Class Sexual Development and Behaviour I

Sexuality plays a crucial role in our existence, shaped by an evolutionary process spanning more than two billion years. The human lineage retains biological and behavioural traits from this evolutionary history, although our reproduction and sexual behaviour are also influenced by cultural, environmental and social factors. This course module takes an evolutionary and comparative approach, examining non-human primates and other animals, small communities and industrialised societies, in order to construct a comprehensive understanding of human sexual and reproductive behaviour. It focuses on the biological aspects of Sexual Development and Behaviour, whilst in the second semester (DCS II), several of these topics are revisited from a biopsychosocial perspective, applied to human development across the life cycle and to sexual response

Not applicable

S1. Introduction to human and non-human sexuality: Tinbergen's four questions; the naturalistic and moralistic fallacies; sexual reproduction, gametes, gonochorism, hermaphroditism. S2. Sex determination and differentiation: sex determination systems; intersexuality; biological sex, gender identity and sexual orientation as distinct axes; hormonal bases; sexual differentiation of behaviour. S3. Ontogeny and life history: life history theory; parental care; r/K selection; human altriciality; the obstetric dilemma. S4. Evolution and sexual reproduction: sexual selection; sexual dimorphism; sperm competition; mating systems; the socioecological model; human mate selection; case studies in primates. S5. Sexual diversity and sexual response: same-sex behaviour in humans and animals; sexual pleasure and the evolutionary function of orgasm.

TM1. Oral presentation TM2. Interactive dialogue and discussion TM3. Classroom-based exercises and practical activities, through the analysis of case studies TM4. Group discussion and critical reflection, with feedback from the lecturer TM5. Structured debate on controversial topics TM6. Oral presentations and individual oral examinations, with feedback from the lecturer

Striedter, G. (2015). Neurobiology: A Functional Approach. Oxford University Press. Darwin, C. (2004). The Descent of Man. Penguin. UK. Roughgarden, J. (2013). Evolution's Rainbow. University of California Press. de Waal, F. (2022). Different: Gender Through the Eyes of  Primatologist. W. W. Norton & Company. Fusco, G. and Minelli, A. (2019). The Biology of Reproduction. Cambridge University Press. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. Basic Books.  Buss, D. M. (2019). Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind (6th ed.). Routledge.