SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor
Voyage: Spring 2015 Discipline: Psychology Course Title: PSYC 3500: Evolutionary Psychology Division: Upper Faculty Name: Joseph Lowman Credits: 3 Contact Hours: 38
Pre-requisites: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION This course concerns new evolutionary ways of thinking about human behavior and does so within the context of the Semester at Sea international experience. We will revisit some of the topics studied in the introductory psychology course, e.g. fear, emotion, motivation, personality, and language, but we will view them through the lens of an intellectual perspective that better integrates genetic and environmental evolutionary thinking than the standard social science model. Plus, our course goes into more depth into several topics not usually studied in introductory psychology. For example, we’ll cover mate selection, sexuality, and religion and morality from an evolutionary perspective. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution or “common descent with modification” will receive attention throughout this course as it forms the foundation of how we will approach each specific topic. No single text has been adopted. Instead, individual chapters from a number of specific books will be read and discussed, especially as they fit or do not fit students’ observations in various diverse ports and cultures.
COURSE OBJECTIVES Students will become very familiar with what is called Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, including an ability to distinguish the roles of fitness (or survival) and sexual selection. They will also have an in-depth appreciation of how Darwin created, refined, and eventually published his controversial theory. Students will also be able to show how this new perspective improves the ability of traditional psychological research to understand fundamental human processes by asking “why” questions about their possible adaptive purposes among our primate and early human ancestors.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS (None: All readings will come from chapters available on the Ship’s electronic library. Selections from two of Darwin’s works and chapters from books by established evolutionary biologists and psychologists such as Richard Dawkins, Franz DeWaal, Jared Diamond, Steven Pinker, and Geoffrey Miller are included as well as readings from lessor known figures such as Jesse Bering, Mark Pagel, Nicholas Wade, Christopher Ryan, and Marlene Zuk.)
Brown, D. (1991). Human universals. Temple University. Chapter 6, The Universal People.
Clark, T. (2008) Plight of the Little Emperors, Psychology Today, 1-5. 1
Coonan, C. (2010). China Rethinks its Controversial One-Child Policy. Internet News Article.
Darwin, C. (1845). The Voyage of the Beagle. Chapter X, pp 189-210
Darwin, C. (1872) The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals. Chapter 1, Introduction, pp. 1261-1275
Dawkins, R. (2006). The God Delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, Chapter 5, The Roots of Religion.
Dawkins, R. (2009). The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. New York: The Free Press. Chapter 1, “Only a Theory.”
De Waal, F. (2005). Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We are Who We Are. New York: Basic Books, Chapter 1
Diamond. J. (2012). The World Until Yesterday. New York: Viking Penguin. Prologue.
Dunn, R. (2012) Ancient Humans Mostly Vegetarian. Scientific American.
Gardner, D. (2008). The Science of Fear. New York: Dutton, Chapter 1.
Gaulin, S.J.C.& McBurney, D. H. (2004). Evolutionary Psychology, 2nd Ed. Prentice-Hall, Chapter 6, Motivation and Emotion.
Hesketh, T., Li Lu, and Zhu Wei Xing (2005). The Effect of China’s One-Child Policy After 25 Years. New England Journal of Medicine, 353, 1171-1176
Fessenden, M. (2013). How to Really Eat Like a Hunter-Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet Is Half- Baked. Internet Site
Japanese Internet Sites: Japanese Dating from the Perspective of a Western Man History of Marriage in Japan
Levitin, D. (2006). This is Your Brain on Music. New York: Dutton, Chapter 9, The Music Instinct.
Miller, G (2000). The Mating Mind: How Sexual Selection Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature. Prentice-Hall. Chapter 2, Darwin’s Prodigy.
Miller, G. (2009). Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior. New York: Viking. Chapter 6
Pagel, M. (2012). Wired for Culture: Origins of the Human Social Mind. New York: Norton. Chapter 1, The Occupation of the World.
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Pinker, S. (2007). The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. New York: Viking. Chapter 7, The Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television.
Rossano, M (2003). Evolutionary Psychology: The Science of Human Behavior and Evolution, Wiley. Chapter 17, The Evolution of Language
Roach, M. (2008). Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science. New York: Norton. Chapter 9, The Lady’s Boner: Is the Clitoris a Tiny Penis?
Thomas, E. (2006). The Old Way: A History of the First Humans. Chapter 7, Hunting.
Wade, N. (2009). The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why it Endures. New York: Penguin, Chapter 3, The Evolution of Religion.
Workman, L, & Reader, W. (2008). Evolutionary Psychology (2nd Ed). Cambridge. Chapter 13, Individual Differences
Zuk, M. (2014). Paleofantasy: What evolution really tells us about sex, diet, and how we live. New York: Norton., Chapter 2, pp 44-66.
PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS Class attendance is expected in all Semester at Sea courses and attendance will be recorded. Class sessions in this class will involve a great deal of discussion and presentation of information, case examples, and research studies not covered in the readings. Unless you are physically ill you are expected to attend each and every class session and to see the instructor if you do have an excused absence to make up work missed.
Class meetings will be organized to use material covered in the assigned readings. Thus, in addition to coming to class students are expected to have done the assigned reading beforehand so they can participate fully in classroom discussion. Discussion will be in the form of general discussion, pairing with nearby students, or small group discussion followed by reporting back to the class as a whole. Participation in class discussions is expected of all students. Given how interested most students are in the subjects covered in this course every effort will be made to give everyone a chance to share their ideas, especially how the content does or does not fit what they observe in specific ports.
