EVOS Courses

Key Courses

Evolution for Everyone (EvoS 105/BIOL 105/ ANTH 280F) - 4 credits
Satisfies requirements for the EvoS minor and Anthropology major and minor and carries an ‘N’ Social Science General Education designation. Recommended introduction for those new to evolution. Offered each fall semester and as an online course in summer.

This course explains the basic principles of evolution and why they are important for the study of humans in addition to the rest of life. Students from all majors are welcome and a background in science is not necessary. Those who have already learned about evolution will still learn much in this course about the relevance of evolution to human affairs. This course can be taken by itself and also serves as the best introduction to EvoS as a multi-course integrated curriculum.

Current Topics in EvoS (EVOS 451/BIOL 451/BIOL 680S) - 2 credits
Satisfies requirements for the EvoS minor and Anthropology, Biology, Psychology and Integrative Neuroscience majors. Offered each spring semester in association with the EvoS seminar series and as an online course during winter and summer sessions. Students are required to take this course twice for the EvoS minor.

This course is built on the EvoS seminar series, which brings distinguished speakers to campus on a weekly basis. The course consists of reading one or more articles in preparation for each speaker, writing a short response to the article(s), attending the seminar, and the possibility to meet with each speaker after the seminar for an extended discussion. This is a superb way to engage in interdisciplinary interactions with other members of EvoS and with some of the most distinguished scientists and scholars of our day. The course can be taken multiple times.

More Suggested Courses

Mechanisms of Evolution (BIOL 351)
Fundamental principles of synthetic theory of evolution and its development. Sources of variability; organization of genetic variability in populations; differentiation of populations; reproductive isolation and origin of species; role of hybridization in evolution; major trends of evolution; processes of evolution in man. Prerequisites: BIOL 117 and 118 or equivalent.

Evolution & Human Behavior (EvoS 456)
Implications of evolutionary theory for understanding human nature, including the relationship between human behavior and biological fitness in modern and pre-modern societies, evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics and theories of culture as an evolutionary process. Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and an introductory course in BIOL, PSYC, ANTH or SOC. 4 credits.

Evolution and Sustainability (EVOS 450/ENVI 426)
This course provides an introduction to evolutionary concepts relevant to biological and human social sustainability. Evolutionary training is essential because: a) the genetic evolution of nonhuman species takes place on ecological time scales; and b) human cultural change is also an evolutionary process. A single set of evolutionary principles can therefore be applied to both the natural and human components of coupled natural and human systems. This is a highly interdisciplinary course in the style of a graduate seminar. Undergrads must be prepared to work hard but no specialized knowledge is required at the beginning. 4 credits.

Biogeography (EvoS 422/BIOL 459)
Ecological principles applied to the study of past, present and future distribution patterns of living organisms. Effects of Earth history, spatial pattern, plate tectonics, climate and climate change, and human impacts on biota. Prerequisite: BIOL 355 or 373. 4 credits.

All Courses

Course numbers may change from year to year. Important Note: Not all courses are offered every year or even on a repeating basis.

Courses Counting for the EvoS Minor

ANTHROPOLOGY

168 Intro to Biological Anthro

236 Taming Nature: Farming through Time

240-249 Any Course in this Range

330-339 Any Course in this Range

426 Ancient DNA and Forensics Lab

480N Evo Dynamics of Human Pathogens

XXX Other ANTH course at EvoS director's discretion

BIOLOGY

105 Evolution for Everyone

113 Intro to Cellular and Molecular Biol

114 Intro to Organisms & Pops Biol

225 FRI Biofilms Research

241 FRI Ecological Genetics

251 Anatomy and Physiology 1

3XX Any 300-level BIOL course

4XX Any 400-level BIOL course

ECONOMICS

181A Economics and Evolution 1

461 Game Theory

ENGLISH

410M Animal Studies

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

101 Humans and the Ecological Environment

170 Environmental Geology

234 FRI Biogeochemistry 1

236 Taming Nature: Farming through Time

322 Plants and People

325 Ecological Agriculture

334 FRI Biogeochemistry 2

357 Biology and Conservation of Birds

3XX Other 300-level ENVI course at EvoS director's discretion

426 Evolution and Sustainability

427 Evolution and Ecology

430 Plant Ecology

4XX Other 400-level ENVI course at EvoS director's discretion

EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES

105 Evolution for Everyone

335 Human Origins

338 Survey of the Primates

422 Biogeography

450 Evolution and Sustainability

451 Current Topics in EvoS

456 Evolution and Human Behavior

481E Evolution and Ecology

483A Evolution and Intentionality

GEOGRAPHY

352 Population Geograpy

422 Biogeography

482S/582S Food/Agriculture & Sustainability

GEOLOGY

111 Planet Earth

112 Oceanography

115 Global Change: Geological Perspectives

166 Mass Extinctions through Time

170 Environmental Geology

213 Historical Geology

234 FRI Biogeochemistry 1

301 Rock Record and Earth History

334 FRI Biogeochemistry 2

366 Paleobiology

3XX Other 300-level GEOL course at EvoS director's discretion

414 Climate and Paleoclimate

460 Geomicrobiology

4XX Other 400-level GEOL course at EvoS director's discretion

HISTORY

229 Premodern Medicine & Disease

231 Animals and Society

ISE

419 Applied Soft Computing

PHILOSOPHY

436 Philosophy of Mind

480A Evolution and Intentionality

PSYCHOLOGY

111 General Psychology

327 Evolution and Behavior

358 Experimental Psychology-Cognition

362 Experimental Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience

380A Neuroanthropology

380D Evolution and Human Behavior

380E Evolution and Intentionality

3XX Other 300-level PSYC course at EvoS director's discretion

4XX Other 400-level PSYC course at EvoS director's discretion

SCHOLARS PROGRAM

280R Evolution and Free Will

Undergraduate Courses