ANTH 4100/6100

Exploration of different theoretical approaches to the evolutionary study of human behavior, from Darwin through the development of ethology, sociobiology, human behavioral ecology, dual inheritance theory, and behavioral economics. Examination of topics such as influence of genes versus culture on behavior, cooperation, subsistence decisions, mate choice, reproductive and parenting choices.

When this course is taught as a split level, additional requirements for graduate students: This course will build graduate students' skills for crafting publishable written argument, and increase their knowledge of published arguments within the evolutionary anthropology literature. Commensurate with these goals, each graduate student will be assigned a major theme from the course around which to (a) gather supplemental published research, including theoretical contributions and case studies, (b) summarize this research in an annotated bibliography, (c) present a brief oral summary of this literature to the class on the day the theme is addressed, thus providing the undergraduates with a better sense of the breadth of the topic, and (d) write a term paper exploring the topic or some aspect of it in greater depth. Finally, graduate students will take different exams, commensurate with their greater knowledge and ability to express complex ideas in writing.