HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...

Agustin Fuentes, Ph.D.
Professor, Anthropology; Director, Institute for Scholarship in the
Liberal Arts
Biography
Agustin Fuentes, a biological anthropologist, completed a B.A. in zoology and anthropology,
and an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of California (Berkeley). He taught in
the Department of Anthropology and directed the Primate Behavior and Ecology Program at
Central Washington University from 1996-2002. Currently he is a professor of anthropology
and the director of the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts at the University of Notre
Dame. His research and teaching interests include the evolution of social complexity in human
and primate societies, cooperation and conflict negotiation, human diversity, and reproductive
behavior and ecology. He also is interested in issues of human-nonhuman primate interactions,
disease and pathogen transfer, and race and racism.
Fuentes’ recent published work includes the books Evolution of Human Behavior (Oxford University Press), Health, Risk, and
Adversity (co-edited, Berghahn Press), Biological Anthropology: Concepts and Connections (McGraw-Hill Co.) and Primates in
Perspective (co-edited, Oxford University Press) and articles such as “It’s Not All Sex and Violence: Integrated Anthropology
and the Role of Cooperation and Social Complexity in Human Evolution” and “The humanity of animals and the animality of
humans: A view from biological anthropology inspired by J.M. Coetzees’ Elizabeth Costello” in the American Anthropologist, and
Naturecultural Encounters in Bali: Monkeys, Temples, Tourists, and Enthnoprimatology in Cultural Anthropology. His current
research projects include assessing behavior and disease transmission in human-monkey interactions in Asia and Gibraltar, and
examining the roles of cooperation, social negotiation, and patterns of niche construction in human evolution.
Lectures
Bees Do It, Birds Do It—Are Humans Any Different?
Are men and women really that different when it comes to what they want in a partner? Can animals tell us anything about
human love and marriage? This lecture answers these questions with cutting-edge information from biology and anthropology,
and dispels many myths about human sexuality along the way.
The Humanity of Animals and the Animality of Humans
Humans and other species have coexisted for millennia. We live with animals, eat animals, write about animals, and even create
animals in the laboratory. This lecture focuses on the dynamic and fascinating interactions we have with other animals and how
they play roles in our lives and histories, with a special focus on humans and their relationships with primates and dogs.
It’s Not All Sex and Violence!
Categories
Ethics, Family, Science, Social
Concerns
On the television and Internet, in the papers and in our discussions, sex and violence pervade every aspect of our daily lives. Are
humans naturally violent, aggressive, and oversexed? Are these behaviors part of our genetic heritage? What can biology and
behavior tell us about peace and aggression in everyday life? This lecture demonstrates that cooperation and friendship are now
more pervasive—and important—than you might think.
The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2013 Program 39