Evolutionary Feminism

FEMINIST READINGS WITH EMPHASIS ON
BIOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

IMPORTANT! THE BOOKS PRESENTED BELOW WILL BE CLASSED INTO THREE SECTIONS PROGRESSING FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT, SIMILAR TO A TIMELINE CHART OF HISTORY PROGRESSING FROM PAST TO PRESENT. I WANT YOU TO CONSIDER THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TABLE AS OUR BIOLOGICAL PAST; THE CENTER COLUMN AS THE COMBINATION OF BIOLOGY AND CULTURE, AND THE LAST COLUMN AS STRICTLY CULTURAL IN INFLUENCE AS EFFECTING HUMAN BEHAVIOR. SOME BOOKS, OF COURSE, WILL OVERLAP, AND THAT IS THE GOAL -- TO MEET IN THE CENTER. I ALSO HAVE NOT READ ALL OF THE BOOKS, AND PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I MAKE AN ERROR IN THE POSTINGS. I HAVE MADE THOSE PLACMENT DECISIONS ON TITLE AND SYNOPSIS -- WHEN AVAILABLE.

THE GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT HUMAN BEHAVIOR IS A VOYAGE CONNECTING US TO OUR BIOLGOICAL ROOTS WHILE WE STEP OUTSIDE OUR BIOLOGICAL SHELL AND EXPLORE THE CULTURAL WORLD OTHERS HAVE CREATED FOR US BEFORE OUR ARRIVAL.

IN OUR PRESENT WORLD, MOSTLY INFLUENCED BY CULTURE, WE MAKE CHOICES THAT WE CONSIDER TO OUR ADVANTAGE. WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, WE MUST NEVER FOGET WHERE WE CAME FROM BIOLOGICALLY AND HOW IT EFFECTS THOSE CHOICES.

BIOLOGICAL EMPHASIS (WITH STRONG TIES TO EVOLUTION AND PRIMATE STUDIES)

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature, by Matt Ridley, June 1995. Referring to Lewis Carroll's Red Queen from Through the Looking-Glass, a character who has to keep running to stay in the same place, Matt Ridley demonstrates why sex is humanity's best strategy for outwitting its constantly mutating internal predators. The Red Queen answers dozens of other riddles of human nature and culture -- including why men propose marriage, the method behind our maddening notions of beauty, and the disquieting fact that a woman is more likely to conceive a child by an adulterous lover than by her husband. Brilliantly written, The Red Queen offers an extraordinary new way of interpreting the human condition and how it has evolved.
Sexing the Brain, by Lesley Rogers (Author) Sept 2002, The question of free will versus predestination is an old one in theology. It is a commonplace of science as well, emerging in recent years in claims that human sexuality is an expression of biological inheritance alone, that sexual orientation is genetically encoded and thus immutable. In this slender, provocative book, a volume in the series Maps of the Mind, neuroscientist Lesley Rogers examines the evidence for and against gene-deterministic views of sex differences, ranging from 19th-century attempts to prove that women are intellectually inferior because their brains, on average, weigh 10 percent less than men's ("There is no difference between the sexes," Rogers observes, "when brain weight is adjusted for body size") to more recent efforts to isolate a "gay gene." Such research, Rogers holds, fails to take into account cultural reasons for sex differences in brain function, which "are manifestations of social values held at a particular time." Among those values are an apparent educational segregation that produces boys with superior mathematical and spatial abilities and girls with superior verbal skills--a differentiation that has no proven biological basis, just as, Rogers argues, "sexual preference is not likely to depend on a single gene, a single neurotransmitter, or a single place in the brain." Rogers's book is certain not to be the last word on the subject, but those who consider nurture to be at least as important as nature in shaping the self will find fuel for their arguments in Rogers's antireductionist views
Adaptation and Natural Selection, by George Christopher Williams (Author) May, 1996, Biological evolution is a fact--but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. In 1966, simple Darwinism, which holds that evolution functions primarily at the level of the individual organism, was threatened by opposing concepts such as group selection, a popular idea stating that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. George Williams's famous argument in favor of the Darwinists struck a powerful blow to those in opposing camps. His Adaptation and Natural Selection, now a classic of science literature, is a thorough and convincing essay in defense of Darwinism; its suggestions for developing effective principles for dealing with the evolution debate and its relevance to many fields outside biology ensure the timelessness of this critical work.
Sex Differences: Developmental and Evolutionary Strategies, by Linda J. Mealey (Author) April, 2000. Sex differences like age differences are a biological fact but they are also a sociocultural fact. The purpose of this book is to bring readers up to date with knoweldge about sex and gender differences. It aims to establish a framework from which to view sex and gender differences. This work serves as a graduate-level text for courses in evolutionary biology/psychology and sexual differences as well as being a eference source for academic professionals in these disciplines. The book covers universal differences in biology, emotional expression, behaviour and cognition between males and females - differences that are long-standing and occur across cultures are eras.
Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine, by Randolph M. Nesse, George C. Williams, Vintage Books USA; (January 1, 1996) Is our tendency to "fix" our bodies with medicine keeping them from working exactly as they're supposed to? Two pioneers of the emerging science of Darwinian medicine argue that illness is part and parcel of the evolutionary system and as such, may be helping us to evolve towards better adaptation to our environment.
Evolution of Infectious Disease, by Paul M. Ewald , Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (October 1, 1996)
This ground-breaking work is the first book to present a Darwinian perspective on infectious disease. It views disease-producing bacteria and viruses as parasites and explains the history of disease as a host-parasite relationship, one which can evolve in many different ways and with radically different effects on the host population. The author's evolutionary approach is interdisciplinary, drawing on theory and example from the fields of epidemiology, molecular genetics,biochemistry, physiology, evolutionary ecology, and the ecology of populations and communities.
Evolutionary Medicine, by Wenda Trevathan (Editor), James J. McKenna (Editor), Euclid O. Smith (Editor)
Oxford University Press; 1st edition (May 15, 1999).
Primate Adaptaqtion and Evolution, by John Fleagle (Author), Academic Press; 2nd edition (September 11, 1998) John Fleagle has improved on his 1988 text by reconceptualizing chapters and by bringing new findings in functional and evolutionary approaches to bear on his synthesis of comparative primate data. The Second Edition provides a foundation upon which students can develop an understanding of our primate heritage. It features up-to-date information gained through academic training, laboratory experience and field research. This beautifully illustrated volume provides a comprehensive introductory text explaining the many aspects of primate biology and human evolution.
Key Features
* Provides up-to-date information about many aspects of primate biology and evolution
* Contains a completely new chapter on primate communities
* Presents totally revised chapters on primate origins, early anthropoids, and fossil platyrrhines
* Includes an updated glossary, new illustrations, and a revised Classification of Order Primates
* Succeeds as the best introductory text on primate evolution because it synthesizes and allows access to primary literature
*Female Choices: Sexual Behavior of Female Primates, by Meredith F. Small, Cornell Univ Pr; Reissue edition (October 1995) The importance of female choice in the evolution and social structure of a species has only emerged in the last 30 some years from the obscurity into which Darwin and other early theorists cast it. Small (anthopology, Cornell U.) draws on first hand observation of mating strategies of non-human female primates, revealing them as highly sexual, and far from passive receptors of male advances. She discusses human behavior in the final chapter; her insights are readable and often witty. Charmingly illustrated by the author's sister.
*Sperm Wars: The Science of Sex, by Robin Baker, DIANE Publishing Co; (January 1999) If you've ever looked upon sperm as a little army of white-coated soldiers setting off to sack and pillage a barely pregnable fortress . . . well, you'd be right, according to this fascinating new book. Dr. Robin Baker, who has studied sperm and cervical mucus in much greater detail than anyone would've thought necessary, has come to some startling conclusions: that less than 1 percent of sperm is actually designed to fertilize an egg (the rest are there to block other men's sperm), and that 4 to 10 percent of all children born to married couples are in fact the offspring of other men, usually of higher socioeconomic status, with whom the mother had a short-term relationship.
*Sex, Evolution, and Behavior: Adaptations for Reproductions, by Martin Daly, Margo Wilson, Prindle Weber & Schmidt; 2nd edition (March 1983) (From a reader in Feb, 2001) read this book in a college class. Mind you, I didn't read most of my college books, but I couldn't put this one down. It gives a clear, intelligent, remarkably well-documented, fascinating description of how sex evolved and how that evolution effects the behavior of everything from bacteria to modern social humans. This book is very accessible to any reasonably educated reader, regardless of your knowledge of evolutionary biology. And each idea is punctuated with a fascinating example taken from nature. Why do lightning bugs flash, and what controls the pattern to their flashing? Why are there two sexes? Why is a red sports car sexy? You'll learn the (evolutionary biology) answers to these and countless other intriguing questions. This book is a great lesson in evolution and a revealing investigation of why aniamls do the things they do, from an African hamster to... you.
Peacemaking Among Primates, by Frans De Waal, Harvard Univ Pr; Reprint edition (September 1990) Waal (Wisconsin Regional Primate Center) examines the ways in which aggression and reconciliation are both necessary, complementary aspects of primate social relationships; describes these aspects in chimpanzee, rhesus monkey, stumptail monkeys, bonobos monkeys; points out implications for their human relatives. Seventy-five photos.
*Plan and Purpose in Nature, by George C. Williams (Author), Weidenfeld & Nicolson; (1996) Plan and Purpose in Nature is a brilliant survey of Darwinian evolution in the natural world.It tells the story not only of the wonderful adaptations which the process of the natural selection produces throughout nature,but also the limitations of evolution for the 20th century human beings,which environment and diet have changed drastically while their biology and psychology have not.
Primate Communites, by J. G. Fleagle (Editor), Charles Janson (Editor), Kaye Reed (Editor) , Cambridge University Press; (October 14, 1999) Although the behavior and ecology of primates has been more thoroughly studied than that of any other group of mammals, there have been very few attempts to compare the communities of living primates found in different parts of the world. In Primate Communities, an international group of experts compares the composition, behavior, and ecology of primate communities in Africa, Asia, Madagascar, and South America. They examine the factors underlying the similarities and differences among these communities, including their phylogenetic history, climate, rainfall, soil type, forest composition, competition with other vertebrates, and human activities. As it brings together information about primate communities from around the world for the very first time, it will quickly become an important source book for researchers in anthropology, ecology, and conservation, and a readable and informative text for undergraduate and graduate students studying primate ecology, primate conservation, or primate behavior.
