Being Female: A New Perspective

Behavior related to sex and gender in the animal kingdom is a lot more complicated than the dichotomy of Female-Male or X-Y.  Subtle interplay among 60 genes determines the femaleness-maleness of many species, including humans. The course will explore what is known about the evolution of sex and the variety of reproductive experiences in animals, especially from the perspective of the female of each species.

Reading: Lucy Cooke, Bitch: On the Female of the Species, ISBN 978-1541674899.

Barbara Snapp has taught and researched in science for over 45 years since receiving her PhD in biology from Cornell University. Her research focuses on the ecological and evolutionary adaptiveness of life.  She most enjoys teaching broad survey courses where she can interweave basic themes to build a multidimensional understanding.