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On Site
You
will find links to course syllabi, examination schedules, highly
informative websites, research resources and
class announcements. Check out the University's Calendar
for important dates to remember. |
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Teaching
I teach three
courses in the Department of Sociology: Elementary Statistics,
Social Psychology, and Race, Gender and Class. All three represent
long-held interests although Social Psychology, my field of
specialization, is my absolute favorite class to teach. I am in the
process of developing a course on international poverty. The course
will give special attention to persistent poverty (aka poverty
traps). AS well as understanding the dynamics of poverty traps
students will also be given the chance to develop social innovations
- interventions based on for-profit or non-profit business
models. |
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"While
genetic knowledge is essential...evolutionary changes in progress
can only be resolved by an appeal to sociological, and even
historical facts." |
Areas of Research
I am an evolutionary social psychologist and
the bulk of my recent theoretical work has focused on the
applications of Darwinian evolutionary biology, evolutionary and
behavioral genetics, and behavioral ecology to modeling human social
interactions. The main influence on my work is the late Sir Ronald A. Fisher (pictured left).
Currently, I am developing theoretical models of social traps based
largely on research in evolutionary and behavioral genetics. I am
also working on papers in which I extend Fisher's theory of social
selection and its "runaway" tendencies which he discusses at great
length in his masterpiece, The Genetical Theory of Natural
Selection.
I am also developing projects in the areas of human
life history dynamics; discounting and ecological rationality;
indirect genetic effects (IGEs) and social interactions; heritable
social environments; and the sociological causes and consequences of
population genetic structure. Each of these topics are connected by
an interest in the emergence and behavioral consequences of
stressful environments such as poverty.
Current
Associations: American Sociological Association (Section on
Evolution and Sociology), American Society of Naturalists, Society
for the Study of Evolution, Behavior Genetics Association
I
am currently building a website for Integrative Sociology,
which will act as a portal to research on social interactions
between various forms of organic life. |
