Sex and Evolution is a course open to non-majors. No biology background is needed, though I hope that even senior biology majors would not be bored with this material.
We will apply the framework of scientific questions, hypotheses, and predictions to understand the amazing and elaborate ways in which sexual reproduction has shaped evolutionary outcomes. We will work from the ground up asking questions about how and why natural selection might favor the evolution of sexual reproduction. We then will move to the implications of sexual reproduction for the evolutionary process by considering topics ranging from sex ratios, the development of sexual dimorphism, and sex determination. Finally, we will devote a large portion of class to understanding sexual selection; the outcome of differential access to reproductive opportunities. We will consider both plants and animals (including humans) in this course, though because my background is in the study of animals, they are likely to provide the majority of examples.
A major portion of my own research background has involved sexual selection in birds, including studies of morphological and vocal sexual signals and the behavioral, ecological, physiological, and genetic mechanisms influencing the expression of these traits.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.