OFFICE HOURS No formal office hours will be scheduled. Instead, because of the intimate atmosphere on the ship a variety of options will be available for students to meet individually or in small groups with each other and with the instructor, especially before exams and while students are writing papers based on the Field Lab.
TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE
Depart Ensenada- January 7:
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A1-January 9: Introduction and Overview of Evolutionary Psychology Pinker, 2002, Chapter 3
A2-January 11: Humans and Other Apes DeWaal, 2005, Chapter 1 Pagel, 2010, Chapter 1
A3- January 13: Fear, Survival, and Human Adaptation Gardner, 2008, Chapter 2 Ungraded In-class writing assignment Hilo: January 14
A4- January 16: Evolution by Natural Selection and Darwin’s Early Intellectual History Darwin’s 1845 Journey of the Beagle, Chapter X Dawkins, 2009, Chapter 1
A5- January 19: Survival versus Sexual Selection Miller, 2009, Chapter 2
Study Day: January 21
A6- January 22 Exam #1:
A7- January 24: Case Studies of Indigenous Peoples Thomas, 2006, Chapter 7 Diamond, 2012, Prologue
Yokohama: January 26-27 In-Transit: January 28 Kobe: January 29-31
A8- February 1: Dating and Marriage in Contemporary Japan and China Japanese Internet Articles: Japanese Dating from the Perspective of a Western Man History of Marriage in Japan Chinese Articles Hesketh, 2005 Clark, 2008 Coonan, 2010
Shanghai: February 3-4 In-Transit: February 5-6 Hong Kong: 7-8
A9- February 9: Motivation and Emotion Gaulin-McBurney Chapter 6 Darwin, 1872, Expressions of Emotions Introduction
Ho Chi Minh: February 11-16
A10- February 17: Personality and Evolution Workman & Reader, 2008 4
Chapter 13 Cain, 2012 Chapter 4
Singapore: February 19-20
Study Day: February 21
A11- February 22: Health, Diet, and Stress in the Modern World Fessenden, 2013 Dunn, 2012 Zuk, 2014
Rangoon: February 24-March 1
A12- March 2: Human Mating Miller, 2009, Chapter 6
A13- March 4: Human Mating (Continued) Roach, 2008, Chapter 9
Cochin: March 6-11
Study Day: March 12
A14- March 13: Human Universals and Evolution Brown, 1991 Chapter 6
A15- March 15: Evolution of Music and Dance Levitin, 2006 Chapter 9 Study Day: March 17
Port Louis: March 18
A16- March 19: Exam #2
A17- March 21: Language, Diversity, and Human Adaptability Pinker, 2007, Chapter 7
A18- March 23: Language (continued) Ressano, 2003, Chapter 17
Cape Town: March 25-30
Study Day: March 31
A19- April 1: Comparative Discussion of Port Observations
A20- April 3: Religion and Morality Wade, 2009, Chapter 3
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A21- April 5: Religion & Morality (continued) Dawkins, 2006, Chapter 5
Tema (Accra): April 7-9 Takoradi: April 10-11
A22-April 12: Student Presentations of Course Concepts and Port Observations as Presented in Papers and in Preparation for Final Exam Essay
April 14: Study Day
A23: April 15: Student Presentations of Course Concepts and Port Observations as Presented in Papers (continued)
Dakar: April 17-21
A24: April 22: Final Integration: What does Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Contribute to an Understanding of Human Nature?
April 24: Global Lens Exams and Study Day
A25: April 25: Final Comparative Paper Due; Final Exam
April 29: Arrive in Southampton
FIELD LAB
The Field Lab is a major required component of this course that constitutes 20% of the total class grade. Two elements make up the Field lab. (1) Excursion to XXXX??? The specific day will be announced before students select specific courses so you will know the date of this mandatory class event. Please do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of your field lab. (2) A paper that integrates your lab experience with topics we are reading about and discussing in class. More details about this paper will be given as the date of the Field Lab nears and the papers will due on XXXXX??? The paper grade will count 20% toward your final course grade. Should you fail to accompany the class on the required trip you will be given a zero grade for the requirement and a zero will be weighted 20% toward your final course grade. A second paper on your experiences in port is also required but this one can be on any topic and country you wish. This second paper will be due the day of the final exam and will count 10% toward your final course grade.
METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC Three exams (two during the voyage and one on the final examination day) will constitute the methods of evaluation. Each exam will be essay in format (five or six questions) and will allow students to show they have mastered the details of the readings and topics as discussed in class 6 and have also integrated them with the broader issues we have studied. Thus, the best essays will show full mastery of details and also independent thinking using students’ experiences in ports. Each exam will count 23% toward the final grade. If the final exam grade is the highest of the three it will be counted 27%, the lowest grade will count 20%, and the other exam will count 23%. Thus: three exams will total 70% , one paper on the class Field Lab will count 20%, and an additional paper on any port experience or topic a student chooses counting 10%. The second port paper will be due the day of the final exam. All papers should be submitted electronically as Word files, .doc or .docx
ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS Several book chapters and research articles have been placed on the ship’s Electronic Course Materials site and are assigned as shown in the Topical Outline..
HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University’s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager’s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense.
Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: “On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment.” The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed “[signed].”
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