COSMOLOGIES OF CAPITALISM


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Lectures originally written in 1982 and filmed over a period of ten days in December 2012

I have used the original scripts, written thirty years ago, but divided most of the original lectures in half. I have also left out some bits, and added a few reflections from the present. So they are perhaps three quarters as they were delivered – but expanded somewhat. And there is a new final lecture looking back and more widely at the whole series and the new global paradigm.

1. Theoretical Systems in the Social Sciences: Nature and Origins – 35 mins

2. Theoretical Systems in Social Science: Anthropological Approaches – 55 mins

3. Three Major Theoretical Systems: An Overview – 29 mins

4. Three Major Theoretical Systems: Structuralism and Causation – 25 mins

5. From Circular to Serial Time: The Renaissance 1400-1700 - 25 mins

6. From Circular to Serial Time: Some Causes of the Change - 55 mins

7. The Enlightenment - 1: Nature and Causes - 35 mins

8. The Enlightenment – 2: France and the Reversal – 25 mins

9. Evolution: the Background – 38 mins

10. Evolution: Some Features – 46 mins

11. Evolutionism: Social Sciences – 52 mins

12. Structuralism: A Portrait – 50 mins

13. Structuralism: Social Sciences – 60 mins

14. New Evolutionism 1930-1980 – 31 mins

15. Reflections on the Lectures: December 2012 - 54 mins

Sound:

I started recording using the externally attached rifle mike which I use for interviews. For some reason, as I discovered after half a dozen had been recorded, I was getting a low hum. I then moved to using a radio mike from lecture 9. This reduces the hum and gives a richer and more interesting recording. But the earlier lectures, on listening carefully, are not too bad and re-doing them might lose some of the original energy. So have left them as they are.

I found that with the radio mike it was very sensitive to hand-gestures, so I kept these to a minimum after the first lecture.

Lighting:

For the first eight I used natural light, sometimes supplemented with a little electric light from above. For number 9, I tried using more artificial light from two table lamps. I found this did not improve the picture, in fact it seemed worse. So I reverted to mainly natural light with a little from the lamp in the centre of the room.

Location and camera

Filmed against the Chinese poem scroll in the Tea House, head and shoulders, sitting in an easy chair. Using the 3CCD Sony I use for interviews.