BioSocial Society AGM & sponsored workshop

Dear BioSocial Society Members,

RE: BioSocial Society AGM, Sept 16th 1.30pm

Please find details below of the BioSocial Society sponsored workshop on
"Applied Evolutionary Anthropology", held in Bristol University 14th-16th
September.

The Society's Annual General Meeting will also be held on the last day of
the workshop, Friday Sept 16th at 1.30pm. Members of the Biosocial Society
are warmly invited to attend.

Applied Evolutionary Anthropology: Darwinian Approaches to Contemporary
World Issues

14-16th Sept 2011
Dept of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, UK.

Organisers: Mhairi A. Gibson (University of Bristol) & David W. Lawson
(University College London).
Sponsors: The Biosocial Society, the Galton Institute & the European Human
Behavioural and Evolution Association.

Invited speakers include:
Val Curtis (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine).
Kate Hampshire (Department of Anthropology, University of Durham).
Ruth Mace (Department of Anthropology, University College London).

Workshop description:
Evolutionary anthropology over the last fifty years has improved our
understanding of how current environments (both physical and social) and
legacies of past selection explain human behavioural diversity. Combining
ethnographic, economic and demographic methods, these approaches have
provided new insights into the behaviours of contemporary peoples around
the globe. A growing number of evolutionary anthropologists are now using
Darwinian theory as a predictive tool to help the people with whom they
work, particularly through the design and critique of public policy and
international development programmes which seek to implement changes to
environments and/or behaviour. The aim of this workshop is to bring
together anthropologists and interdisciplinary scientists who are currently
applying evolutionary approaches to contemporary world issues. Proposed
themes include: 1) Changing reproductive and livelihood strategies, 2) Food
insecurity and intrahousehold resource allocation, 3) Co-operative norms
and habitat conservation, 4) The impact of development intervention and
social policies 5) Implications of emerging environmental pressures (e.g.
disease, population growth and climate change).

The meeting will bring together social science researchers working on these
issues across a variety of disciplines and aims to form an integrative
approach to the question of applied evolutionary anthropology. The workshop
will be composed of paper presentations and discussion sessions aimed
specifically at drawing out the applications and policy relevance of
current research in the UK and beyond. We hope to attract around 30
participants working in diverse relevant disciplines, including
anthropology, demography, economics and psychology.

Abstract submission & workshop participation:
If you are interested in presenting a paper at this workshop please email
an abstract (250 words max) by 5pm on July 22, 2011 to David Lawson at
d.lawson@ucl.ac.uk. If you are interested in attending the workshop as a
delegate, but would not like to present, please email a short statement of
your research interests. Accommodation will be provided for all speakers
and lunch provided for all attending the meeting.

Please get in contact if you have any questions about the workshop and feel
free to circulate this advert.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Mhairi and David.

Mhairi A. Gibson
Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology
University of Bristol
43 Woodland Road
Bristol BS8 1UU
Tel: +44 (0)117 954 6087
mhairi.gibson@bristol.ac.uk
http://www.bris.ac.uk/archanth/staff/gibson/

David W. Lawson
Department of Anthropology
University College London
14 Taviton Street
London
WC1H 0BW
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 8781
d.lawson@ucl.ac.uk
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/staff/d_lawson/index