse and PatientPatient Details - Administration Staff and Patient More Dialogue Practice - Includes level and target structures / language functions for each dialogue.

Family in Europe History Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Family in Europe History - Coursework Example Sex was therefore often considered to be simply a means of producing the future workers of the farm. In order to make sure heirs would be born, premarital sex was not entirely frowned upon. If the girl became pregnant before marriage, it was proof that she was fertile and the marriage could be made official. The land had also become more productive and new industries were born, creating a need for greater numbers of workers and forcing society to be both more lenient toward unwed mothers and more accepting of their children. Although laws had been written to prevent servants and unlanded peoples from marrying, this did not prevent them from engaging in sex with desired partners, thereby producing illegitimate children who were often welcomed into the household as future workers and guarantors that the farm or the industry would thrive. Individuals in poorer households generally married for economic reasons and worked hard all day while practicing a general hands-off approach to human relationships. People in the upper classes often took on lovers to excite them sexually because they were not limited by the same economic constraints and their time was not wholly devoted to sustenance and support. The bourgeois morality that began in the eighteenth century grew out of the marriage and sexual practices of the nobility class. Because marriage was seen as more of an economic arrangement, it was generally considered unwise to hamper it with excessive love at the same time that an aesthetic appreciation for sex, with extramarital partners, was being developed. However, as industries began to move outside of the home and families began to live in closer proximity to each other, emotional attachments became stronger and the idea of marrying for love rather than money began to take precedence. Because the family no longer worked within a larger community of servants and siblings to maintain the family farm or the tradesman’s shop, they were