Meredith Reiches / Human Evolutionary Biology/FAS / mreiches@fas.harvard.edu

*Human Evolutionary Biology 1388, Mondays, 1-3 p.m., Peabody Museum 52H

Puberty, the transition to reproductive maturity, occurs in all sexually reproducing species; adolescence, however, is a human concept encompassing not only physiological but also social, behavioral, and perceptual shifts. This course takes an anthropological, biological, and phylogenetic approach to adolescence, asking: What elements of growth and maturation define adolescence, and is it unique to humans? How do the body’s priorities change? What can we learn by examining those changes in the context of ecological and cultural variation? Texts address human and non-human primate growth and development; social rites of passage; and literary dramatizations of coming of age. Enrollment: Limited to 15. (catalog # 16698)