Life Sciences

Conflict & Cooperation in Social Groups

Module code: C1114
Level 6
15 credits in spring semester
Teaching method: Seminar, Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework, Computer based exam

Conflict and cooperation cuts across the whole of biology. You can study it among genes or organisms, in societies of micro-organisms, animals and humans, and also in multi-species mutualisms. It is relevant both in the origin of life and in modern-day organisms and societies.

This module focuses on:

• factors affecting the balance between conflict and cooperation in human society
• vertebrate societies including primates and cooperative breeders
• mutualism partners
• genes within organisms.

In seminars, research papers are initially presented by faculty and then by students.

Module learning outcomes

• Recall, explain and synthesize acquired knowledge about empirical evidence, scientific procedures, theoretical concepts and principles.
• Write a summary/synthesis of a scientific paper or pair of papers that would be of interest to scientists, including both specialists and non-specialists, and which follows the format of a News & Views article in Nature magazine, or equivalent.
• Give a seminar presentation, including slides, in order to present a particular scientific paper.
• Read the primary scientific literature and participate in seminar discussions that critically discuss and compare scientific papers in relation to broader questions in evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and socio-biology.