* Biological Perspecitves on Aggression, (Progress in Clinical and Biological Research, Vol. 169), by Kevin J. Flannelly ,Wiley-Liss; (November 1984)
*Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, by Carol Tavris (Author) Touchstone Books; Revised edition (September 15, 1989) "This landmark book" (San Francisco Chronicle) dispels the common myths about the causes and uses of anger -- for example, that expressing anger is always good for you, that suppressing anger is always unhealthy, or that women have special "anger problems" that men do not. Dr. Carol Tavris expertly examines every facet of that fascinating emotion -- from genetics to stress to the rage for justice. (Fully revised and updated, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion now includes:)* A new consideration of biological politics: Should testosterone or PMS excuse rotten tempers or aggressive actions?* The five conditions under which anger is likely to be effective -- and when it's not.* Strategies for solving specific anger problems -- chronic anger, dealing with difficult people, repeated family battles, anger after divorce or victimization, and aggressive children.
*Sexual Pharmacology, by A. Riley (Editor), Malcolm Peet (Editor), Catherine Wilson (Editor) Clarendon Pr; (January 1994) This volume provides a detailed and comprehensive review of current knowledge concerning the effect of drugs on sexual function. It should raise awareness of such effects which commonly cause distress to patients. Written by leading figures in the fields of sexual medicine and psychopharmacology, the drug effects are discussed in the context of current understanding of the underlying biochemical and physiological basis of sexuality. The book should be of interest to psychiatrists, psychologists, sex therapists, pharmacists and researchers in field of sexual behaviour, as well as prescribing physicians and pharmacologists.
*Paternity in Primates: Genetic Tests and Theories: Implications of Human DNA Fingerprinting, by R.D. Martin, A.F. Dixson, E.J. Wickings (Editor) S. Karger Publishing; (February 1992)
*Primate Societies, by Barbara B. Smuts, Dorothy L. Cheney (Editor), Robert M. Seyfarth, Ric Wrangham, Richard W. Wrangham (Editor), University of Chicago Press; (May 1987) Primate Societies is a synthesis of the most current information on primate socioecology and its theoretical and empirical significance, spanning the disciplines of behavioral biology, ecology, anthropology, and psychology. It is a very rich source of ideas about other taxa
*Parental Behaviour of Rodents, by R.W. Elwood (Editor), John Wiley & Sons; (April 1983)
*The Evolution of Primate Behavior, by Alison Jolly, MacMillan Publishing Company.; 2nd edition (January 1985)

*The Last Ape: Pygmy Chimpanzee Behavior and Ecology, by Takayoshi Kano, Evelyn Ono Vineberg, Univ Microfilms Intl; (September 1992) Not "last" because all the others are about to die out, but because they are the most recent of the apes to be studied thoroughly. Kano (zoology, Primate Research Institute, Kzota, Japan) recounts his observations and experiences in the Wamba Forest, Zaire, 1974-85, studying what many believe to be the species most closely related to humans. He particularly notes how the lifelong sexual and quasi-sexual behavior among individuals of any age and gender, alleviates the competition and dominance prevalent among other primates. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
*bn Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, by Jane Goodall, October 1986, Harvard University Press. (From a reader in 2000). "Jane Goodall has written a wonderful resource for anyone interested in primate behavior. This book covers every aspect of chimpanzee behavior from feeding, social structure, individual chimp bios, chimp warfare, and everything else you could ever want to know. If you're interested in chimpanzee behavior, then this book is a must read!"
* Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes by F. B. M. De Waal, Frans De Waal HarperCollins; (January 1983) The great apes, like humans, can recognize themselves in mirrors. They communicate by sound and gesture, form bands along what can only be called political lines, and sometimes engage in what is very clearly organized warfare. (Less frequently, too, they practice cannibalism.) In Chimpanzee Politics Frans de Waal, a longtime student of simian behavior, analyzes the behavior of a captive tribe of chimpanzees, comparing its actions with those of ape societies in the wild. What he finds is often not pleasant: chimps seem capable of astonishing deviousness and savagery, which has obvious implications for the behavior their human cousins sometimes exhibit
*bn Social Behavior of Female Vertebrate, Samuel K. Wasser (Editor) Cambridge University Press; (March 9, 2000). For ages, women have been considered as the emotional sex. The aim of this book is to investigate this stereotype. A wide range of emotions, such as anger, pride, shame, sadness, and joy, and emotional expressions, such as smiling and laughing are covered in the various chapters. The purpose of each chapter is to show whether sex differences have been found in psychological research in relation to one of these aspects of emotion, in which situations these differences were especially strong, and how (the absence of) these differences can be explained. This book is the first in its field to systematically present an overview of research and theory on gender differences in emotion.
*Mutual Aid: a factor of evolution, by Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin, New York University Press; (1972) (From a reader in Aug., 2002) "This book, which appears to be about the only surviving scientific text from Kropotkin's work, is very interesting and insightful. The first two chapters which deal with animals I found most interesting, because they address the roots of the falsehood of social-darwinism. Kropotkin then proceeds to move through the different stages of human society and describes the mutual aid a compassion fetures therein. It is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. It is a scientific text, but it has major political implications and is very accessible."
*The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, by Oliver W. Sacks (explores neurological disorders), Summit Books; (December 1985) In his most extraordinary book, "one of the great clinical writers of the 20th century" (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders. Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
*Ecological Aspects of Social Evolution: Birds and Mammals, by Daniel I. Rubenstein, Richard W. Wrangham, Books on Demand; (January 1, 1986) This ambitious book, the result of a 1983 symposium on social evolution, presents some of the most up-to-date information and theories available on how ecological pressures and social traditions influence social organization. Eighteen groups of birds and mammals, including humans, are discussed. The chief aim is to examine to what extent social evolution in diverse taxonomic groups can be understood through common principles. The topics discussed are complex, but due to the high quality of the writing and editing, highly understandable. The editors' excellent introductory and final chapters greatly help the reader in grasping the sometimes difficult subject matter. A book most large academic libraries should acquire. Nicholas J. Volkman, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Stinson Beach, Cal. (Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc).
*Sexual Selection, by Malte Andersson, Princeton Univ Pr; (May 27, 1994) Sexual Selection provides a masterly account of both the complex mathematical theory and the relevant data.... [It] deserves to be widely read as a definitive summary of what we know about sexual selection and as a guide to what remains to be done.
*Sex and Friendship in Baboons, by Barbara B. Smuts, Aldine de Gruyter; (December 1985) When it first appeared in the mid-1980s, this book transcended the traditional ethological focus on sexual interactions by analyzing male-female relationships outside the context of mating in a troop of wild baboons. Barbara Smuts used long-term friendships between males and females, documented over a two-year period, to show how social interactions between members of friendly pairs differed from those of other troop mates. Her findings, now enhanced with data from another fifteen years of field studies, suggest that the evolution of male reproductive strategies in baboons can only be understood by considering the relationship between sex and friendship: female baboons prefer to mate with males who have previously engaged in friendly interaction with them and their offspring. Smuts suggests that female choice may promote male investment in other species, and she explores the relevance of her findings for the evolution of male-female relationships in humans
Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, by Carl Zimmer, Perennial; (October 8, 2002). While its opponents may sneer that "it's just a theory," evolution has transcended that label to take its place as one of the most important ideas in human history. Science journalist Carl Zimmer explores its history and future in Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea, a companion piece to the epic PBS series of the same name. The book, lavishly illustrated with photos of our distant cousins, anatomical diagrams, and timelines, is as beautiful as it is enlightening. While those closely following the field will find little more here than a well-written summation of the state of the art in 2001, readers who have watched the evolutionary debates from a distance will quickly catch up with the details of the principal arguments. Zimmer's text is fresh and expansive, explaining both the minutiae of comparative anatomy and the grand scale of geological time with verve and clarity. Following the trend of turn-of-the-century evolution writers, he treats the religious beliefs of creationists with respect, while firmly insisting that the scientific evidence against their position is too compelling to ignore. Touching on biology, philosophy, theology, politics, and nearly every other field of human thought, Evolution will inspire its readers with the elegance and importance of Darwin's simple theory.

BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL

A Mind of Her Own: The Evolutionary Psychology of Women, by Anne Campbell, March 2002. Theories of human evolution portray ancestral men as active individuals who shaped future generations by testosterone-driven competition, creating a critical gulf between reproductive winners and losers. But what role is left for women within such evolutionary thinking? Their role has been constricted to mere consumers of the fruits of male competition accepting the winning male genes to pass to their children. Allegedly devoid of the need and capacity for competition amongst themselves, women could be neither winners nor losers in the reproductive stakes and so could contribute nothing to the genetic variability that drives selection. But have women really just been bit part actors in the whole story of evolution? Have they not played their own role in ensuring their reproductive success? In this accessible book, Anne Campbell challenges this passive role of women in evolutionary theory.
The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They are Changing the World, by Helen Fisher, Feb. 2000 Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher isn't afraid of immodest proposals. The woman who demystified four million years' worth of romance in Anatomy of Love now suggests in The First Sex that evolution favors women. Citing recent research in biology, sociology, sociobiology, and anthropology, Fisher makes a strong case for a near future in which the natural talents of women as thinkers, communicators, and healers, adapted to the age of information, create a new kind of global leadership in business, medicine, and education, skewing the power dynamics of sex and relationships towards the feminine. Women, she says, are contextual thinkers to a far greater degree than men; this "web thinking," as Fisher dubs it, is an asset in a global marketplace. Women are far more talented than men at achieving win-win outcomes in negotiations. On an organizational level, women are less interested in rank and more interested in relationships and networking, an essential attribute in a world without borders. In the arena of education, women have a natural talent for language and self-expression; as healers, they enjoy an emotional empathy with their charges that can and will redefine doctor-patient relationships. And, she predicts, in the next century women will reinvent love by asserting feminine sexuality and creating peer marriages, true partnerships. While Fisher's future may seem idealized, her science and her sociology make for a well-reasoned case that the people Simone de Beauvior once defined as "the second sex" are about to move to the head of the class. --
Gender and Emotion: Social Psychological Perspectives, by Agneta H. Fischer (Editor), Keith Oatley (Editor), Antony Manstead (Editor) For ages, women have been considered as the emotional sex. The aim of this book is to investigate this stereotype. A wide range of emotions, such as anger, pride, shame, sadness, and joy, and emotional expressions, such as smiling and laughing are covered in the various chapters. The purpose of each chapter is to show whether sex differences have been found in psychological research in relation to one of these aspects of emotion, in which situations these differences were especially strong, and how (the absence of) these differences can be explained. This book is the first in its field to systematically present an overview of research and theory on gender differences in emotion.
