Course Description

This  course will introduce students to the diversity of research belonging to the field of sociobiology, trace the history of the subject, and discuss the recent contribution of genomic biology to the topic.  Sociobiology is the study of the evolutionary basis of social behaviour.  Sociogenomics strives to understand the molecular genetic basis of social behaviour. This course will introduce students to some of the classical literature and debate surrounding sociobiology, outline the current state of the field, and explain the contribution of genomic approaches to solving evolutionary questions will be stressed.  Students will be exposed to the latest methodological innovations in the field.

Evaluation:
Class Participation: 20%
Oral presentations: 50%
Synthesis Essay: 30%

Bibliography:
The reading list will consist of peer-reviewed articles and will be updated annually to track progress in the field.  Major papers in the field are published in the following journals:
Science, Nature, PNAS, PLOS Biology, Current Biology, American Naturalist, Evolution, Journal of Experimental Biology, Genes Brains and Behaviour, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Behavioral Ecology.