__ EEvvoolluuttiioonn && SSoocciioollooggyy Spring 2008 Newsletter of the ASA Section on Evolution and Sociology Volume 5, No.1 Chair In this issue: 2004-2008 Alexandra Maryanski, UC-Riverside. “Teaching Neurosociology” by David Franks and Ann Eisenberg, p. 3. Chair-Elect “The Revolution in Evolution- A Review 2008-2011 Essay” by Darrell La Lone and Thomas Rosemary L. Hopcroft, UNC-Charlotte D. Hall, p. 8. E&S Sessions and Biosocial Processes Secretary-Treasurer Session at this year’s ASA, p. 10. 2004-2008 Michael Hammond, University of Toronto Nominating Committee 2004-2008 You are cordially invited to the Jonathan Turner, Chair, UC-Riverside Nobuyuki Takahashi, Hokkaido University Joseph Whitmeyer, UNC-Charlotte Evolution and Sociology Council Members Reception 2004-2008 Timothy Crippen, at the Mary Washington University 2008 Annual Meeting of the James F. Hollander, Texas Instruments Inc. Dallas, Tx American Sociological Association Richard Hutchinson, LATech Alexander Lascaux, Co‐sponsored with the University of Hertfordshire, UK Sociology of Emotions Section J. Scott Lewis, Urbana University Stephen K. Sanderson, University of Sunday night, August 3 Colorado-Boulder 6:30 pm to 8:10 pm Newsletter editor and Webperson Boston Marriott Copley Place Rosemary L. Hopcroft, UNC-Charlotte Room TBA www2.asanet.org/sectionevol/ Evolution and Sociology Vol. 5, No. 1 Spring 2008 - 2 – Greetings from the Chair about. Yet, the recent popularity of our paper sessions suggests that we have caught the Alexandra Maryanski attention of some of our fellow sociologists. So University of California-Riverside an evolutionary seminar would be timely and perhaps help us to recruit new members. Hi Everyone: Finally, let me take this opportunity to remind you to vote in our section election. We It is hard to believe that summer is almost here are fortunate to have six excellent candidates: with the ASA conference in the forecast. As For Chair-Elect-- Timothy Crippen, University you know, our meetings are in early August of Mary Washington; and Stephen Sanderson, this year, and now that Evolution and Sociology University of California, Riverside. For Council is part of the normal ASA rotation cycle, our members-- Christine Horne, Washington State paper sessions and section activities fall this University; Patrick Nolan, University of South year on the last conference day–Monday the Carolina; Richard Machalek, University of 4th of August. So please jot that down in your Wyoming; and Brent Simpson, University of calendar as on Monday we have two regular South Carolina. You have until June 1st to cast sessions, along with a business meeting. And, your ballot. our ASA reception that we are co-sponsoring I look forward to seeing you in Boston this with the Sociology of Emotions section this summer! year is on Sunday night the 3rd of August from All Good Wishes 6:30 pm to 8:10 pm. Alexandra On a sad note, we need to work on recruitment as our section numbers have NEW PUBLICATION SERIES slipped down. Yet, I am very optimistic that despite this drop, we will survive and in the Transaction Publishers of New Brunswick NJ and long run–thrive as a section. Throughout this London England Announces the introduction of a new series ANTHROPOLOGY AND HUMAN year, I have been getting e-mails around the NATURE. It will be edited by globe from individuals interested in Lionel Tiger who is the Darwin Professor of evolutionary sociology. Graduate students, in Anthropology at Rutgers University. particular, are especially enthusiastic and eager to bring evolutionary thinking back into The publishers are interested in works of social sociology. For my part, I am now regularly science, history, and General intellection which teaching an undergraduate course on provide insight and contribution to the growing evolutionary sociology and right now I am literature on what may be and may not be "human teaching for the first time a graduate course on nature." Transaction also publishes the journal evolutionary theory. I am also encouraged that HUMAN NATURE and is receptive to works of interest to scholars and informed persons a number of established sociologists are provoked by a subject matter only recently returned rethinking some of their own biases against to active scrutiny. Even though Aristotle announced evolutionary theory. Real change is always that "man is by nature a political animal," the slow but it is coming and I am delighted to see emphasis on "political" has heretofore the progress we have made in just a few years. overwhelmed attention to "by nature." This the If you can, please come to our business series hopes to remedy by publishing works widely meeting as we have much to discuss. For advertised in the scholarly community and openers, I would appreciate your help on how maintained in print durably and with care. to increase our membership. I also think we Anyone interested in proposing or contemplating a should follow up on last year’s proposal to book appropriate to this