BEHAVIORAL BIOLOGY OF WOMEN
HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 1380
Spring Semester 2007
www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~anth1380
Tuesday & Thursday 10-11:30
Harvard Hall 102
Teaching Staff:
Professor: Cheryl Knott, knott@fas.harvard.edu; Room 53F, Peabody Museum
Teaching Fellows:
Coren Apicella, apicella@fas.harvard.edu, Room 56B, Peabody Museum
Office Hours: Please email us to set up a time to meet.
Course Description:
An exploration of female behavior from an evolutionary and biosocial perspective. Focuses on
physiological, ecological, and social aspects of women’s development from puberty, through
reproductive processes such as pregnancy, birth and lactation, to menopause and aging. Also
explores female life history strategies in a variety of cultural settings. Topics include cognitive
and behavioral differences between men and women and male and female reproductive
strategies. Examples are drawn primarily from traditional and modern human societies; data
from studies of nonhuman primates are also considered.
Requirements:
There will be one midterm exam, a cumulative final exam, 10 sections, and a final paper. For the
paper you will interview a post-reproductive woman and do an evolutionary/life history analysis
of her reproductive and life history decisions incorporating material you learn in the course.
Alternatively, you can write a research paper on a topic approved by your TF. Length is
approximately 10 pages. Your section grade will be based on your section assignments and
participation. Attendance is mandatory.
Midterm
Final Exam
Final Paper
Sections
20%
40%
20%
20%
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Books:
All books are available at the Harvard Coop and are on reserve at Tozzer libraries.
Required:
Ellison, P. T. (2001). On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.
Small, M. (1998). Our Babies, Ourselves. Anchor Books: New York.
Recommended:
Johnson, M. H. and B. J. Everitt. (1995). Essential Reproduction. Blackwell Science: Oxford.
Readings:
Readings for each week (excluding the required texts) are posted on the website for
downloading. The readings are designed to complement as well as supplement the lectures. One
goal of the course is to be able to read and evaluate scientific literature. Some popular articles
are also included. These will give you a sense of how female behavioral biology is represented
in a variety of forums. The readings primarily deal with humans, but some also discuss our
primate heritage.
Web Site:
On the course web site (www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~anth1380) you can find the syllabus,
lecture slides, lecture outlines and handouts, section assignments, readings and links to other
sites relevant to the material in this course.
Sections:
Sections are 90 minutes long and meet 10 times during the semester. During some sections
artifacts from the Peabody Museum will be brought in to illustrate topics covered that week in
section and lecture.
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SYLLABUS
Week 1:
Lecture 1: Thu. Feb. 1: Introduction: What do we mean by the “Behavioral Biology of
Women”?
Campbell, A (2002). A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women. Oxford
University Press: Oxford, Chapter 1; Pages 1-33.
Ellison, PT (2001). Two Births. in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press: Cambridge,
1-15.
Week 2:
Lecture 2: Tue. Feb. 6: How are humans different? Primate Females and Evolutionary
History
Lancaster, JB (1991) A feminist and evolutionary biologist looks at women. Yearbook of
Physical Anthropology. 34:1-11.
Lecture 3: Thu. Feb. 8: Evolution of Sex/Sexual Reproduction/Sex Differences
Kimura, D (1999). Sex differences in the brain. Scientific American. 26-31.
Knott, CD (2001). Female reproductive ecology of the apes: implications for human evolution.
in Reproductive Ecology and Human Evolution. Edited by: P. Ellison. Aldine de Gruyter: New
York, 429-463.
Low, BS (1997) Cross-cultural patterns in the training of children: an evolutionary perspective.
In L Betzig (ed.): Human Nature: a Critical Reader. New York: Oxford University Press, pp.
349-359. Article reprinted from the Journal of Comparative Psychology. 103:311-319 (1989).
Week 3:
Lecture 4: Tue. Feb. 13: Sexual Selection & Female Choice
Small, MF (1992) Female choice in mating. American Scientist. 80:142-151.
Borgerhoff Mulder, M (1990) Kipsigis women's preferences for wealthy men: evidence for
female choice in mammals? Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology. 27:255-264.
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Lecture 5: Thu. Feb 15: The Menstrual Cycle
Mader, SS (1992). Human Biology. Chapter 14: Reproductive System, Wm. C. Brown:
Dubuque, p. 281-287.
Johnson, MH and BJ Everitt. (1995). Essential Reproduction. Chapter 4: Ovarian Function,
Blackwell Science: Oxford, Pages 60-78.