The Psychology of Sex Differences, Vol. II: Annotated Bibligoraphy, by Eleanor Emmons MacCoby, Carol Nagy Jacklin, Jan 1987
Feminism and Evolutionary Biology: Boundaries, Intersections, and Frontiers, by Patricia Gowaty, January 1, 1997. Standing at the intersection of evolutionary biology and feminist theory is a large audience interested in the questions one field raises for the other. Have evolutionary biologists worked largely or strictly within a masculine paradigm, seeing males as evolving and females as merely reacting passively or carried along with the tide? Would our view of nature `red in tooth in claw' be different if women had played a larger role in the creation of evolutionary theory and through education in its transmission to younger generations? Is there any such thing as a feminist science or feminist methodology? For feminists, does any kind of biological determinism undermine their contention that gender roles purely constructed, not inherent in the human species? Does the study of animals have anything to say to those preoccupied with the evolution and behavior of humans? All these questions and many more are addressed by this book, whose contributing authors include leading scholars in both feminism and evolutionary biology. Bound to be controversial, this book is addressed to evolutionary biologists and to feminists and to the large number of people interested in women's studies.
Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences, by David C. Geary, December 1998. Univ. of Missouri, Columbia. New approach to the sexes, explaining the differences between men and women rather than describing them. Covers sexual selection, paternal investment, evolution and development of the mind, and more. For researchers and practitioners. Halftone illustrations
Women in Human Evolution, by Lori D. Hager (Editor), May 23, 1997. Women in Human Evolution challenges the traditional invisibility of women in human prehistory, rejecting the conventional relegation of women to the realm of reproduction in order to ask what else our female ancestors were doing. Raising key questions about both the existing archaeological evidence and the theoretical models which influence its interpretation, the contributors discuss the evolutionary models used to explain gender differences. They suggest reinterpretations of existing evidence to construct a model of human evolution which places women in a more central role. Shifting their focus to the nature of the discipline itself, they ask what impact women paleoanthropologists have had on the field's theoretical assumptions and what work remains to be done.
The Woman That Never Evolved, With a New Preface and Bibliographical Updates, by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, December 1999. Hailed as a ground-breaking synthesis of feminism and evolutionary theory when first published, The Woman That Never Evolved is a bold and refreshing answer to contemporary versions of social Darwinism that shoehorn female nature into narrow stereotypes. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, a leader in modern primatology, argues that evolutionary theorists' emphasis on sexual competition among males for access to females overlooks selection pressures on females themselves. In a vivid account of what female primates themselves actually do to secure their own reproductive advantage, she demolishes myths about sexually passive, "coy," compliant, exclusively nurturing females. Her lucid and compelling account of the great range of behaviors in many species of primates, in many circumstances, expands the concept of female nature to include the full range of selection pressures on females, and reminds us of the true complexity and dynamism of the evolutionary story.
Lucy's Legacy: Sex and Intelligence in Human Evolution, by Alison Jolly, June 2001. Alison Jolly believes that biologists have an important story to tell about being human-not the all-too-familiar tale of selfishness, competition, and biology as destiny but rather one of cooperation and interdependence, from the first merging of molecules to the rise of a species inextricably linked by language, culture, and group living. This is the story that unfolds in Lucy's Legacy, the saga of human evolution as told by a world-renowned primatologist who works among the female-dominant ringtailed lemurs of Madagascar. We cannot be certain that Lucy was female-the bones themselves do not tell us. However, we do know, as Jolly points out in this erudite, funny, and informative book, that the females who came after Lucy-more adept than their males in verbal facility, sharing food, forging links between generations, migrating among places and groups, and devising creative mating strategies-played as crucial a role in the human evolutionary process as "man" ever did. In a book that takes us from the first cell to global society, Jolly shows us that to learn where we came from and where we go next, we need to understand how sex and intelligence, cooperation and love, emerged from the harsh Darwinian struggle in the past, and how these natural powers may continue to evolve in the future
The Decline of Males: The First Look at an Unexpected New World for Men and Women, by Lionel Tiger, September 2, 2000. Biological anthropologist Lionel Tiger, best known for developing the concept of male bonding in Men in Groups, offers what he calls "a chronicle of the decline of men and the ascendancy of women." If there were a male counterpart to feminism--masculinism?--this is where it would be found. Profound social changes over the last several decades are rooted in reproductive technology, which "has given enormous general power to women that has been translated beyond the family sphere," says Tiger. This is not an unequivocally positive development, he believes, and it has led to a slew of problems that include general family breakdown. The book is occasionally alarmist, yet there is also a freshness to its argument.
Evolution of Human Sexuality, by Donald Symons, February 1981. (From a reader, Aug. 2001) It's hard to believe this book is over twenty years old, so little has it dated. One of the very best of its genre. Current writers of thick easy paperbacks on the subject of human evolution have not matched this book for scholarship, relevance, or modest wit. Sprinkled with nicely chosen literary references that not only satisfy literary readers, but serve as an important and neglected source of data on human sexuality. Professional readers will have professional disputes and quibbles, but the average woman or man interested in their most basic interests will find this surprisingly readable academic book a revelation.
Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution, by Leonard Shlain Viking Press, August 14, 2003. This book sets out to explore why and when people evolved so far away from other mammals in several key ways, all of which Dr. Shlain ties to the biological differences between men and women. As in his excellent prior work The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (which holds that there are links between the ascendancy of patriarchy and written language and the descent of matriarchal societies and goddess-based religions), some of the concepts proposed in this book might seem a bit of a stretch. And they are-whether or not they turn out to be factual. Shlain contends, for instance, that women essentially invented the concept of time due to their experience of menses. Whatever conclusions the reader comes to, the author exposes the underlying gender biases in so many scientific assumptions; the result is one of those books that cannot help but alter one's perceptions. A consistently engaging writer, Shlain traces the course of his own evolving ideas with what might be called a didactic wit: bold statements are first writ large, then Dr. Shlain reveals how he came upon them, frequently with colorful anecdotes that show these are questions he's been wrestling with for many years. It's difficult to tell whether this fascinating thinker will be viewed as the next Darwin or as a crank, but there's no denying this is an audacious work in the realm of evolutionary biology.
*Why Sex Matters: A Darwinian Look at Human Behavior, by Bobbi S. Low, Princeton Univ Pr; (November 1, 2001). Why are men, like other primate males, usually the aggressors and risk takers? Why do women typically have fewer sexual partners? Why is killing infants routine in some cultures, but forbidden in others? Why is incest everywhere taboo? Bobbi Low ranges from ancient Rome to modern America, from the Amazon to the Arctic, and from single-celled organisms to international politics to show that these and many other questions about human behavior largely come down to evolution and sex. More precisely, as she shows in this uniquely comprehensive and accessible survey of behavioral and evolutionary ecology, they come down to the basic principle that all organisms evolved to maximize their reproductive success and seek resources to do so. Low begins by reviewing the fundamental arguments and assumptions of behavioral ecology: selfish genes, conflicts of interest, and the tendency for sexes to reproduce through different behaviors. She explains why in primate species--from chimpanzees and apes to humans--males seek to spread their genes by devoting extraordinary efforts to finding mates, while females find it profitable to expend more effort on parenting. Low illustrates these sexual differences among humans by showing that in places as diverse as the parishes of nineteenth-century Sweden, the villages of seventeenth-century China, and the forests of twentieth-century Brazil, men have tended to seek power and resources, from cattle to money, to attract mates, while women have sought a secure environment for raising children. She makes it clear, however, they have not done so simply through individual efforts or in a vacuum, but that men and women act in complex ways that involve cooperation and coalition building and that are shaped by culture, technology, tradition, and the availability of resources. Low also considers how the evolutionary drive to acquire resources leads to environmental degradation and warfare and asks whether our behavior could be channeled in more constructive ways

*Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals, by Frans De Waal, Harvard Univ Pr; Reprint edition (October 1997). In Good Natured Frans de Waal, ethologist and primatologist, asks us to reconsider human morality in light of moral aspects that can be identified in animals. Within the complex negotiations of human society, a moral action may involve thoughts and feelings of guilt, reciprocity, obligation, expectations, rules, or community concern. De Waal finds these aspects of morality prevalent in other animal societies, mostly primate, and suggests that the two philosophical camps supporting nature and nurture may have to be disbanded in order to adequately understand human morality. A theoretician, de Waal is meticulous in his research, cautious not to extrapolate too much from his findings, and logically sound in his arguments. He also writes with precision and a flair for the dramatic, carrying readers along with graceful ease and vivid examples
*Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species, by Sarah Hrdy, Ballantine Books; (September 5, 2000). Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection should be required reading for anyone who happens to be a human being. In it, Hrdy reveals the motivations behind some of our most primal and hotly contested behavioral patterns--those concerning gender roles, mate choice, sex, reproduction, and parenting--and the ideas and institutions that have grown up around them. She unblinkingly examines and illuminates such difficult subjects as control of reproductive rights, infanticide, "mother love," and maternal ambition with its ever-contested companions: child care and the limits of maternal responsibility. Without ever denying personal accountability, she points out that many of the patterns of abuse and neglect that we see in cultures around the world (including, of course, our own) are neither unpredictable nor maladaptive in evolutionary terms. "Mother" Nature, as she points out, is not particularly concerned with what we call "morality." The philosophical and political implications of our own deeply-rooted behaviors are for us to determine--which can be done all the better with the kind of understanding gleaned from this exhaustive work. Hrdy's passion for this material is evident, and she is deeply aware of the personal stake she has here as a woman, a mother, and a professional. This highly accomplished author relies on her own extensive research background as well as the works of others in multiple disciplines (anthropology, primatology, sociobiology, psychology, and even literature). Despite the exhaustive documentation given to her conclusions (as witness the 140-plus-page notes and bibliography sections), the book unfolds in an exceptionally lucid, readable, and often humorous manner. It is a truly compelling read, highly recommended.
*Why is Sex Fun?, by Jared M. Diamond Basic Books; (November 1998). Many of us pursue fitness because we want to remain attractive to partners and potential partners, and we stay healthy so we can continue to have sex with those partners. But why do people care so much about sex? This book, written by an evolutionary biologist, explains how all the weird quirks of human sexuality came to be: sex with no intention of procreation, invisible fertility, sex acts pursued in private--all common to us, but very different from most other species. Why Is Sex Fun? asks us to look at ourselves in a brand-new way, and richly rewards us for doing so.
*Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray, by Helen Fisher, Ballantine Books; (January 3, 1994). "Captivates the reader, answers all those puzzling questions that caused your mother (or priest or guidance counselor or gym teacher) to blame God and/or hormones....Her prediction of a more open and egalitarian order provides a compelling--and hopeful--vision for the future."
*Coalitions and Alliances in Humans and Other Animals, (Oxford Science Publications)
by Alexander H. Harcourt, Fans B. M. De Waal (Editor), Oxford Univ Pr; (April 1992). This book explores in detail how and why animals, including humans, co-operate with one another in conflicts with other members of their own species, and examines the difference such help makes to their lives and to the nature of the society in which they live. This book is intended for zoologists interested in primates; behavioural ecologists; anthropologists; social psychologists; sociologists; evolutionary biologists.