adventure should contact organize an ASA seminar to teach evolutionary Lionel Tiger either at [email protected] or at the Department of Anthropology, Rutgers theory. I think one reason we have problems in University, 131 George Street, New Brunswick recruitment stems from the fact that many NJ 08901-1414. sociologists feel uncomfortable joining a section on a field of research they know so little Evolution and Sociology Vol. 5, No. 1 Spring 2008 - 3 – Teaching Neurosociology Roger Sperry’s argument for a materialistic, but emergent theory of mind that opened the door David D. Franks to a sociological view of the workings of the Professor Emeritus of Sociology brain. Later, however, Warren suggested the Virginia Commonwealth University and use of the term “neurosociology”. This was during a hastily organized dinner session at the Anne F. Eisenberg ASA meetings in about 1997 when we were Assistant Professor SUNY-Geneseo deciding to devote the last volume of my JAI emotions series to launch the field. (Mind, When I (Franks) was writing for the emotions Brains and Society came out in 1999.) This newsletter I used to tell people that the social was in part to distinguish it from the nascent psychology of emotions was the "sky-diving of field of social neuroscience that had become teaching": it is academically risky, it’s exciting associated with psychology. Certainly the fields and you are on your own--like edge-work. would overlap, but we wanted a clear focus on There will be many people--colleagues as well social interaction as the unit of analysis that as administrators-- who will question what you avoided a one-sided, exclusively reductionistic are doing, mainly out of unfamiliarity with the approach. One may wonder how you could field. It was the same for the three hour course avoid an exclusive focus on reductionism while in neurosociology I taught for the Honors studying the brain, but we were interested in College at Virginia Commonwealth University working brains and one brain doesn’t work last spring semester, but I have to say it was without other brains that are joined in everyday more difficult. One reason is that you are symbolic discourse. Ours was a bottom-up/ actually teaching two courses: advanced social top-down approach. In 2006 my entry psychology and neuroscience. Also more than describing neurosociology came out in George several of my students had no previous Ritzer’s The Blackwell Encyclopedia of sociology exposure. To help with this, I wrote Sociology. This solidified ownership of the “essays” for the class every week that I hope term by sociology (at least to me) and will end up as a book and make things go more emphasized the fusion of brain processes with smoothly for myself and others teaching linguistic,cultural and self-processes. This neurosociology in the future. Next winter I plan premise was taken from Brothers (1997) who to teach it to graduate students. In this essay argued that the living content of the brain’s we highlight how the idea of a “neurosociology” capacities (meanings) were supplied by culture is becoming more formalized as illustrated and human talk (Brothers 1997). The entry through the two courses that bear its name, gave examples of research by sociologists The first two parts of this essay represents compatible with this view-point. Contrary to Franks’ discussion of the term neurosociology their pragmatic tradition, many symbolic and describe how he taught it this past interactionists reject terms like mind and semester. The last part of the essay presents meaning that were once essential to its Eisenberg’s discussion of teaching founders. While there is nothing amiss about neurosociology and how the class is driven by departing from one’s mentors, it is still her own research interests. Consider this a interesting that these terms, including dialogue in which we ask you to join. emergence, are critical to much of the current neuroscience literature that I have read since Neurosociology: The Term and its Focus by the 90s. Much of this literature adds David Franks confirmation to the pragmatic framework dominant in the pre-second world war “Golden First let me say a few words about the term Age of Chicago” (See Franks 2003). Following “neurosociology”. Warren TenHouten had first much of the same logic, Mead's early social sent me copies of his newsletter from 1993 behaviorism and current neuroscience “drive a entitled Social Neuroscience Bulletin. I was stake in the heart” of the anti-social, tabula hooked by his essay about the neurosurgeon rasa, correspondence theories popular with the Evolution and Sociology Vol. 5, No. 1 Spring 2008 - 4 – western enlightenment thinkers and still sources give contemporary scientific support to assumed today (Lakoff and Johnson 1999). those relative few who argued powerfully against the western ideological tenets of the Introduction to the Contents of Two selfcontained, “self-interested” individual so Courses Exclusively Devoted to convenient to capitalism.