Golub, S (1992) Psychological aspects of the menstrual cycle: Periods. Newbury Park: Sage
Publishing, pp. 84-111.
Section 1: Evolutionary Theory and Sex Differences
Week 4:
Lecture 6: Tue. Feb. 20: Puberty/Puberty Rituals
Ellison, P. T. (2001). Why Grow Up? in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge, 127-163.
Lecture 7: Thu. Feb. 22: Evolution of Menstruation/Menstrual Huts
Ellison, PT (2001). Last part of "Surviving the First Cut." in On Fertile Ground. Harvard
University Press: Cambridge, 43-49.
Finn, CA (1998) Menstruation: a non-adaptive consequence of uterine evolution. Quarterly
Review of Biology. 73:163-173.
Clarke, J (1994) The meaning of menstruation in the elimination of abnormal embryos. Human
Reproduction. 9:1204-1207.
Section 2: The Menstrual Cycle / Evolution of Menstruation
Week 5:
Lecture 8: Tue. Feb. 27: Female Reproductive Ecology
Ellison, PT (2001). Balancing Act. in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge, 165-214.
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Lecture 9: Thu. Mar. 1: Male Reproductive Biology and Ecology
Mader, SS (1992). Human Biology. Chapter 14: Reproductive System, Wm. C. Brown:
Dubuque, p. 275-281.
Ellison, PT (2001). The Body Builders. in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge, 249-280.
Mealey, L (2000). Chapter 10: Men's Strategies and Tactics. in Sex Differences: Development
and Evolutionary Strategies. Academic Press: San Diego, 262-304.
Section 3: Male vs Female Reproductive Ecology & Strategies
Week 6:
Lecture 10: Tue. Mar. 6: Sexuality/Orgasm
Gould, SJ (1991) Male nipples and clitoral ripples: Bully for Brontosaurus. New York: W.W.
Norton & Co., pp. 124-138.
Hrdy, SB (1981) A disputed legacy: The Woman That Never Evolved. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, pp. 160-188.
Angier, N. (1999). The Well-Tempered Clavier: On the Evolution of the Clitoris. in Woman: An
Intimate Geography. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 57-81.
Lecture 11: Thu. Mar. 8: Control of Female Reproduction/Sexuality
Smuts, B (1992) Male aggression against women: an evolutionary perspective. Human Nature.
3:1-44.
Smuts, B (1995). The evolutionary origins of patriarchy. Human Nature. 6:(1) 1-32.
Section 4: Control of Female Reproduction/Female Responses
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Week 7:
Lecture 12: Tue. Mar. 13: Marriage/Polygyny/Female Cooperation and Competition
Sellen, DW, M Borgerhoff Mulder and DF Sieff. (2000). Fertility, offspring quality, and wealth
in Datoga pastoralists. in Adaptation and Human Behavior. Edited by: L. Cronk, N. Chagnon
and W. Irons. Aldine de Gruyter: New York, 91-114.
Mealey, L (2000). Chapter 9: Women's Strategies and Tactics. in Sex Differences: Development
and Evolutionary Strategies. Edited by: Academic Press: San Diego, 213-261.
Lecture 13: Thu. Mar. 15: Female Reproductive and Life-History Strategies, Birth Control,
Abortion, Infanticide
Gladwell M (2000) John Rock's error. The New Yorker. 76:52-63.
McAllister, F and L Clarke. (2000). Voluntary childlessness: trends and implications. in
Infertility in the Modern World. Edited by: G. Bentley and C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor. Cambridge
University Press: Cambridge, 189-237.
Optional Reading:
Boston Women's Heath Book Collective (1998). Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century.
Simon & Schuster: New York, Chapter 13, Birth Control: 288-336. (read the descriptions of the
methods and how they work)
Section 5: Life History Strategies
Week 8:
Lecture 14: Tue. Mar. 20: Conception/Fetal Loss/Fertility
Ellison, PT (2001). First part of "Surviving the First Cut". in On Fertile Ground. Edited by:
Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 17-43.
Carlson, KJ, Eisenstat S and Ziporyn T (1996) The Harvard Guide to Women's Health.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Carlson, Chapter: Infertility: 322-330.
MIDTERM: Thu. Mar. 22: (includes material through March 15)
No section this week
SPRING RECESS - MARCH 24 - April 1
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Week 9:
Lecture 15: Tue. Apr. 3: Pregnancy
Our Babies, Ourselves, Small, Chapter 1: The Evolution of Babies: 1-41.
