Human Geography 9 Summer Reading
Human Geography 9: View the movie Guns, Germs and Steel. The movie is available for purchase at many
outlets and online, rental from Netflix or Blockbuster, or can be streamed online for free at http://topdocumentary.com/
The movie Guns, Germs and Steel is about why the world is so unequal today. Jared Diamond, the author of
the book on which the movie is based, argues that certain parts of the world were geographically positioned
to develop successful and advanced civilizations, while other regions were destined to centuries of
underdevelopment and material poverty. The main reason why some places successfully developed while
others never advanced beyond nomadic hunting and gathering cultures lies in the geography.
Diamond is arguing “geography is destiny.” By this he means, those areas that happened to be blessed with
the most beneficial food and animals to domesticate were able to develop and prosper because they could
easily produce food surpluses. Over the course of centuries, the advantages that the geographically blessed
had were extremely sophisticated compared to regions without the “right” geography. Ultimately, when
those encountered societies encountered each other, as the Spanish meeting the Incas, those with the
centuries of geographically built in advantages were easily able to overwhelm and conquer the geographically
less fortunate. According to Diamond, these built in geographic advantages that led to the “haves’
conquering the “have-nots,” are at the root of inequality in the world even today.
Assignment: Write a one to two page response to the following question:
“What is Jared Diamond’s argument and how did geography favor Europe over America?”
Summer questions about the movie or assignment should be directed to [email protected] or
[email protected]