Dr. Richard Prum
Aesthetic Sexual Selection, Sexual Conflict, and Sexual Autonomy
Monday, September 16
5:30-7:00 PM, WLH 309
Please join the WGSS Working Group on Monday, September 16th, 5:30-7:00 PM (WLH 309), for the first meeting of the semester!
Our guest is Dr. Richard Prum, the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology at Yale and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Dr. Prum’s two readings are posted on the Classes v2 server and he has provided a summary of them below, in addition to outlining material that he will present at the Working Group meeting itself. Directions for accessing the readings are at the bottom of this email.
A light dinner will be served. All are welcome.
Dr. Richard Prum
I am an evolutionary ornithologist with broad interests in diverse topics, including phylogenetics, behavior, feathers, structural color, evolution and development, sexual selection, and historical biogeography.
My recent research has focused on theoretical and molecular studies of the development and evolution of feathers, developing and applying new tools for the study of the physics and evolution of structural coloration, and continued efforts in phylogenetic ethology of polygynous birds (Link to Research page). I have conducted field work throughout the Neotropics and in Madagascar, and have studied fossil theropods in China. I am Curator of Ornithology in the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology.
Summary of readings and Working Group presentation:
The posted readings are a published 2012 paper and a 2013 forthcoming manuscript book chapter. The 2012 paper seeks to generate a debate over the role of natural selection on preferences in the evolution of mating preferences. This paper gives the scientific argument for why adaptive natural selection is insufficient to describe the evolution of intersexual ornament. It also introduces one view of the history of the sexual selection literature which may be of interest to those who would like to explore the interface of evolutionary biology and human sexuality. The latter is a scientific proposal for the recognition of sexual autonomy as a new and necessary concept in evolutionary biology. There, Prum presents two data sets that document two mechanisms for the evolution of sexual autonomy in ducks and in bowerbirds.
As part of our Working Group discussion, Prum will introduce three developing concepts in evolutionary biology: aesthetic sexual selection, sexual conflict, and the evolution of sexual autonomy. He will then discuss the application of aesthetic evolution, sexual conflict, and sexual autonomy to understanding the evolution of human sexuality. The discussion of human biology will address the mutual mate choice, aesthetic selection on male and female humans, the evolution of human female orgasm, and the role of aesthetic mate choice for the reduction of sexual coercion in humans. He will focus almost exclusively on prehistorical and preagricultural patterns in human behavior.
Readings are available on the Classes v2 Server. To Join:
• Log in at http://classesv2.yale.edu using your Yale NetID and password. (Login button is in upper right of screen).
• Click on “Membership” in the left-hand list of links.
• Click on “Joinable Sites,” located in the tab above “My Current Sites,” screen center.
• Type “WGSS” into the search box (top right).
• Click “Join.”
• Readings are available under “Resources.”
Please contact heather.vermeulen@yale.edu if you have any problems accessing the site.