Samuels, M and Samuels, N (1986) Pregnancy: Well Pregnancy Book. New York: Simon &
Schuster, pp. 34-49.
Barker, DJP (1998). Mothers, Babies and Health in Later Life. Churchill Livingstone:
Edinburgh, pp. 43-62.
Lecture 16: Thu. Apr. 4: Birth
Ellison, PT (2001). A Time to Be Born. in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge, 51-80.
Davis-Floyd, RE (1990) Ritual in the hospital: giving birth the American way. In PL Whitten
and DEK Hunter (eds.): Anthropology: Contemporary Perspectives. London: Scott,
Foresman/Little, Brown Higher Education, pp. 275-285.
Rosenburg, KR and WR Trevathan. (2001). The Evolution of Human Birth. Scientific American.
November 2001, 73-77.
Section 6: Pregnancy & Childbirth * Bones from Museum
Week 10:
Lecture 17: Tue. Apr. 10: Lactation
Our Babies, Ourselves, Small, Chapter 6: Food for Thought: 177-212.
Ellison, PT (2001). The Elixir of Life. in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge, 81-126.
Hrdy, SB (1999) Old Tradeoffs, New contexts. In Mother Nature: a History of Mothers, Infants,
and Natural Selection. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, pp. 351-380.
Lecture 18: Thu. Apr. 12: Motherhood/Parenting Strategies
Our Babies, Ourselves, Small, Chapters 2-5.
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Hrdy, SB (1999) A New View of Mothers. In Mother Nature: a History of Mothers, Infants, and
Natural Selection. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, pp. 27-54.
Section 7: Parenting Strategies and Ethnopediatrics
Week 11:
Lecture 19: Tue. Apr. 17: Menopause/Aging
Ellison, PT (2001). The Arc of Life. in On Fertile Ground. Harvard University Press:
Cambridge, 215-247.
Fausto-Sterling, A (1985) Hormonal hurricanes: menstruation, menopause, and female behavior:
Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about Women and Men. New York: Harper Collins
Publishers, pp. 90-122.
Lecture 20: Thu. Apr. 19: Evolutionary Perspectives on Fatness/Eating Disorders
Smuts, RW (1992). Fat, sex, class, adaptive flexibility, and cultural change. Ethology &
Sociobiology. 13:(523-542.
Thompson, JK (1991) Body shape preferences: effects of instructional protocol and level of
eating disturbance. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 10:193-198
Section 8: Evolutionary Perspectives on Eating Disorders
Week 12:
Lecture 21: Tue. Apr. 24: Agriculture/Demographic Transition
Bentley, GR, T Goldberg and G Jasienska. (1993). The fertility of agricultural and nonagricultural traditional societies. Population Studies. 47:(269-281).
Borgerhoff Mulder, M (1998) The demographic transition: are we any closer to an evolutionary
explanation? Trends in Ecology & Evolution :266-270
Borgerhoff Mulder, M (2000). Optimizing offspring: The quantity-quality tradeoff in
agropastoral kipsigis. Evolution and Human Behavior. 21:(6) 390-410.
Lecture 22: Tue. Apr. 26: FILM: China's Only Child
Holloway, M (1994) Trends in Women's Health: a Global View. Scientific American:76-83.
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Sen, A. (1990). More Than 100 Million Women Are Missing. The New York Review of Books.
37: (20)
Section 9: Demographic Transition & Current Issues in Women's Health
Week 13:
Tue. May. 1: Women’s Health/Reproductive Cancers /Depression
Eaton, SB, Pike MC, Short RV, Lee NC, Trussell J, Hatcher RA, Wood JW, Worthman C,
Blurton-Jones NG, Konner MJ, Hill KR, Bailey RC and Hurtado AM (1994) Women's
reproductive cancers in evolutionary context. Quarterly Review of Biology. 69:353-367.
Foy, M. R., V. W. Henderson, T. W. Berger and R. F. Thompson. (2000). Estrogen and Neural
Plasticity. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 9: (5) 148-152.
Leibenluft, E (1998). Why are so many women depressed? Scientific American. June 1998: 3135
Lecture 23: Thu. May. 3: Work & Family in the 21st Century
Browne, KR (2002). Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Inequality. Rutgers University Press:
New Brunswick, New Jersey, Pages 166-187.
Hewlett, SA (2002). Executive Women and the Myth of Having it All. Harvard Business
Review. 5-11.
Crittenden, A (2001). Conclusion: How to Bring Children Up Without Putting Women down. in
The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued.
Henry Holt and Company: New York, 256-274.
Section 10: The Price of Motherhood