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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page book review that examines a text that offers an alternative view of history. In the prologue to his text Eve's Seed: Biology, the Sexes and the Course of History (2001), historian Robert S. McElvaine states that "If the complex argument of the book had to be reduced to one sentence," it would be that "Hell hath no fury like a man devalued" (McElvaine 1). By this McElvaine means that the story of Adam and Eve was actually about the "fall of Man" but rather a metaphorical account of the rise of women, as he credits women with the invention of agriculture. Through this invention in the early pre-history of the race, women surpassed men and destroyed the significance of the male role as a hunter to the survival of the tribe. Furthermore, going to the heart of the biological difference between the sexes, McElvaine argues the male assertions of superiority can be traced to the "male inability to bear and nourish children" (McElvaine 3). Based on these propositions, McElvaine proceeds to offer a revisionist history that takes a decidedly different perspective from the traditional male-oriented view. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khevesed.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
book had to be reduced to one sentence," it would be that "Hell hath no fury like a man devalued" (McElvaine 1). By this McElvaine means that the story of
Adam and Eve was actually about the "fall of Man" but rather a metaphorical account of the rise of women, as he credits women with the invention of agriculture. Through
this invention in the early pre-history of the race, women surpassed men and destroyed the significance of the male role as a hunter to the survival of the tribe. Furthermore,
going to the heart of the biological difference between the sexes, McElvaine argues the male assertions of superiority can be traced to the "male inability to bear and nourish children"
(McElvaine 3). Based on these propositions, McElvaine proceeds to offer a revisionist history that takes a decidedly different perspective from the traditional male-oriented view. McElvaine argues that while the
work of feminist historians adopting an evolutionary perspective has been exemplary, it has been largely ignored by historians and more traditional feminists (McElvaine 5). His text seeks to correct this
discrepancy by bringing together two modes of inquiry: evolutionary biology and history. He posits that "practitioners of revamped evolutionary science have largely ignored history," while "historians have even more ignored
evolution" (McElvaine 5). In accomplishing this goal, McElvaine also states as one of his texts objectives the goal of exploring how sexual differences have shaped history. As this
suggests, McElvaines examination is grounded in his conception of "biohistory," which he derives from multiple sources, including Richard Dawkinss text The Selfish Gene, while also placing his argument against the
backdrop of sociobiologys history (McElvaine 31). In so doing, he draws on historical and psychological sources as well as offering a biological reading of human and cultural evolution that has
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