#219 Lee Cronk: Modern Cultural Anthropology, and Human Cooperation
Dr. Lee Cronk is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. His research and teaching interests include human evolutionary ecology, including behavioral ecology, cultural ecology, and cognitive ecology; signaling theory; culture; and cooperation. Dr. Cronk is also affiliated with the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies, the Perceptual Science Graduate Training Program, and the Program in Evolutionary Biology. He is a member of the Evolutionary Anthropology Society, the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, and the International Society for Human Ethology. Dr. Cronk is also co-director, with C. Athena Aktipis of Arizona State University, of the Human Generosity Project. He is author or co-author of three books, That Complex Whole: Culture and the Evolution of Human Behavior, From Mukogodo to Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change in Kenya, and Meeting at Grand Central: Understanding the Social and Evolutionary Roots of Cooperation, and co-editor of two more, Adaptation and Human Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective, and Through the Looking Glass: Readings in Anthropology.
In this episode, we talk about Cultural Anthropology. Dr. Cronk starts first gives us a brief account of the history of the field, and then we discuss how to think about the relationship between biology and culture. We then get into more specific subjects of Dr. Cronk’s work, including the importance of separating behavior from culture, the mismatch between what people say and what they do, and why that happens. We also talk about human cooperation and the phenomenon of fitness interdependence, and a bit about the many layers and issues of cultural group selection.
Time Links:
The history of Cultural Anthropology
The relationship between biology and culture
Separating behavior from culture
The mismatch between what people say and what they do
Post-hoc rationalizations
Human cooperation and the phenomenon of fitness interdependence
The trouble with (cultural) group selection
Follow Dr. Cronk’s work!
Follow Dr. Cronk’s work:
Faculty Page: https://bit.ly/2VMEAqT
Google Scholar page: https://bit.ly/2JfeGcg
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/2WhTJVG
Books an Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xzrDat
The Human Generosity Project: https://bit.ly/2LBVBTm
Relevant books:
That Complex Whole: Culture And The Evolution Of Human Behavior: https://amzn.to/2JpOMBL
Adaptation and Human Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective: https://amzn.to/30annKA
From Mukogodo to Maasai: Ethnicity and Cultural Change In Kenya: https://amzn.to/2XpfXlb