From Puberty to Parenting: The Evolutionary Context of Reproduction

Catalog description

This course explores the processes that influence reproduction in human populations. We adopt an evolutionary perspective to examine the factors that have shaped human reproductive physiology and contribute to variation in reproductive parameters between populations. To place human reproduction in a broad evolutionary context, we will consider similarities and differences between humans and other apes in how ecology shapes reproduction. The biology of puberty, pregnancy, hormonal changes across the lifespan, the cessation of reproduction, the impact of parenting behavior on the biology of offspring and parents themselves, and the influence of sex and gender diversity on reproduction will be discussed. Both the ecological and sociocultural factors that influence the steps in the reproductive process will be considered.