Dogs in Science, Society, and the Modern World

GENED 1209 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

What does our relationship with dogs – humanity's first and most enduring domestic partnership – reveal about our own evolution, scientific understanding, and modern societal values? 

What makes a dog a dog? And what does our answer tell us about what makes a human a human? This course uses the domestic dog not just as a pet, but as a living case study to explore how science and society co-evolve. We will use canine science – ethology, neuroscience, and genetics, neuroscience – as a lens to investigate urgent human problems.

• We will analyze the ethics of genetic engineering by studying the morphology of purebred dogs and the "welfare cost of beauty."
• We will debate the roots of violence and prejudice by examining the neurobiology of aggression and the failure of breed-specific legislation.
• We will question the limits of empathy by looking at the neuroscience of the human-animal bond and the rise of "pet parenthood."

Organized into thematic units rather than disciplinary silos, this course introduces hard science alongside the societal debates it illuminates. By the end of the course, students will develop a multilayered understanding of dogs not only as animals, but also as biological and cultural artifacts of our own species. They will also be equipped to critically evaluate the ethical and societal questions that arise when human and animal lives become intertwined.