Core Documentation

The following academic articles will be read and critically discussed in the class.

1. Dupré, John. Introduction and chapter 2 (How much must evolution explain?) Eds. (2001) Human Nature and the Limits of Science. Oxford University Press.
1, 2, 3

2. Griffiths, Paul E. "Ethology, Sociobiology, and Evolutionary Psychology." A Companion to the Philosophy of Biology (2007): 393-414.
6, 7, 8, 9

3. Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (2017). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. In Interpersonal development (pp. 297-325). Routledge.

4. Jablonka, E. (2023). Interacting networks in social landscapes: A devo-evo approach to socialcultural dynamics. Human Development, 67(5-6), 288-304.

5. Stotz, Karola. "Human nature and cognitive–developmental niche construction." Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 9 (2010): 483
10

6. Mesoudi, Alex. "Cultural evolution: Integrating psychology, evolution and culture." Current Opinion in Psychology 7 (2016): 17-22.
11, 12

7. Chapter 9 from Henrich, J. (2015). The secret of our success: How culture is driving human evolution, domesticating our species, and making us smarter. In The secret of our success. princeton University press.

Attendance

Active participation in class is strongly encouraged. The exam may be taken by both enrolled and non-enrolled students. Students who intend to take the exam as non-enrolled students are asked to contact the instructor in advance.

Type of evaluation

Assessment will consist of an oral examination conducted in English, aimed at evaluating the student’s critical understanding of the course topics and thorough knowledge of the assigned readings. Students who, for any reason, wish to take the exam in Italian are kindly asked to contact the instructor and motivate their request.