Darwin's Roadmap to the Curriculum

Evolutionary Studies in Higher Education

Edited by Glenn Geher, David Sloan Wilson, Hadassah Head, and Andrew Gallup

Introduces the burgeoning field of Evolutionary Studies to faculty across the disciplines
Shares evidence for the effectiveness of evolution education towards intellectual growth
Provides guidance to scholars across the disciplines in how to apply evolutionary principles to research and teaching

Darwin's Roadmap to the Curriculum

Evolutionary Studies in Higher Education

Edited by Glenn Geher, David Sloan Wilson, Hadassah Head, and Andrew Gallup

Description

There is a paradox when it comes to Darwinian ideas within the academy. On one hand, Darwin's theories have famously changed the foundational ideas related to the origins of life, shaping entire disciplines in the biological sciences. On the other hand, people in educated societies across the globe today are famously misinformed and uneducated about Darwinian principles and ideas. Applications of evolutionary theory outside the traditional areas of biology have been slow to progress, and scholars doing such work regularly run into all kinds of political backlash. However, a slow but steady push to advance the teaching of evolution across academic disciplines has been under way for more than a decade.

This book serves to integrate the vast literature in the interdisciplinary field of Evolutionary Studies (EvoS), providing clear examples of how evolutionary concepts relate to all facets of life. Further, this book provides chapters dedicated to the processes associated with an EvoS education, including examples of how an interdisciplinary approach to evolutionary theory has been implemented successfully at various colleges, universities, and degree programs. This book also offers chapters outlining a variety of applications to an evolution education, including improved sustainable development, medical practices, and creative and critical thinking skills. Exploring controversies surrounding evolution education, this volume provides a roadmap to asking and answering Darwinian questions across all areas of intellectual inquiry.

Darwin's Roadmap to the Curriculum

Evolutionary Studies in Higher Education

Edited by Glenn Geher, David Sloan Wilson, Hadassah Head, and Andrew Gallup

Foreword
Contributor List

SECTION 1 EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Chapter 1 Darwin-Inspired Curricula: The EvoS Revolution in Higher Education
Glenn Geher, David Sloan Wilson, Andrew Gallup, Hadassah Mativetsky, and Richard H. Holler

Chapter 2 Evolutionary Studies in Higher Education: Interdisciplinarity and Student Success
Glenn Geher, Jennifer Waldo, David Sloan Wilson, and Hadassah Mativetsky

Chapter 3 Building and Evolutionary Studies Program at a Small Liberal Arts College
Susan M. Hughes

Chapter 4 The Evolutionary Studies Program: Perspectives from Flies on the Wall
Nicole Wedberg, Kian Betancourt, Richard H. Holler, and Vania Rolón

SECTION 2 EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES EMBODIED WITHIN DISCIPLINES

Chapter 5 Extraordinary Claims, Extraordinary Proof
Thomas Nolen

Chapter 6 Charles Darwin and Selection in Relation to Sex in the Color of Monkeys
Sandra Winters, Megan Petersdorf, and James Higham

Chapter 7 The New Human Science: Sound, New Evolutionary Theory Gives Us Ultimate Causal Understanding of Human Origins, Behavior, History, Politics and Economics
Joanne Souza and Paul M. Bingham

Chapter 8 Controversies Surrounding Evolutionary Psychology
Glenn Geher and Vania Rolón

Chapter 9 Evolution, Religion, and Other Meaning Systems
David Sloan Wilson

Chapter 10 From Physical Culture to Primal Life: Evolutionary Health Movements in Historical Context
Hamilton M. Stapell

Chapter 11 From Genetic Evolution to Engineering Optimization
Yaser Khalifa

SECTION 3 APPLIED EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES

Chapter 12 The Role of Evolutionary Studies in Education for Sustainable Development
Dustin Eirdosh and Susan Hanisch

Chapter 13 Evolutionary Approaches to Health Issues and Behaviors Across the Life Course
Daniel J. Kruger and Jessica S. Kruger

Chapter 14 Integrating Evolutionary Thinking into Medical Education
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Daniel T. Blumstein

Chapter 15 How Evolutionary Studies Allows People to Think Outside the Box
Gordon G. Gallup, Jr., Jennifer A. Stolz, Rebecca L. Burch, Jennifer A. Bremser

