In this course students will learn about how natural selection has shaped the social organization and behavior of a variety of nonhuman primate species. Advances in the study of behavioral ecology, cognition, genetics, and physiology over the last century have led to impressive breakthroughs in our understanding of this extremely diverse order of mammals. Humans, of course, are primates too, and anthropologists study nonhuman primates to learn more about the sorts of animals that humans evolved from and to understand how natural selection shapes behavior in animals that share our long lives, large brains, good memories, extended parental care, and capacity for nepotism, reciprocity, and competition.

Class Format:

The course format will be twice-weekly discussion sessions of textbook and primary literature readings on these subjects that will require synchronous participation, but as a DC (Distance due to COVID) course, all aspects of this course will be fully compatible with remote online learning. Twice-weekly reading response assignments and a final literature review will be submitted asynchronously via Canvas, and final group presentations will be conducted synchronously at the end of the semester.