This course is cross listed in the dept of Evolutionary Anthropology and Philosophy and is co-taught with Prof S. Churchill of that department. It focuses on the data and theory which together enable us to understand the evolution of the culture of our species, Homo sapiens, from our species' first emergence to the period of recorded history. Special emphasis on archeological evidence, Darwin's theory of natural selection, recent theories in evolutionary psychology, sociobiology and gene/culture co-evolutionary theory, and controversies about whether socially significant human traits are hardwired and genetically determined or learned responses to individual human environments. Thus, the class is an introduction to the biological and social science that informs our best account of "human nature," its differences from that other other primate species. Through the light it sheds on biological, cognitive, emotional, and social capacities and dispositions, the course is relevant to a wide variety of issues raised in the behavioral sciences and some of the interpretative disciplines of the humanities.
The readings are mainly from recently published articles available through blackboard,and from two introductory texts.
There are two take home mid-term examinations and a take home final examination in this class. |
