Rilett Lecture

Thursday, March 24, 2011 7:00PM,
prairie Room, Bone Student Center

Dr. Randy Thornhill-Department of Biology, University of New Mexico

"Infectious Diseases and Human Values"

The parasite-stress theory of human values proposes that people’s lifetime experiences with infectious diseases as well as their evolu-tionary historical interactions with these dis-eases cause people’s core values. Accord-ingly, the conservative values of out-group avoidance and dislike (xenophobia), in-group embeddedness (ethnocentrism), authoritarianism, and human inequality are defenses against infectious diseases and are characteristic of regions with high infectious disease stress. Liberal values such as openness to out-groups and en-dorsement of human equality are optimal under low infectious disease stress and hence are characteristic of regions of low infectious disease stress. Over the last few years, Thornhill and collaborators have published in the scientific literature several tests of the parasite-stress theory of values. Levels of parasite stress cor-respond to values of conservatism/liberalism, family organization, democracy/autocracy, religiosity, women’s rights, marriage preferences (inbreeding and out-breeding) and to personality dimensions. Analyses have included most of the countries of the world, the 50 states of the USA, and traditional societies in the an-thropological record. The research findings have been widely featured in the me-dia including The Economist, Nature, Science, Newsweek, BBC, and the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer.

Contact for more information: Dr. David Rubin, adavid@ilstu.edu

Prairie Room is located in the Bone Student Center.
Parking is available in the pay lot on the North side of the Bone Student Center;
enter from W. Locust St. Campus map: http://maps.illinoisstate.edu/

Thursday, april 7, 2011 7:00PM,
prairie Room, Bone Student Center

Dr. Cliff Tabin, Chair, Gentics Harvard Medical School

"Patterning and Morphogenesis of the Vertebrate Gut"

Abstract coming soon......

Contact for more information: Dr. David Rubin, adavid@ilstu.edu

Prairie Room is located in the Bone Student Center.
Parking is available in the pay lot on the North side of the Bone Student Center;
enter from W. Locust St. Campus map: http://maps.illinoisstate.edu/