*Homicide (Foundations of Human Behavior), by Martin Daly, Margo Wilson Aldine de Gruyter; (January 1, 1988). Killing is above all a drastic way of resolving interpersonal conflicts of interest. To understand why people kill, we need a theory of the nature of individual self-interests that will explain where and why they conflict. In this bold and lively, fact-filled book, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson find such theory in the emerging paradigm of evolutionary psychology, and demonstrate its utility for understanding homicide.
Just Like a Woman: How Gender Science is Redefining What Makes Us Females, by Dianne Hales (Author) Bantam ; Reprint edition (June 6, 2000). The entry of more and more women into science, writes Dianne Hales, has started a quiet revolution, a reassessment of accepted notions of what it is to be a woman. "Women are not the second sex but a separate sex, female to the bone and to the very cells that make up those bones.... In affirming our femaleness, we are not diminishing or discrediting our mental ability or essential equality. Rather, we are recognizing a fundamental source of strength and sustenance."
This "equal but different" stance is crucial to modern gender studies--heretofore, Hales says, most if not all medical and psychological research was done on men, and the conclusions recklessly applied to women. Now, science is finding out that females have their own unique strengths that equip them both for the biological roles they may choose to embrace as well as the societal roles they have often been denied. Hales explodes stereotypical notions of physiology and psychology in this well-researched and liberating book.
*The Biology of Violence: How Understanding the Brain, Behavior and Environment Can Break the Vicious Circle of Aggression, Free Press; (February 1, 2002).There has been a revolution in neuroscience over the last ten years, and, as Debra Niehoff shows in the first book to examine violence from a complete biological perspective, now is the right time to consider how we are going to use the achievements of that revolution to reduce the level of violence in our society. What is this new perspective that Niehoff presents? Simply that by understanding human biology we can control violence in our society. The debate over the roles of "nature" and "nurture" is over. Our genes do affect the likelihood of violence. And so does our mature brain chemistry. And so does our environment, as well as the nurturing we get as children and the social life we have with our peers. Everything affects us, but no one element is the sole determining factor. The real story that biology has shown us is that we recreate ourselves all the time, even as adults. Everything is involved in the ongoing process of life.
*Agression and Violence: Genetic, Neurobiological, and Biosocial Perspectives, by Robert B. Cairns (Editor), David M. Stoff (Editor) Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc; (September 1996)
*The Emotional Brain: The Mysterous Underpinnings of Emotional Life, by Joseph Ledoux (Author), Touchstone Books; Reprint edition (March 27, 1998). Joseph LeDoux, a professor at the Center for Neural Science at New York University, has written the most comprehensive examination to date of how systems in the brain work in response to emotions, particularly fear. Among his fascinating findings is the work of amygdala structure within the brain. The amygdala mediates fear and other responses and actually processes information more quickly than other parts of the brain, allowing a rapid response that can save our lives before other parts of the brain have had a chance to react. He also offers findings and theories on how the brain handles--and in many cases, buries--extremely traumatic experiences. In all, a compelling read about the mysteries of emotions and the workings of the brain.
*Maladapted Mind: Classic Readings in Evolutionary Psychopathology, (Studies in Developmental Psychology), by Simon Baron-Cohen (Editor), Psychology Pr; (August 1, 1997). Newly available in paperback, this is the first book to bring together classic and contemporary readings illustrating the new subdiscipline, evolutionary psychopathology. Each chapter demonstrates how evolutionary arguments are being brought to bear on the study of a different psychiatric condition or pathalogical behaviour. The Maladapted Mind is aimed primarily at advanced students and researchers in the fields of psychiatry, abnormal psychology, biological anthropology, evolutionary biology, and cognitive science.
Genes on the Couch: Explorations in Evolutionary Psychology, by Paul Gilbert (Editor), Kent G. Bailey (Editor), Brunner-Routledge; 1st edition (December 2000). Genes on the Couch brings together respected clinicians who have integrated evolutionary insights into their case conceptualization and therapeutic interventions. Various psychotherapy schools are represented, and each author provides illustrative examples of the interventions used. Specific topics addressed include the nature of evolved mental mechanisms, regulation/dysregulation of internal processes attachment and kinship in therapy, the importance of internalizing warmth as a therapeutic goal, kin selection and incest avoidance, co-operation and deception in social relations, difficulties in working with certain male clients, gender differences in therapy, and the roles of shame and guilt in treatment.
Altruism and Aggression: Social and Biological Origins, by Carolyn Zahn-Waxler (Editor), E. Mark Cummings (Editor), Ronald J. Iannotti (Editor), Cambridge University Press; Reprint edition (July 26, 1991). In this timely collection, biological and behavioral scientists address questions emerging from new research about the origins and interconnections of altruism and aggression within and across species. They explore the genetic underpinnings of affiliative and aggressive orientations as well as the biological correlates of these behaviors. They consider environmental variables--family patterns, childrearing practices--that influence prosocial and antisocial behaviors. And they examine internal processes such as empathy, socio-inferential abilities, and cognitive attributions, that regulate "kindness" and "selfishness." The first section focuses on biological, sociobiological, and ethological approaches. It explores the utility of animal models for understanding both human and infrahuman social behavior. The second section focuses on the development, socialization, and mediation of altruism and aggression in children. Several concerns underly both sections. These include the role of attachment processes, separation distress, reciprocal interchanges, and social play in determining the quantity and quality of aggressive and affiliative interactions; the function of emotions (e.g. empathy, guilt, and anger) as instigators of altruism and aggression; and the nature of sex differences. Several chapters present data on emotions that mediate altruism and aggression and also on patterns of association between prosocial and antisocial behaviors. The authors take an ethological perspective, placing special importance on the need to explore altruism and aggression in the real lives and natural habitats of humans and other animals.
* Human Nature: A Critical Reader, by Laura L. Betzig (Editor) Oxford University Press; (October 1996)
Before Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859, the meaning of "human nature" was anybody's guess. Why do we do what we do? To Darwin and his followers the answer is unequivocal: procreation and the continuation of the species represent the essence of human existence. Human Nature collects the first papers to test Darwinian theories on Homo sapiens. It also includes new critiques of those classics written both by the authors themselves, and by biologists who pioneered field studies, comparative studies, and cognitive studies on other species. It also adds a new introduction which covers current publications on human anatomy, physiology, emotions, cognition, and interaction. This is the first book that employs Darwin's theory of life to explain what we do and who we are.

*Human Ethology, by Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Aldine de Gruyter; (June 1989). A comprehensive study of the biological basis of human behavior. Translated, expanded, and revised from the German edition by Eibl- Eibesfeldt (human ethology, Max Planck Institute), based on his 20 years studying animal behavior and another 20 applying those studies to humans. Topics include basic concepts and methodology, aggression, communication, development, asesthetics, and others. He is concerned with finding a universal grammar of human behavior and with creating new perspectives on problems in modern society. Well illustrated with photographs and drawings. Accessible to general readers, essential to scholars. A monument. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
*The Science of Desire: The Search for the Gay Gene and the Biology of Behavior, by Dean H. Hamer, Peter F.Copeland (Contributor), Simon & Schuster; (October 1994). In July 1993, a scientific event made front-page news: the discovery that genetics plays a significant role in determining homosexuality. In The Science of Desire, Dean Hamer -- the scientist behind the groundbreaking study -- tells the inside story of how the discovery was made and what it means, not only for our understanding of sexuality, but for human behavior in general. In this accessible and remarkably clear book, Dean Hamer expands on the account of his history-making research to explore the scientific, social, and ethical issues raised by his findings. Dr. Hamer addresses such tough questions as whether it would be possible or ethical to test in utero for the gay gene; whether genetic manipulation could or should be used to alter a person's sexuality; and how a gay gene could have survived evolution. A compelling behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge scientific inquiry, as well as a brilliant examination of the ramifications of genetic research, The Science of Desire is a lasting resource in the increasingly significant debate over the role that genetics plays in our lives.
*Sex, Power, Conflict: Evolutionary and Feminist Perspectives, by David M. Buss (Editor), Neil M. Malamuth (Editor), Oxford University Press; (April 1996). Sexual harassment in the workplace, date rape, and domestic violence dominate the headlines and have recently sparked scholarly debates about the nature of the sexes. Concurrently, the scientific community is conducting research in topics of sex and gender issues. Indeed, more research is being done on the topics of sexual conflict and coercion than at any other time in the history of the social sciences. Despite this attention, it is clear that these issues are being addressed from two essentially different perspectives: one is labeled "feminist", while the other, viewed as antithetical to the feminist movement, is called "evolutionary psychology", which emphasizes the history of reproductive strategies in understanding conflict between the sexes. This book brings together leading experts from both sides of the debate in order to discover how each could offer insights lacking in the other. The editors' overall goal is to show how the feminist and evolutionary approaches are complementary despite their evident differences, then provide an integration and synthesis. In fact, several of the contributors to this unique volume consider themselves advocates of both approaches. As a stimulating presentation of the dynamics of sex, power, and conflict--and a pioneering rapprochement of the diverse tendencies within the scientific community-- this book will attract a wide audience in both psychology and women's studies fields.
*The Evolution of Cooperation, by Robert Axelrod, Basic Books; Reprint edition (September 1985)
*Yanomamo, the Fierce People, by Napoleon A. Chagnon, International Thomson Publishing; 2nd edition (January 1977)
*The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture, by Jerome H. Barkow (Editor), Leda Cosmides (Editor), John Tooby (Editor) Oxford University Press; (August 1992). Although researchers have long been aware that the species-typical architecture of the human mind is the product of our evolutionary history, it has only been in the last three decades that advances in such fields as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and paleoanthropology have made the fact of our evolution illuminating. Converging findings from a variety of disciplines are leading to the emergence of a fundamentally new view of the human mind, and with it a new framework for the behavioral and social sciences. First, with the advent of the cognitive revolution, human nature can finally be defined precisely as the set of universal, species-typical information-processing programs that operate beneath the surface of expressed cultural variability. Second, this collection of cognitive programs evolved in the Pleistocene to solve the adaptive problems regularly faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors--problems such as mate selection, language acquisition, cooperation, and sexual infidelity. Consequently, the traditional view of the mind as a general-purpose computer, tabula rasa, or passive recipient of culture is being replaced by the view that the mind resembles an intricate network of functionally specialized computers, each of which imposes contentful structure on human mental organization and culture. The Adapted Mind explores this new approach--evolutionary psychology--and its implications for a new view of culture.
*Evolutionary Social Psychology, by Jeffry A. Simpson (Editor), Douglas Kenrick (Editor), Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc; (February 1997).
*The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins Oxford Press; (September 1990. Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.
Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings.
Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food, Taming Our Primal Instincts, by Terry Burnham, Jay Phelan, Penguin Books; (August 28, 2001). Why do we want-and do-so many things that are bad for us? In Mean Genes Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan argue that we need to stop looking to Sigmund Freud for answers and start looking to Charles Darwin. Mean Genes reveals that our struggles for self-improvement are, in fact, battles against our own genes-genes that helped our distant ancestors flourish, but are selfish and out of place in the modern world. Using this evolutionary lens, Mean Genes brilliantly examines the issues that most affect our lives-body image, money, addiction, violence, and relationships, friendship, love, and fidelity-and offers steps to help us lead more satisfying lives.
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, by Steven Pinker , Penguin Putnam; (September 26, 2002). Our conceptions of human nature affect everything aspect of our lives, from child-rearing to politics to morality to the arts. Yet many fear that scientific discoveries about innate patterns of thinking and feeling may be used to justify inequality, to subvert social change, and to dissolve personal responsibility. In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature and instead have embraced three dogmas: The Blank Slate (the mind has no innate traits), The Noble Savage (people are born good and corrupted by society), and The Ghost in the Machine (each of us has a soul that makes choices free from biology). Each dogma carries a moral burden, so their defenders have engaged in desperate tactics to discredit the scientists who are now challenging them.Pinker provides calm in the stormy debate by disentangling the political and moral issues from the scientific ones. He shows that equality, compassion, responsibility, and purpose have nothing to fear from discoveries about an innately organized psyche. Pinker shows that the new sciences of mind, brain, genes, and evolution, far from being dangerous, are complementing observations about the human condition made by millennia of artists and philosophers. All this is done in the style that earned his previous books many prizes and worldwide acclaim: irreverent wit, lucid exposition, and startling insight on matters great and small.
Evolution of the Social Contract, by Brian Skyrms (Author), Cambridge University Press; (June 28, 1996). In this highly readable book, Brian Skyrms, a recognized authority on game and decision theory, investigates traditional problems of the social contract in terms of evolutionary dynamics. Game theory is skillfully employed to offer new interpretations of a wide variety of social phenomena, including justice, mutual aid, commitment, convention and meaning. The book is not technical and requires no special background knowledge. As such, it could be enjoyed by students and professionals in a wide range of disciplines: political science, philosophy, decision theory, economics and biology.
Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior, by Elliott Sober, Elliott Sober, David Sloan Wilson, Harvard Univ Pr; Reprint edition (October 1999) In Unto Others, philosopher Elliott Sober and biologist David Sloan Wilson bravely attempt to reconcile altruism, both evolutionary and psychological, with the scientific discoveries that seem to portray nature as red in tooth and claw. The first half of the book deals with the evolutionary objection to altruism. For altruistic behavior to be produced by natural selection, it must be possible for natural selection to act on groups--but conventional wisdom holds that group selection was conclusively debunked by George Williams in Adaptation and Natural Selection. Sober and Wilson nevertheless defend group selection, instructively reviewing the arguments against it and citing important work that relies on it. They then discuss group selection in human evolution, testing their conclusions against the anthropological literature. In the second half of the book, the question is whether any desires are truly altruistic. Sober and Wilson painstakingly examine psychological evidence and philosophical arguments for the existence of altruism, ultimately concluding that neither psychology nor philosophy is likely to decide the question. Fortunately, evolutionary biology comes to the rescue. Sober and Wilson speculate that creatures with truly altruistic desires are reproductively fitter than creatures without--altruists, in short, make better parents than do egoists. Rich in information and insight, Unto Others is a book that will be seriously considered by biologists, philosophers, anthropologists, and psychologists alike. The interested amateur may find it difficult in places but worth the effort overall.
Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human, by Matt Ridley (Author) HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 29, 2003). In the follow-up to his bestseller, Genome, Matt Ridley takes on a centuries-old question: is it nature or nurture that makes us who we are? Ridley asserts that the question itself is a "false dichotomy." Using copious examples from human and animal behavior, he presents the notion that our environment affects the way our genes express themselves. Ridley writes that the switches controlling our 30,000 or so genes not only form the structures of our brains but do so in such a way as to cue off the outside environment in a tidy feedback loop of body and behavior. In fact, it seems clear that we have genetic "thermostats" that are turned up and down by environmental factors. He challenges both scientific and folk concepts, from assumptions of what's malleable in a person to sociobiological theories based solely on the "selfish gene." Ridley's proof is in the pudding for such touchy subjects as monogamy, aggression, and parenting, which we now understand have some genetic controls. Nevertheless, "the more we understand both our genes and our instincts, the less inevitable they seem." A consummate popularizer of science, Ridley once again provides a perfect mix of history, genetics, and sociology for readers hungry to understand the implications of the human genome sequence
*The Elementary Structures of Kinship, by Claude Levi-Strauss (Author), Beacon Press; (June 1, 1971) (From a reader, Jan. 2001) In this large and very dense work on kinship, Claude Levi-Strauss advances a distinctive approach to the issues of kinship, one that focuses not on descent (the relation of children to parents) but on marriage ("alliance" in anthropological jargon), seen as the exchange of women between groups. In the 1950s and 1960s, Claude Levi-Strauss's work became an inspiration for a school of "Alliance Theorists" who challenged the British social anthropological world's then-dominant view that descent is primary and alliance a secondary means of reproducing the lineage. Yet Levi-Strauss's analysis of kinship should be of interest to more than just anthropologists; as the Confucians recognized, kinship is the basic equipment of humanity and thus its mechanics are worth the attention of all those interested in understanding humanity.
*Sociobiological Perspecitves on Human Development, by Kevin Mac Donald (Editor), Kevin B. MacDonald, Springer Verlag; (April 1988)|
*Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman, by Marjorie Shostak (Photographer), Harvard Univ Pr; (November 2000). This classic paperback is available once again- and exclusively-from Harvard University Press. This book is the story of the life of Nisa, a member of the !Kung tribe of hunter-gatherers from southern Africa's Kalahari desert. Told in her own words -- earthy, emotional, vivid -- to Marjorie Shostak, a Harvard anthropologist who succeeded, with Nisa's collaboration, in breaking through the immense barriers of language and culture, the story is a fascinating view of a remarkable woman.
*Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence, by Dale Peterson), Richard Wrangham, Mariner Books; (November 14, 1997). If you harbor a sneaking suspicion that men are a herd of ignoble savages, then this book is for you. Authors Wrangham and Peterson will confirm your instincts. It turns out that hyperviolent social behavior is deeply rooted in male human genes and common among our closest male primate relatives. Rapes, beatings and killings are as much a part of life among the great apes as they are among us. The authors try to conclude on some upbeat notes that ring hollow, but their science reveals much about the dark side of human nature. --
*Uniting Psychology and Biology: Integrative Perspectives on Human Development, by Nancy L. Segal (Editor), Glenn E.Weisfeld (Editor), Carol C. Weisfeld (Editor), Glenn E. Weisfeld Ph. D. (Editor), Carol C. Weisfeld Ph. D. (Editor) American Psychological Association (APA); (June 1997).
*Survival of the Prettist: The Science of Beauty, by Nancy Etcoff (Author) (argues persuasively that looking good has survival value, and that sensitivity to beauty is a biological adaptation governed by brain circuits shaped by natural selection.), Anchor; (July 11, 2000. In the latter part of the 20th century, the adage "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" has evolved far beyond its original intent as an admonition against false vanity to become a cultural manifesto used to explain phenomena as diverse as the art of Andy Warhol and the rise of a multi-billion-dollar cosmetics industry. But is there something more to human reaction to beauty than a conditioned response to social cues? Yes, says Harvard Medical School psychologist Nancy Etcoff. Survival of the Prettiest argues persuasively that looking good has survival value, and that sensitivity to beauty is a biological adaptation governed by brain circuits shaped by natural selection. Etcoff synthesizes a fascinating array of scientific research and cultural analysis in support of her thesis. Psychologists find that babies stare significantly longer at the faces adults find appealing, while the mothers of "attractive" babies display more intense bonding behaviors. The symmetrical face of average proportions may have become the optimal design because of evolutionary pressures operating against population extremes. Gentlemen may prefer blondes not so much for their hair color as for the fairness of their skin--which makes it easier to detect the flush of sexual excitement. And high heels accentuate a woman's breasts and buttocks, signaling fertility. Is beauty programmed into our brain circuits as a proxy for health and youth? In marked contrast to other writers like Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth), Etcoff argues that it is, noting, "Rather than denigrate one source of women's power, it would seem far more useful for feminists to attempt to elevate all sources of women's power."

*Of Mice and Women: Aspects of Female Agression, by Kaj Bjorkqvist, Pirkko Niemela, Academic Press; (September 21, 1992) This book is a comprehensive compilation and discussion of research findings on female aggression from anthropology, social psychology, animal research, case studies, and representations in literature. This multidisciplinary approach will address such questions as: 'Are females less aggressive than males?' 'Is female aggressive behavior perhaps quantitatively, different than male aggressive behavior?' The book also discusses patterns of agression, the role of hormones in aggression, cultural differences, and how human aggression differs from aggression within animal species.
*Ache Life History: The Ecology and Demography of a Foraging People(Foundations of Human Behavior), by Kim Hill, H. Magdelena Hurtado, A. Magdalena Hurtado, Aldine de Gruyter; (January 1996). The Ache, whose life history Hill and Hurtado recount, are a small, indigenous population of hunters and gatherers living in the neotropical rainforest of eastern Paraguay. Contact of Ache with outsiders, including other Indian groups, has been infrequent and hostile during the 400 years since the first arrival of the Spanish. The authors have gained their confidence over more than a decade in the field. Both in terms of access to Ache informants and in field data, their research is unique.
*Nomads of the Long Bow: The Siriono of Eastern Bolivia, by Allan R. Holmberg, Waveland Press; Reprint edition (December 1985)|
Psychology and Evolution: The Origins of Mind, by Bruce Bridgeman, Sage Publications; (February 6, 2003,) In recent years, evolutionary theory has been offering a framework that more and more psychologists are finding increasingly relevant to address one critical question: Why? Why do we behave, develop, and interact the way we do? Psychology and Evolution: The Origins of Mind introduces students to the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Bruce Bridgeman applies concepts of evolutionary theory to basic psychological functions to derive new insights into the roots of human behavior and how that behavior may be viewed as adaptation to life's significant challenges. Examining courtship, reproduction, child rearing, family relations, social interaction, and language development, Bridgeman uses evolutionary theory to help in the search to elucidate the foundations of human perceptions, experiences, and behaviors.Encouraging thought and discussion, this engaging volume includes:
Opposing approaches and controversial topics
Greater breadth of coverage on the field of evolutionary psychology
Innovative applications of evolutionary theory to areas that have not previously been analyzed in this context
End-of-chapter discussion questions with annotated suggestions for further reading
Key terms and concepts highlighted within the text and defined both in context and in a glossary
Psychology and Evolution presents an innovative application of biological ideas and data to establish a comprehensive theory of evolutionary psychology-a theory with the potential to unite all of psychology under a single framework and to explain the basis of human behavior and experience. Primarily designed as a course textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences, Psychology and Evolution will also appeal to scholars in the field and educated readers interested in the development of human behavior.
