East Asia

1. East Asia

2. One measure of scientific impact:

3. Nobel Prizes Awarded to Asian Scientists China, 2 (0) Taiwan, 3 (0) India, 4 (3) Japan, 15 (12)

4. G7 Group of “major” industrialized countries Top contributors to the Human Genome Project • United States • United Kingdom • France • Germany • Japan • China • United States • United Kingdom • France • Germany • Japan • Italy • Canada

5. The “Rise of the West” • The G7 nations account for 2/3 of the world’s economic output & growth. • Just 200 years ago, China and India held that position. • What happened in the world to account for these changes in a relatively short period of time? • Western nations typically point to their cultural superiority as an explanation.

6. Western Superiority? • 16th century- Renaissance: Spanish conquist-adors vanquished entire American civilizations, was the Christian religion the cause? • 17th century- Enlightenment: cause must be Greek heritage of secular, rationalistic, and scientific thought. • 18th century- French & American revolutions: equality, liberty and brotherhood! The West was progressing faster that the rest of the world. • 19th century- post-Industrial revolution: ascent of West is complete.

7. “Diffusionist Theory” • Democracy was developed in Greece • Passed on to Rome • Rediscovered by Europe during the Renaissance • Elaborated during the Enlightenment • Finally fulfilled during the Revolutions • It, along with Modernization, has been diffusing out to the rest of the world ever since

8. Problem with Diffusionist Theory: Predicts that gap between wealthy and poor countries should shrink- it is actually growing. Other explanations for European superiority: • cultural values • environmental differences • political/military differences • demographic differences

9. Eurocentrism • belief that “the West has some unique historical advantage, some special quality of race or culture or environment or mind or spirit, which gave this human community a permanent superiority over all other communities” Eurocentrism has been called: • a myth • an ideology • a theory • a master narrative • a paradigm

10. Contingency • Was the “Rise of the West” inevitable? • The author believes it was “contingent on other developments that happened independently elsewhere in the world”. • The economic engine which drove global trade for much of history was Asia, not Europe. • It was the European desire to trade with Asia which lead to the discovery of America. • Large coal deposits in England meant that industrialization based on steam engines could be achieved.

11. The Future • If the “Rise of the West” was inevitable- then nothing we do now can change the future concerning Western dominance. • If it was highly contingent on other events- the future is contingent on what we do now.

12. Conjunctures • “when several otherwise independent developments come together in ways that interact with one another, creating a unique historical moment.” • “things happening in different parts of the world for reasons having to do with local circumstances that then become globally important.” • Example: development of nation-states in Europe converged on Industrial Revolution to provide the basis for military preeminence