Undergraduate Courses

HPS 110: The Science of Human Nature
Why do we what we do? What factors play a role in shaping our personality? What biological and social elements help configure a person’s moral and emotional character? In this course, we examine landmark studies that shook standard beliefs about human nature in their time. We analyze those studies in their historical context and discuss their relevance to social, ethical, and policy debates. The studies may include research on mother love, obedience, conformity, bystander intervention in emergencies, deception, race, and gender stereotypes.

JHE 353H1 History of Evolutionary Biology I
An examination of major ideas about biological evolution from the 18th century to the 1930's and of their impact on scientific and social thought. Topics include the diversity of life and its classification, the adaptation of organisms to their environment, Wallace's and Darwin's views on evolution by natural selection, sexual selection, inheritance from Mendel to T.H. Morgan, eugenics, and the implications of evolution for religion, gender roles, and the organization of society.

VIC 107H S: Evolution, Genetics, and Behaviour
In this course we examine major episodes in the history of evolution and genetics in the XX century. Topics include Darwinian evolution, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, eugenics, and genetic screening and therapy. We will examine different views about the control of evolution and genetic manipulation in their socio-cultural-economic context and discuss the ethical and social implications of those views.

Graduate Courses

HPS 5005H: Fundamentals of the History of Biology
The aim of this course is to provide an overview of some major developments in the history of the life sciences, as well as of historiographical debates in this area. The seminar covers mainly key episodes in the history of evolution and genetics in the late 19th and 20th centuries, but also includes a brief examination of other areas such as embryology, ecology, animal behavior, and sociobiology. The seminar is organized chronologically. Each week we focus on one area or historical event and also on one historiographical issue in the history of science, but we will strive to connect them to earlier events and debates. The readings include primary sources, secondary sources, and historiographical discussions. We learn to interpret primary texts and use secondary literature in developing historical arguments.

HPS 1044H: Biology and Human Nature
How does evolutionary our past influence the way we think, feel, and act? This question is at the core of intense social and scientific debates about the relative influence of genetics and environment on human behaviour, especially aggression, altruism, parental care and gender roles. In this course we analyze the history of biological views about human nature. We examine how those views have been used not only to describe what is human, but also to prescribe what it should be. Topics covered include: Darwinian evolution, the naturalistic fallacy, the nature-nurture debate,human instincts in ethology and socio-biology, and the role of hormones in human behaviour.