*Women of the Forest, by Yolanda Murphy (Author), Robert Murphy. Columbia University Press; Second Edition edition (April 15, 1985). In the decades since it was first published, this study of Brazil's Mundurucu´ Indians has been widely read and has become regarded as a classic. Now, for the second edition, the authors have written a new chapter that describes their fieldwork during the year they spent living among the Mundurucu´. details an acute and intriguing battle of the sexes in which reality squarely contradicts ideology. The Murphy's full-scale analysis considers the historical, ecological, and cultural setting in which the Mundurucu´ live, the mythology concerning women, the woman's work and household life, marriage and child rearing, and the impact of social change on the female role. The authors give particular attention to sexual antagonism and the means by which women compensate, in actual practice, for their low public position. The new chapter gives the reader an idea of the nature of ethnographic fieldwork as both personal experience and scientific practice. It recounts how they coped with the language barrier, the practice of bartering rather than buying, and other day-to-day problems of living in a totally different culture. Thus, it provides an illuminating background to Mundurucu´ culture before the reader delves into the rich details of the study itself. At the same time the chapter helps the reader to learn about anthropological methods of data gathering.
*Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man, by Bernard Campbe, Walter de Gruyter, Inc.; (October 1972)
On Our Minds: How Evolutionary Psychology is Reshaping the Nature - Versus - Nurture Debate, by Eric M. Gander, Johns Hopkins Univ Pr; (January 2004) (In On Our Minds, examines all sides of the public debate between evolutionary psychologists and their critics. Paying particularly close attention to the popular science writings of Steven Pinker, Edward O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, and Stephen Jay Gould, Gander traces the history of the controversy, succinctly summarizes the claims and theories of the evolutionary psychologists, dissects the various arguments deployed by each side, and considers in detail the far-reaching ramifications-social, cultural, and political-of this debate. Gander's lucid and highly readable account concludes that evolutionary psychology now holds the potential to answer our oldest and most profound moral and philosophical questions, fundamentally changing our self-perception as a species).
*Despotism and Differential Reproduction: A Darwinian View of History, by Laura L. Betzig (As prof. Betzig states: this is a book about how things really are: the end of human life is its reproduction, and positions of strength are exploited to this end. Power (bluntly, the ability to kill subjects for trivial or no cause) is essential in the resolution of conflicts of interest to the advantage of those who hold power. This work demonstrates profusely that self-interest and its corroborations (nepotism, corruption ...) reign mightily in all societies. It answers most clearly why power corrupts. It explains the near universality of despotic governments in hierarchal societies, but also why this kind of government still exists (open and bare, or hidden) everywhere in the world today.) Aldine de Gruyter; (January 1986).
*The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy is a Necessary as Love and Sex, by David M. Buss (Author) Free Press; (February 14, 2000) If you think that jealousy is simply a neurosis or merely a manifestation of insecurity, then reading David Buss's The Dangerous Passion may change your opinion. Buss asserts that jealousy is an adaptive behavior, albeit an imperfect one, which helped our human ancestors cope with reproductive threats. Buss uses examples from insect and primate populations, as well as Hollywood, to help illustrate the evolutionary concepts discussed. Building on his previous book, The Evolution of Desire, on the gender differences in mate selection, Buss argues for a coevolutionary cycle based on concealment and detection (jealousy) between the genders in their drive to optimize reproductive success.
Although pathological aspects of jealousy--battering, stalking, and killing--are argued to be the result of adaptive responses, they are in no way defended as acceptable or natural behavior. Buss indicates that it is his hope that by understanding the forces that shaped jealousy we can better cope with its effects--positive or negative
*Female Control: Sexual Selection by Cryptic Female Choice, by William G. Eberhard, John R. Krebs (Editor), T.H. Clutton-Brock (Editor), Princeton Univ Pr; (July 8, 1996) A growing body of evidence has begun to reveal flaws in the traditional assumption of female passivity and lack of discrimination after copulation has begun. William Eberhard has compiled an impressive array of research on the ability of females to shape the outcome of mating. He describes studies of many different cryptic mechanisms by which a female can accept a male for copulation but nevertheless reject him as a father. Evidence from various fields indicates that such selectivity by females may be the norm rather than the exception. Because most post-copulatory competition between males for paternity is played out within the bodies of females, female behavior, morphology, and physiology probably often influence male success in these contests. Eberhard draws examples from a diversity of organisms, ranging from ctenophores to scorpions, nematodes to frogs, and crickets to humans. Cryptic female choice establishes a new bridge between sexual selection theory and reproductive physiology, in particular the physiological effects of male seminal products on female reproductive processes, such as sperm transport, oviposition, and remating. Eberhard interweaves his review of previous studies with speculation on the consequences of this theoretical development, and indicates promising new directions for future research.
*Genome, by Matt Ridley, HarperCollins; (October 3, 2000). Science writer Matt Ridley has found a way to tell someone else's story without being accused of plagiarism. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters delves deep within your body (and, to be fair, Ridley's too) looking for dirt dug up by the Human Genome Project. Each chapter pries one gene out of its chromosome and focuses on its role in our development and adult life, but also goes further, exploring the implications of genetic research and our quickly changing social attitudes toward this information. Genome shies away from the "tedious biochemical middle managers" that only a nerd could love and instead goes for the A-material: genes associated with cancer, intelligence, sex (of course), and more. Readers unfamiliar with the jargon of genetic research needn't fear; Ridley provides a quick, clear guide to the few words and concepts he must use to translate hard science into English. His writing is informal, relaxed, and playful, guiding the reader so effortlessly through our 23 chromosomes that by the end we wish we had more. He believes that the Human Genome Project will be as world-changing as the splitting of the atom; if so, he is helping us prepare for exciting times--the hope of a cure for cancer contrasts starkly with the horrors of newly empowered eugenicists. Anyone interested in the future of the body should get a head start with the clever, engrossing Genome.
*Darwin, Sex, and Status: Biological Approaches to Mind and Culture, by Jerome H. Barkow, Univ of Toronto Pr; (October 1989). (From a reader, March 1992) Dr. Jerome Barkow has shown us a glimpse of the future in this hugely interesting yet also highly manageable introduction to evolutionary psychology. Although newer, more research-oriented work has emerged since its publication (such as The Adapted Mind and the textbook Evolutionary Psychology) Darwin, Sex and Status still stands as a wonderful example of how the social sciences might be unified under the rubric of evolution. Dr. Barkow achieves the goal of practically any scientific work - to render the arcane and complicated comprehensible. He does this through his thorough understanding of evolutionary principles as well as his comfort in psychology and anthropology. His relaxed manner of writing and straightforward style make otherwise difficult to grasp concepts seem perfectly obvious. And make no mistake, this tome is brimming with interesting and complex ideas. Of course, the case for an evolutionary psychology is strengthened when seemingly incompatible fields (like psychology and anthropology) can be made to fall into place by an overarching theory like that of evolution. This type of work is tricky and demands masterful knowledge over a great many different fields to make it convincing. Here professor Barkow is in his element and demonstrates the power of working from an interdisciplinary perspective. The book is roughly divided up into three parts - a necessary discussion of evolutionary principles, a section on human psychology and lastly a treatment of social structure and anthropology. Taken together they stand as a robust statement about the psychology, social structure and culture of our species. As an added bonus, Dr. Barkow has provided a lengthy list of as yet untested hypotheses which are stated in such a way as to make them extraordinarily approachable from empirical methods. If you want to know more about evolutionary psychology or simply would like to see what a more synthetic peek at our psychology and culture would look like or even if you just would like to be simultaneously titillated and entertained, Darwin Sex, and Status is a great place to start.
*The Meme Machine, by Susan Blackmore, Richard Dawkins, Oxford Press; (May 2000) What is a meme? First coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 study The Selfish Gene, a meme is any idea, behavior, or skill that can be transferred from one person to another by imitation: stories, fashions, inventions, recipes, songs, and ways of plowing a field, throwing a baseball, or making a sculpture. It is also one of the most important--and controversial--concepts to emerge since Darwin's Origin of the Species. Here, Blackmore boldly asserts: "Just as the design of our bodies can be understood only in terms of natural selection, so the design of our minds can be understood only in terms of memetic selection." Indeed, The Meme Machine shows that once our distant ancestors acquired the crucial ability to imitate, a second kind of natural selection began: a survival of the fittest among competing ideas and behaviors. Those that proved most adaptive--making tools, for example, or using language--survived and flourished, replicating themselves in as many minds as possible. These memes then passed themselves on from generation to generation by helping to ensure that the genes of those who acquired them also survived and reproduced. Applying this theory to many aspects of human life, Blackmore brilliantly explains why we live in cities, why we talk so much, why we can't stop thinking, why we behave altruistically, how we choose our mates, and much more. With controversial implications for our religious beliefs, our free will, and our very sense of "self", this provocative book will be must reading any general reader or student interested in psychology, biology, or anthropology.
*Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme, by Richard Brodie, Integral Press; (March 2004). If you've ever wondered how and why people become robotically enslaved by advertising, religion, sexual fantasy, and cults, wonder no more. It's all because of "mind viruses," or "memes," and those who understand how to plant them into other's minds. This is the first truly accessible book about memes and how they make the world go 'round. Of course, like all good memes, the ideas in Brodie's book are double-edged swords. They can vaccinate against the effects of cognitive viruses, but could also be used by those seeking power to gain it even more effectively. If you don't want to be left behind in the coevolutionary arms race between infection and protection, read about memes
*Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through Society, by Aaron Lynch, Basic Books; (January 1999) Why do certain ideas become popular? The naive view is that it's because they're true, or at least justified. This fascinating book, influenced by evolutionary biology and epidemiology, is the first full-scale examination of some of the other reasons. Consider Aaron Lynch's example of optimism--it may not be true or warranted, but it tends to prevail because optimists tend to have more children to pass along their outlook to. Sometimes, Lynch points out, there is a paradoxical but predictable expansion-contraction pattern to the social spread of ideas. If nothing else, lobbyists need to look into this stuff to see which side their bread is really buttered on. Warning: this book is densely written. But it's worth the wade.
