Why take this course? This course is about understanding why organisms evolve to act the way they do. We focus on social behaviors and particularly on understanding conflict and cooperation. How do genetically distinct individuals cooperate while still favoring their own interests? We study things like the evolution of aggression, mating behavior, parental care, communication, and the complexities of living in groups and families. We will learn how natural selection operates on individuals in a social context. We study less material in more depth, with many videos. You will specialize in a certain area. In that area, you will write for Wikipedia and teach high school students on Saturday, 4 November. This class is a lot of work, a lot of fun, and you will never look at an animal in the same way.

What will you learn? This course is about how animals behave in their environment. You will learn to be skeptical and critical of logically incomplete arguments. You will learn how to formulate and evaluate hypotheses. You will learn to evaluate material for accuracy in data, in logic, and in conclusions. You will understand the nature of scientific evidence. You will learn to understand how natural selection operates, particularly on behavior. One of the most effective ways of learning is to teach and communicate the material you just learned. In this class you will learn to teach, to write, to collaborate, and to engage in the dialogue of Wikipedia.

What goes on in the class sessions? During class we will discuss difficult concepts, listen, or give short lectures on difficult points, work together on Wikipedia articles, plan for the high school teaching event, or watch and analyze videos of animal behavior. Short quizzes will occur in class. Attendance is required.

What goes on in the discussion sections? You will meet in a smaller group with your TA in the discussion section. You will have primary literature reading assignments for the discussion sections for the upcoming week. You need to do the reading before class. This is the time for careful learning in depth about how to read the primary literature and how to understand the topic in detail for a specific species. There will be writing activities and grading. Attendance is required.