Chapter 16 The "EvoS Effect": The Influence of Evolutionary Training on Critical Thinking Skills
Richard A. Kauffman, Jr., Ian F. MacDonald, and David Sloan Wilson

Chapter 17 Our Evolutionary Underpinnings: The Past, Present and Future of Evolution Education in the United States
Amanda L. Glaze

Chapter 18 Reconciling Evolution with a Christian Identity: A Professional Development Workshop to Reduce Anxiety and Enhance Self-Efficacy for Science Teachers
Patricia H. Hawley, Rachael K. Phillips, and Matthew S. Olson

Chapter 19 The Evolutionary Studies Summer Institute at New Paltz: A High-Impact, Condensed Interdisciplinary Educational Experience for Teachers
Glenn Geher, Aileen Toback, and Nicole Wedberg

Chapter 20 Teaching Evolution across the Curriculum: Beyond Campus-Wide Programs
David Sloan Wilson, Glenn Geher, Andrew Gallup, and Hadassah Mativetsky

Darwin's Roadmap to the Curriculum

Evolutionary Studies in Higher Education

Edited by Glenn Geher, David Sloan Wilson, Hadassah Head, and Andrew Gallup

Author Information

David Sloan Wilson is Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at Binghamton University. He is one of the main architects of Multilevel Selection Theory, which explains how adaptations can evolve-or fail to evolve-at any level of a multi-tier hierarchy. He started the first program teaching evolution across the curriculum at Binghamton University.

Glenn Geher is Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of Evolutionary Studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He has won numerous awards in the domains of teaching and research, including the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in both Teaching and Scholarship. An advocate of evolution education, Geher has published extensively on various topics related to evolution and human behavior.

Hadassah Mativetsky is a software quality engineer. Prior to working as an engineer, Hadassah was the Evolutionary Studies Coordinator at Binghamton University under the direction of David Sloan Wilson. She has an MS in Systems Science with a focus on evolutionary approaches. She tweets about STEM at @Haddie.

Andrew C. Gallup is Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Adaptive Behavior and Cognition Lab at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. He has published over 75 journal articles and book chapters, and currently serves as an Associate Editor for Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, Frontiers in Evolutionary Psychology, Frontiers in Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience, and PLOS ONE.

Contributors:

Kian Betancourt
Paul M. Bingham
Daniel T. Blumstein
Jennifer A. Bremser
Rebecca L. Burch
Dustin Eirdosh
Andrew C. Gallup
Gordon G. Gallup, Jr.
Glenn Geher
Amanda L. Glaze
Susan Hanisch
Patricia H. Hawley
James Higham
Richard H. Holler
Susan M. Hughes
Richard A. Kauffmann Jr.
Yaser Khalifa
Daniel J. Kruger
Jessica S. Kruger
Ian F. MacDonald
Hadassah Mativetsky
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz
Thomas Nolen
Matthew S. Olson
Megan Petersdorf
Rachael K. Phillips
Vania Rolón
Joanne Souza
Hamilton M. Stapell
Jennifer A. Stolz
Aileen Toback
Jennifer Waldo
Nicole Wedberg
David Sloan Wilson
Sandra Winters

Darwin's Roadmap to the Curriculum

Evolutionary Studies in Higher Education

Edited by Glenn Geher, David Sloan Wilson, Hadassah Head, and Andrew Gallup

Reviews and Awards

"Most of my knowledge on evolution is self-taught and in my own psychology education there was no discussion of evolutionary principles. Don't be like me-use this fantastic book to encourage your university to adopt a course on evolution for every student regardless of their disciplinary background!" -- Mark van Vugt, Professor of Evolutionary Psychology and Work and Organizational Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

"To paraphrase Theodosius Dobzhansky, nothing in biology, psychology, development, politics, economics, human health, medicine, and education makes sense except in the light of evolution. If you don't believe this assertion now, you very well may after reading the chapters in this volume edited by David Sloan Wilson and his colleagues. Evolution is for everybody, and this book is especially important for college instructors who would like to convey the excitement and importance of evolutionary theory to their students." -- David Bjorklund, Professor of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University