*The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Natue, by Geoffrey Miller, (From a reader: It's a dizzyingly ambitious project, which would be impossibly vague without the ingenuity and irreverence that Miller brings to bear on it. Steeped in popular culture, the book mixes theories of runaway selection, fitness indicators, and sensory bias with explanations of why men tip more than women and how female choice shaped (quite literally) the penis. It also extols the sagacity of Mary Poppins. Indeed, Miller allows ideas to cascade at such a torrent that the steam given off can run the risk of being mistaken for hot air). Anchor; (April 17, 2001)
*The Limits of Family Influence: Genes, Experience, and Behavior, by David C. Rowe (Author), Guilford Press; (August 2, 1995)
Behavioral Genetics: The Clash of Culture and Biology, by Ronald A. Carson (Editor), Mark A. Rothstein (Editor), Floyd E. Bloom, Johns Hopkins Univ Pr; 1st edition (June 15, 1999) The authors discuss a broad range of topics, including the ethical questions arising from gene therapy and screening, molecular research in psychiatry, and the legal ramifications and social consequences of behavioral genetic information. Throughout, they focus on two basic concerns: the quality of the science behind behavioral genetic claims and the need to formulate an appropriate, ethically defensible response when the science turns out to be good.
Human Universals, by Donald E Brown, January 1, 1991. This book explores physical and behavioral characteristics that can be considered universal among all cultures, all people. It presents cases demonstrating universals, looks at the history of the study of universals, and presents an interesting study of a hypothetical tribe, The Universal People.
CULTURAL EMPHASIS
A Vindication of the Rights of Woma, by Mary Wollstonecraft, July 3, 1996. The first classic work of feminist thought, Wollstonecraft's Vindication gathered many of its lessons on the equality and responsibilities of women from the age of Revolutions.
The Subjection of Women, by John Stuart Mill, April 24, 1997. Influential essay by great English philosopher argues for equality in all legal, political, social and domestic relations between men and woman. Carefully reasoned and clearly expressed with great logic and consistency, the work remains a landmark in the struggle for human rights.
The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan, Anna Quindlen (Introduction), September 2001. The book that changed the consciousness of a country-and the world. Landmark, groundbreaking, classic-these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations, which still remain fresh, ever since. A national bestseller, with over 1 million copies sold.
A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf, Mary Gordon, December 1989. Surprisingly, this long essay about society and art and sexism is one of Woolf's most accessible works. Woolf, a major modernist writer and critic, takes us on an erudite yet conversational--and completely entertaining--walk around the history of women in writing, smoothly comparing the architecture of sentences by the likes of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, all the while lampooning the chauvinistic state of university education in the England of her day. When she concluded that to achieve their full greatness as writers women will need a solid income and a privacy, Woolf pretty much invented modern feminist criticism.
Women: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier, April 1999.

* Science and Gender: A Critique of Biology and its Theories on Women, by Ruth Bleier, January 1997.
*Myths of Gender: Biological Theries about Women and Men, by Anne Fausto-Sterling, 2nd Revision edition, September 1992. By carefully examining the biological, genetic, evolutionary, and psychological evidence, a noted biologist finds a shocking lack of substance behind ideas about biologically-based sex differences.
Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality, by Anne Fausto-Sterling, November 22, 2000. Anyone who has been following the new brain science in the popular press--and even those whose casual reading includes journals along the lines of Psychoneuroendocrinology--will be fascinated by the puckish observations of Brown University biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling, whose provocative and erudite essays easily establish the cultural biases underlying current scientific thought on gender. She goes on to critique the science itself, exposing inconsistencies in the literature and weaknesses in the rhetorical and theoretical structures that support new research. "One of the major claims I make in this book," she explains, "is that labeling someone a man or a woman is a social decision. We may use scientific knowledge to help us make the decision, but only our beliefs about gender--not science--can define our sex. Furthermore, our beliefs about gender affect what kinds of knowledge scientists produce about sex in the first place." Whether discussing genital surgery on intersex infants or the amorous lives of lab rats, the author is unfailingly clear and convincing, and manages to impart humor to subjects as seemingly unpromising as neuroanatomy and the structure of proteins
Gendering World Politicsby J. Ann Tickner, Columbia University Press, May 2001. Expanding on the issues she originally explored in her classic work, Gender in International Relations, J. Ann Tickner focuses her distinctively feminist approach on new issues of the international relations agenda since the end of the Cold War, such as ethnic conflict and other new security issues, globalizations, democratization, and human rights. As in her previous work, these topics are placed in the context of brief reviews of more traditional approaches to the same issues. She also looks at the considerable feminist work that has been published on these topics since the previous book came out. Tickner highlights the misunderstandings that exist between mainstream and feminist approaches, and explores how these debates developed in the new environment of postCold War international relations. Acclaim for Tickner´s Gender in International Relations: "For all who seek new ways to think about and understand world politics"
Gender in International Realations, by J. Ann Tickner, April, 1992. Tickner--an established scholar in international relations and a well-informed and thoughtful feminist--rethinks from a feminist point of view virtually every conventional category used by theorists and practictioners of international relations: the state, the international system, security, rationalism, citizenship, and more.
Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace, by Sara Reddick, Jan. 1995. Philosopher, mother, and feminist Sara Ruddick examines the discipline of mothering, showing for the first time how the day-to-day work of raising children gives rise to distinctive ways of thinking.
War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa, by Joshua S. Goldstein, Oct 2001. Gender roles are nowhere more prominent than in war. Yet contentious debates, and the scattering of scholarship across academic disciplines, have obscured understanding of how gender affects war and vice versa. In this authoritative and lively review of our state of knowledge, Joshua Goldstein assesses the possible explanations for the near-total exclusion of women from combat forces, through history and cross cultures. topics covered include the history of women who did fight and fought well, the complex role of testosterone in men's social behaviors, and the construction of masculinity and femininity in the shadow of war. Goldstein concludes that killing in war does not come naturally for either gender, and that gender norms often shape men, women, and children to the needs of the war system. Illustrated with photographs, drawings, and graphics, and drawing from scholarship spanning six academic disciplines, War and Gender translates and synthesizes our latest understanding of gender roles in war. Joshua Goldstein Professor of International Relations at the American University. He is the author of Three Way Street (University of Chicago Press, 1990), a best-selling textbook, International Relations 4/e (addison Wesley, 2001), and many articles on international relations. The National Science Foundation has funded some of his recent research. In addition, he is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant, and awards from the International Studies Association and the American Jewish Congress. He has appeared frequently in national and international print and broadcast media.
Gender Politics in Global Goverance, by Mary K. Meyer (Ed.), Elisabeth Prugl (Ed.), Jan 1999. From the grassroots to the global, women's movements worldwide are taking on new arenas, new goals and strategies, and in some cases a whole new vocabulary. International organizations, nonstate actors, regimes and norms, and a host of globalizing forces offer women and their representatives new opportunities and obstacles. This volume draws together a wide range of exciting new research that looks at the gendered nature of the institutions, practices, and discourses of global governance. The contributors describe the spaces women have carved out in international organizations, the strategies women's movements have employed to influence international politics, and the ways in which movement activism has contested gendered rules in global governance. Out of a stimulating diversity of approaches, the common goal of empowering women resounds.
A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue, by Wendy Shalit, Jan. 2000. The 23-year-old author first heard of "modestyniks"--Orthodox Jewish women who withhold physical contact from men until marriage--while a freshman at Williams College. She was initially fascinated by the way in which they cleave to old ideals, especially amid a sexually saturated contemporary world. But more so, Wendy Shalit was aghast at how modestyniks are dismissed as sick, delusional, or repressed by the secular community. "Why," asks the author, "is sexual modesty so threatening to some that they can only respond to it with charges of abuse or delusion?" In her thoughtful three-part essay, the author reveals an impressive reading list as she probes the cultural history of sexual modesty for women and considers whether this virtue may be beneficial in today's world--if not an antidote to misogyny. In an age when women are embarrassed by sexual inexperience, when sex education is introduced as early as primary school, and when women suffer more than ever from eating disorders, stalking, sexual harassment, and date rape, Shalit believes a return to modesty may place women on equal footing with men. She yearns for a time when conservatives can believe the claims of feminists and feminists can differentiate between patriarchy and misogyny and share in the dialectic of female sexuality.
Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity, by Chandra Talpede Mohanty, March 2003. Chandra Talpade Mohanty is Professor of Women's Studies at Hamilton College and Core Faculty at the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati. She is coeditor of Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures and Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism.
Colonize This! Young Women of Color on today's Feminism (live Girl Series), by Daisy Hernandez, Bushra Rehman, Aug. 2002. It has been decades since women of color first turned feminism upside down, exposing the '70s feminist movement as exclusive, white, and unaware of the concerns and issues of women of color from around the globe. Now a new generation of brilliant, outspoken women of color is speaking to the concerns of a new feminism, and to their place in it. Daisy Hernandez of Ms. magazine and poet Bushra Rehman have collected a diverse, lively group of emerging writers who speak to their experience-to the strength and rigidity of community and religion, to borders and divisions, both internal and external-and address issues that take feminism into the twenty-first century. One writer describes herself as a "mixed brown girl, Sri-Lankan and New England mill-town white trash," and clearly delineates the organizing differences between whites and women of color: "We do not kick ass the way the white girls do, in meetings of NOW or riot grrl. For us, it's all about family." A Korean-American woman struggles to create her own identity in a traditional community: "Yam-ja-neh means nice, sweet, compliant. I've heard it used many times by my parents' friends who don't know shit about me." An Arab-American feminist deconstructs the "quaint vision" of Middle-Eastern women with which most Americans feel comfortable. This impressive array of first-person accounts adds a much-needed fresh dimension to the ongoing dialogue between race and gender, and gives voice to the women who are creating and shaping the feminism of the future.
The Two sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together, (Family and Public Policy), by Eleanor E. MacCoby, March 1998. How does being male or female shape us? And what, aside from obvious anatomical differences, does being male or female mean? In this book, the distinguished psychologist Eleanor Maccoby explores how individuals express their sexual identity at successive periods of their lives. A book about sex in the broadest sense, The Two Sexes seeks to tell us how our development from infancy through adolescence and into adulthood is affected by gender.
Childhood Gender Segregation: Causes and Consequences: New Direction for Child and Adolescent Development, by Campbell Leaper, November 15, 1994. At around three years of age, children begin to show a preference for same-sex peer affiliations. This gender segregation occurs in all cultures where children's social groups are large enought to allow choice, and it appears to have important influences on children's development. Different peer group environments may lead to the development of different psychological preferences and skills. They may also foster later gender differences in academic achievement and intimacy. The contirbutors to this volume of New Directions for Child Development examine both the possible developmental precursors and consequences of gender segregation, implicationg social, emotional, physiological, and cognitive factors in the emergence and maintenance of individuals' preferences for same-sex peer groups. This is the 65th issue of the journal series New Directions for Child Development.

