Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HuskyCT - https://lms.uconn.edu/webct/logon/1258756374011
Instructors:
1st half: Prof. Carl Schlichting
Office: 366 Torrey Life Sciences
486-4056, schlicht@uconn.edu
2nd half: Prof. Peter Turchin
Office: 462 Torrey Life Sciences
486-3603, peter.turchin@uconn.edu
Teaching assistant:
Jon Velotta
Office: 212 Pharmacy Biology
486-4694, jonathan.velotta@uconn.edu
Hours: by appointment
Hours: by appointment
Hours: by appointment
No Required Textbook
Supplementary Texts: Relethford, The Human Species, 8th edition
Mielke et al. (2006/2011) Human Biological Variation, 1st or 2nd editions
Richerson & Boyd, Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution (2004)
We will be using clickers: register your clicker on HuskyCt
Course Grading
2 in-class exams
100 pts each
Final exam
2/3 last section / 1/3 cumulative
2 class exercises
Attendance
TOTAL
200 pts
200 pts
100 pts
40 pts
540 pts
LearningGoals
1)perspectivesthatdetermineinterpretivesystemsandsocial,culturalandeconomicconstructions
2)thedifferencesandsimilaritiesamonghumangroups
StudentOutcomes
11:Differentiatevarietiesofhumanexperiences,modesofthinking,values
12:Analyzeproblemsorissuesshowinganunderstandingofculturaldiversity,includinghis/her
ownculturalperspective
31:Identifypointsofcomparisonandcontrastbetweenvariousculturesorpeoples
21 JAN
13: 329-341
13: 341-354
23 JAN
23 JAN
2: 31- mid40
bot52-57; 3: 70-71
2: 40-49
2: 49-52
28 JAN
B. Natural selection
C. Genetics of racial variation
V. Nature vs. Nurture - Environmental effects
1. The basics: P = G + E + G*E
2. How much can a genetic trait be modified?
3. Case study: IQ
28 JAN
30 JAN
4 FEB
3: 65-70
4 FEB
3: 71-76
3: 76-81
3: 81-88
6 FEB
11 FEB
11 FEB
Tuesday
Feb 18th
EXAM 1
IV. Evolution of Human populations
A. Patterns of Human Genetic Variation:
Genetic drift & migration
Approx
Dates
21 JAN
15: 381-388
15: 388-404
16: 407-419
14: 371-378
20 FEB
25 FEB
4 MARCH
6 MARCH
14:376 ; 7:178-180
6 MARCH
Supplementary Readings*
Not By Genes Alone: Chap. 1
SPRING BREAK
Darwinian theory of cultural evolution
The puzzle of human ultrasociality
EXAM 2
Cultural group selection
Evolution of warfare
Cultural transmission, imitation, and conformism
Behavioral economics, public goods games
Cultural variability in cooperation. Evolution of Social Brain
Transition from simple to complex societies
Evolution of religion
Wrapping up. Cultural evolution today. Variability of legal,
political, and value systems among human groups.
11 March
13 March
18 & 20
March
25 March
27 March
1 April
Thurs
3 April
8 April
10 April
15 April
17 April
24 April
24 April
29 April
1 May
https://www.facebook.com/groups/461264763922357/permalink/609443385771160/
Starting in week 2, you can earn 1 extra credit point EACH week of the semester by posting
articles or participating in discussions. Thats up to 13 points over the entire semester (NOT
including Spring Break). The Facebook page is an online environment where interested
students can find additional information on topics relevant to the course. So check in and read
articles even if you arent posting stuff.
To earn extra credit, simply find an article online that is relevant to the weeks lectures and post
it to the wall. Include a brief blurb about why you find this article interesting. NO duplicates will
be accepted, so make sure someone has not already posted your article.
Alternately, participate in an online discussion about a topic of interest related to the course.
Use the discussion tab to start a new topic. Making a vacuous statement like I really liked this
article will not earn you credit. But starting a discussion will, and so will engaging in substantial
meaningful discourse. Remember that it takes at least two people to have a discussion, so
follow up on others leads.
There is no limit to the number of contributions you can make, but you can only earn 1 point
PER WEEK. Weeks start and end at midnight Sunday. Jon will moderate the group and decide
which articles and discussion topics are worth extra credit.
Engage, enjoy and have fun - but please remember to play nice. Disrespectful or insulting
behavior will not be tolerated. You will be held to the student code:
http://www.community.uconn.edu/student_code.html