McKay, Kimber Haddix

English

University of Montana

University of MontanaScholarWorks at University of MontanaSyllabi Course Syllabi9-2002ANTH 420.01: Human Behavioral EcologyKimber Haddix McKayUniversity of Montana - Missoula, kimber.mckay@mso.umt.eduLet us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabiThis Syllabus is brought to you for free and open access by the Course Syllabi at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted forinclusion in Syllabi by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contactscholarworks@mso.umt.edu.Recommended CitationMcKay, Kimber Haddix, "ANTH 420.01: Human Behavioral Ecology" (2002). Syllabi. 1309.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabi/1309Dr. Kimber Haddix McKay/Human Behavioral EcologyHuman behavioral ecologyAnthropology 420 T ues/T hurs 3:40—5:00 Fall 2002Kimber Haddix McKay, ProfessorOffice: 222 Social Sciences Office hours: W ednesday 10:00-12:00 mckay@selway.umt.eduI. What is human behavioral ecology?Human behavioral ecologists study human behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Why do some groups practice polygyny (when men have multiple wives) while others are polyandrous (when women have multiple husbands) and what similar patterns exist in non-humans? Why are there similarities in mating patterns between humans and other species, dependent upon environmental context, and why are the “choices” that are being made in non-humans and humans often very similar? To what extent are these similarities based upon shared or comparable evolutionary histories, or environmental context, or upon decision options that are homologous?At the most fundamental level, human behavioral ecology is about the ways in which humans respond to varying environmental conditions and how those responses may have been shaped in some way by our evolutionary history. Using predictions derived from evolutionary theory, and measuring the way that humans use different “currencies” (usually fitness estimates or calories), human behavioral ecologists make predictions about behavior (reproductive strategies, hunting strategies, etc.) and test those predictions against empirical data collected in field studies in different cultures. The extent to which people actually maximize the currency of interest in a variety of different environmental and social contexts has occupied much of the research of human behavioral ecologists. The research can in general be classified into three categories: resource acquisition and distribution strategies, life history strategies, and reproductive strategies. In this course we study the development of this field, its connection to social and political environments in American anthropology, and the contributions it has made to the study of human behavior in general.II. ReadingReadings for the course will be drawn from the following sources:Betzig, L., 1997 Human Nature. New York: Oxford University Press Hill, K. and Hurtado, A.M., 1996 Ache Life History. New York: Aldine de Gruyter Hrdy, S.B., 1999 Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species. New York: Ballantine Publishing GroupSmith, E.A. and Winterhalder, B. 1992 Evolutionary Ecology and Human Behavior. New York: Aldine de GruyterDr. Kimber Haddix McKay/Human Behavioral EcologyIII. GradingGrades for the course will be determined as follows:Two minor exams: 25%Final exam: 25%Poster with short oral presentation: 50% (details to follow)Students who miss exams or the in-class poster/oral presentation date must have made arrangements with the instructor or have written documentation (medical or family emergency) explaining their absence. Attendance will not be taken in every class but all students are expected to be present on poster presentation days and oral presentation days, and role will be taken on those days.IV. ScheduleDates Topic Reading Notes9/39/5Whither evolutionary theory in anthropology? Social, political, and academic dimensions of this issue,Handout (P&B Chpt 1) S&W Chpt 29/109/12Why anthropology resists evolutionary theory and its application to human behavior: Conflicts in the Yanomami Amazon and in the American Anthropological Association— Chasnon’s The Fierce Pcoolc. a measles epidemic, and the Atomic Energy CommissionBetzig Chpt 1 S&W Chpt 1 Handouts on Chagnon Film: The Fierce PeopleMeet in library @ 4pm for class on Thursday9/179/19Methodological issues—how to test evolutionary (and other) hypotheses? Hypothetico-deductive vs inductive approaches to research, and why this distinction is important to human behavioral ecologistsReread S&W 11-17 H&H 1-18 Kuhn Handout9/249/26Film: !Kung San foragers (1) Film: !Kung San foragers (2)Make notes during film (following your handouts)10/110/3Sociobiology and early approaches to studying fertility from a human behavioral ecological perspectiveFirst minor exam on ThursdayIrons Chpts 3&4 in BetzigFirst minor exam Thursday in classDr. Kimber Haddix McKay/Human Behavioral EcologyDates Topic Reading Notes10/810/10Sociobiology—power, mates, and resourcesFilm: Kawelka: Ongka’s Big MokaChagnon Chpts 9&10 in Betzig10/1510/17Recent directions in the study of human fertility from an evolutionary perspective—bushman birth spacing revisitedBlurton Jones Chpts 7&8 in BetzigHrdy Part 1 (pgs 3-96) Hrdy Chpt 810/2210/24Differential Parental Investment: Why some parents prefer sons and kill daughtersDickemann Handout Cronk Handout Levine Handout10/2910/31More on differential parental investmentSkinner Handout Hrdy Chpts 39 & 40 in Betzig11/511/7Marital strategies and reproduction: polygynyBorgerhoff Mulder Chpts 11&12 in BetzigHartung Chpts 31&32 in Betzig11/1211/14Second minor exam on ThursdayNo class on Tuesday (Election Day)Second minor exam Thursday in class11/1911/21Marital strategies and reproduction: polyandryCase Study: The AcheHaddix Handouts H&H Chpt 2 H&H Chpt 1311/26 Finish The Ache11/28Processes of aging (senescence) in human reproduction: the Grandmother HypothesisHill & Hurtado Chpts 13&14 in BetzigPavelka & Fedigan handoutDr. Kimber Haddix McKay/Human Behavioral EcologyDates Topic Reading Notes12/312/5Resource acquisition and evolutionary theory: Inuit hunters and children’s work in the Torres StraitHawkes Chpt 9 in S&WSmith Chpts 5&6 in BetzigBliege and Bird HandoutNo class on Thursday (Thanksgiving)12/1012/12Poster sessions/oral presentations of research project12/16 Final Exam 3:20 -  5:20pmExam in same room as class

ANTH 420.01: Human Behavioral Ecology

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ANTH 420.01: Human Behavioral Ecology

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