Domestic Tranquility: A Brief Against Feminism, by F. Carolyn Graglia, October 1998. The principal targets of feminist fire in the on-going "gender wars" are not men but traditional wives and mothers, says a lawyer-turned-housewife in a powerful critique of contemporary feminism. With a profound understanding of the quandary of modern women, Carolyn Graglia shows that the cultural assault on marriage, motherhood, and traditional sexuality, rooted in the pursuit of economic and political power, has robbed women of their surest source of fulfillment. Mrs. Graglia traces the origins of modern feminism to the post-war exaltation of marketplace achievement, which bred dissatisfaction with women's domestic roles. In a masterly analysis of seminal feminist texts, she reveals a conscious campaign of ostracism of the housewife as a childish "parasite". Turning to the feminist understanding of sexuality, now pervasive in our culture, she shows how it has distorted and impoverished sex by stripping it of its true significance. Finally, after exposing feminism's totalitarian impulse and its contribution to the "tangle of pathologies" that have left marriage and family life in tatters, she argues for a renewed appreciation of the transforming experience of motherhood and the value of the domestic vocation.
Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women, by Christina Hoff-Sommers, May 1, 1995. Sommers demonstrates that the radical feminists have demeaned the very women whose cause the supposedly champion. By viewing women who do not agree with their agenda as somehow inferior in their states of conciousness than are the radical feminists, they in effect relegate the majority of women to the staus of naive fools who do not know what's best for them. The gender feminists are elitists who know better than , eg, religious women who live a traditional religious lifestyle, or women who, out of their concern for the children they are raising, choose to stay at home. Quite frankly, it's scary. These feminists would almost subject dissenters to the "cause" to re-education camps famous for their employment by the Chinese during the cultural revolution.
Backlash: the Underclared War Against American Women, by Susan Faludi, September 6, 1992. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Faludi lays out a two-fold thesis in this aggressive work: First, despite the opinions of pop-psychologists and the mainstream media, career-minded women are generally not husband-starved loners on the verge of nervous breakdowns. Secondly, such beliefs are nothing more than anti-feminist propaganda pumped out by conservative research organizations with clear-cut ulterior motives. This backlash against the women's movement, she writes, "stands the truth boldly on its head and proclaims that the very steps that have elevated women's positions have actually led to their downfall." Meticulously researched, Faludi's contribution to this tumultuous debate is monumental and it earned the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction.
The Second Sex, by Simone De Beauvoir, December 17, 1989. In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir posed questions many men, and women, had yet to ponder when the book was released in 1953. "One wonders if women still exist, if they will always exist, whether or not it is desirable that they should ...," she says in this comprehensive treatise on women. She weaves together history, philosophy, economics, biology, and a host of other disciplines to show women's place in the world and to postulate on the power of sexuality. This is a powerful piece of writing in a time before "feminism" was even a phrase, much less a movement.
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Male, by Susan Faludi, October 1, 2000. Susan Faludi, author of the feminist bestseller Backlash, has done it again with an exhaustive report on the betrayals felt by working men throughout the United States. American men are angry and discontented, she argues in Stiffed, because their sense of what it is to be a man has been destroyed by everything from corporate downsizing and the shrinking military of the post cold war era to the increase in local sports teams leaving town. Whether she's interviewing the teenage male members of Southern California's infamous Spur Posse (who collected "points" for every female they had sex with), Cleveland football fans shaken by the departure of the Browns football team, militia movement activists, or Sylvester Stallone, Faludi seems stuck on the idea that American men today are man-boys, unable to completely grow up because they never received the nurturing they needed, and now constantly disappointed by life. Yet while many of the men Faludi interviews have real problems--bad luck and sad, troubled lives--somehow Stiffed still seems a bit whiny. Faludi's "travels through a postwar male realm" are a fascinating slice of male American life "under siege" at the end of the 20th century, even if she does finally leave us like the men she talked to--still wondering just what went wrong.
The Hazards of Being Male: Surviving the Myth of Masculine Privilege, by Herb Goldberg, January 2000. (From a reader, Dec. 2002) This book was originally written in 1976, and is considered one of the classics of the men's rights movement. In it, psychologist Dr. Herb Goldberg takes years of clinical experience, and concludes that men, far from being the privileged sex, are actually out of touch with their bodies and emotions, and unhealthily dependent on women. Further, too many men are on a destructive course that leads to mental illness, alcoholism and death. Each chapter in this fascinating book ends with a list of guidelines that the man should study to examine himself.
Sex-Ploytation: How Women Use Their Bodies to Extort Money from Men, by Matthew Fitzgerald, June 1999. This is a book about male-female relationships that deals with contemperary female duplicity in our modern society and refutes the false feminist propaganda about equal rights. The text takes off where The Manipulted Man by Esther Vilar left off 27 years ago when it was first published and points out How Women Use Their Bodies To Extort Money From Men.
The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men, by Christina Hoff Sommers, June 12, 2001. Sommers eviscerates feminist scholarship by Harvard's Carol Gilligan, the American Association of University Women, and others. Hers is feisty, muscular prose and fans of Who Stole Feminism? will delight in it. "There have always been societies that favored boys over girls," she writes. "Ours may be the first to deliberately throw the gender switch. If we continue on our present course, boys will, indeed, be tomorrow's second sex." That rhetoric may err on the side of alarmism, but Sommers' ideas are full of common sense. She essentially urges parents and educators to let boys be boys, even though their "very masculinity turns out to be politically incorrect." The War on Boys is sure to set off a fiery controversy, just as Sommers' previous book did--but it should also find a big audience of readers who become fans.
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets
by Barbara G. Walker (Author) Harper SanFrancisco; 1st edition, November 30, 1983. This fascinating, scholarly hodgepodge spotlights the feminist underpinnings of myth, religion, and culture. Before being lionized as zaftig Norse angels who guided strong warriors to Valhalla, Valkyries may have offered rebirth through cannibalization. "Little Red Riding Hood" was based on Diana, goddess of the hunt. Marriage was once considered a sin, not a sacred union: St. Bernard once proclaimed "it was easier for a man to bring the dead back to life than to live with a woman without endangering his soul." A few of the other topics expounded upon are the Milky Way, Cinderella, the moon, and males giving birth. While some of the references put a cranky feminist spin on words that might in context have different meaning--St. Paul's oft-quoted "better to marry than to burn," for example--much in this vast tome will dazzle dabblers and intellectuals alike.
When God Was a Woman, by Merlin Stone Harcourt, May 1978. Documents the ancient worship of the great creator Mother Goddess under a diversity of names and details the rewriting of myths, the recasting of rituals and religious doctrines, and the transformation of the Goddess into a wanton, depraved figure by invading patriarchal tribes.
The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth, 2nd edition, by Monica Sjoo, May 1, 1987. This long-awaited reference book is an important addition for students studying women's ancient history and the roots of religion. Sjoo and Mor describe the great spiral of cultural movement that began ``in the beginning . . .with a very female sea,'' and continued into Neolithic times. They show how our brains have been emptied of women's cultural history, and then they begin to piece together, detail by detail, that history. This does not lend itself to cover-to-cover reading, but it is a worthy book to discover while researching the roots of religion and/or the history of women as creators of culture. Readers will get a varied taste of world symbols, obscure myths, dazzling images, and formidable goddesses which will allow them to see connections that they might otherwise miss in current culture. The black-and-white illustrations include sketches, photographs, and reproductions of Goddess sites worldwide and ancient artifacts and culture. While libraries with women's studies' collections and schools in which students study cultural history will need this book, it is also an engaging book to browse through, and belongs on the shelves of any library.Lucia Bettler, formerly of Waltrip High School, Houston Independent School District
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The Great Goddess: Reverence of the Divine Feminine for the Paleolithic, by Jean Markale, January 2000. A study of the primordial figure of the Great Goddess and her continued worship through time as shown by the myths, shrines, and sanctuaries around the world that honor this powerful symbol of creation. * A noted historian on pre-Christian societies provides an extensive worldwide listing of sites and sanctuaries associated with goddess worship. * Explores goddess worship in cultures around the world, including Native American, Egyptian, Indian, and Oriental civilizations. * Demonstrates that although her worship has sometimes been forced underground it has never disappeared. In ancient Babylon she was Anat, in Egypt, Isis and Hathor, Dana in Celtic Ireland, Rhea and Demeter in Greece, and in India, Anapurna the Provider. She is the Great Goddess, the Goddess of Beginnings, the symbol of Earth and the giver of life, the Vast Mother, who represents all the powers and mysteries of creation for early humanity. Shifting her solar association onto masculine deities and blackening those of her symbols that, like the serpent, could not be assimilated, patriarchal societies forced the preeminent power of the feminine into an obscure and subservient position. Yet, as shown by noted scholar Jean Markale, the Goddess did not simply disappear when her position was usurped, and the power she represents has been the source of continuous religious devotion from ancient times through the Middle Ages up to the present day. In looking at the plethora of myths, sites, and sanctuaries devoted to this powerful figure, The Great Goddess provides abundant evidence of the extraordinary permanence of her worship--even at the heart of those religions that tried to destroy her.
*The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality by Sandra Lipsitz, May 1993. In this book, a leading theorist on sex and gender discusses how hidden assumptions embedded in our cultural discourses, social institutions, and individual psyches perpetuate male power and oppress women and sexual minorities. Sandra Lipsitz Bem argues that these assumptions, which she calls the lenses of gender, shape not only perceptions of social reality but also its more material aspects-like unequal pay and inadequate daycare. Her penetrating and articulate examination of these hidden cultural lenses enables us to look at them rather than through them and to better understand recent debates on gender and sexuality.
*Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind, by Mary Belenky, Blythe Clinchy, Nancy Goldberger, 10th edition, January 1997. Drawn from the voices of women of varied backgrounds, Women's Ways of Knowing reveals the unique perspectives from which women view reality and draw conclusions about truth, knowledge, and authority. An intellectual and political Our Bodies, Ourselves, this book has had significant impact on debates about learning and gender, and will continue to have resonance throughout the fields of education and psychology for years to come.
Choosing the Right Pond: Human Behavior and the Quest for Status, by Robert H. Frank, Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (February 1987). (From a reader, June 2004). Frank offers empirical evidence that people organize themselves into status hierarchies - that high status is an advantage and low status is a hardship. The animal kingdom at large does this, too, and that explains why this book is found in the bibliographies of books like Robert Wright's "The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology" and Stephen Pinker's "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. In the emerging hybrid field of Evolutionary Psychology, Frank's contributions on status are significant. The value of having hierarchical status is reinforced in the study of sexual selection of the highly social mammals, including humans.
*Women and Anger, (Springer Series: Focus on Women, Vol. 15), by Sandra P., Phd Thomas (Editor Springer Pub Co); (May 1993). University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Focus on Women, Volume 15. Results of a large-scale, comprehensive, empirical investigation of the experience of anger in women. Subjects ranged from 25 to 66 years old, in a variety of occupations. For psychologists, nurses, social workers. 13 U.S. contributors.
Children of Different Worlds: The Formation of Social Behavior, by Beatrice Blyth Whiting, Carolyn Pope Edwards
Harvard Univ Pr; Reprint edition (October 1992)
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