Joseph Henrich and Cammie Curtin
Gen Ed 1056 | Fall 2024 | Course Listing | Canvas Site
Monday & Wednesday, 10:30 AM – 11:45 AM
What makes us human and why does it matter?
What makes us psychologically and behaviorally human? Why is this important? In what ways are humans similar to other species, and how are we different? What are the evolutionary origins of the behavioral and psychological features found across human societies, including parental love, sibling rivalry, pair-bonding, incest aversion, social status, war, norms, altruism, religion, language and cooking? At the same time, how can we account for the immense diversity we observe in behavior and psychology across time and societies? Tackling these questions within a broad evolutionary framework, the course will draw on the latest insights and evidence from evolutionary biology, primatology, anthropological ethnography, neuroscience, genetics, linguistics, economics and psychology. We’ll contextualize contemporary behavior by examining studies of non-human primates, especially chimpanzees, and a broad range of human variation based on comparative studies of hunter-gatherers, herders, agriculturalists and—most unusual of all—people from societies that are WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic). Along the way, we’ll see how culture has driven much of our genetic evolution and runs deep into our evolutionary history. We’ll consider how understanding the evolutionary origins of human behavior, psychology, and culture informs how we approach contemporary issues such as patriarchy, polygamous marriage, sex differences, child abuse, mating preferences, homosexuality, racism, psychological differences among populations and the use of oral contraceptives.