Osher Lifelong Learning Institute / CARTA Master Classes

CARTA members and prominent UCSD scholars address topics related to human-origins research in biennial Osher classes.

Past Classes:

	Media	Class
Pascal Gagneux		One Health and Emerging Diseases Dec 7, 2022 This talk will address the latest insights into the origin of humans and how this single species of primate became a planetary force. I will discuss biological aspects ranging from molecules (e.g., DNA, glycoproteins, antibodies, etc.) to societies (e.g., nature deficit syndrome, habitat... read more
Margaret Schoeninger		Evolution of the Human Diet Nov 23, 2022 This lecture will discuss the evolution of the human diet in a comparative setting. It will highlight the importance of cultural inventions from hunting prey much larger than ourselves to processing and cooking food. All indications are that humans are now biologically dependent on the cultural... read more
Carol Marchetto		Stem Cells and Human Evolution Nov 9, 2022 Comparative analyses of brain cells in closely related species can shed light on changes occurring during evolution. The study of post-mortem brains of nonhuman primates (NHPs) has been limited and often does not recapitulate important species- specific developmental hallmarks. This talk will... read more
Adena Schachner		Music, Dance, Evolution: The Origins and Consequences of Human Musicality Oct 26, 2022 Music and dance are cultural universals and begin early in infancy. In this talk, we'll explore the origins of these fundamentally human behaviors, from an evolutionary, cognitive, and developmental perspective. Why can humans move to a beat, while many other species cannot? What can children’s... read more
Charles Kennel		The Coming Crisis of the Anthropocene Oct 12, 2022 This talk will broadly trace connections between past and present human exploitation of the environment, the coming crisis of the Anthropocene and what we humans can do to alleviate the crisis.
Lindsay Hunter		Rising Star Cave’s Chambers of Secrets Dec 2, 2020 The Rising Star Cave near South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site has produced some of the greatest fossil hominin discoveries. Paleoanthropologist and underground astronaut Lindsay Hunter gives a firsthand account of its exploration.
Federico Rossano		The Evolutionary Roots of Human Sociality Nov 25, 2020 Humans are social animals, but so are many other animals. Yet compared to other non-human primates, humans appear to be more cooperative with each other, have greater control of their communicative signals, and appear to spend more time interacting with each other. So what is special about human... read more
Patricia Churchland		The Brains Behind Morality Nov 4, 2020 This lecture will discuss the concept of morality as it relates to human behavior. What are the social and neurobiological roots of moral behavior?
Pascal Gagneux		Evolution of the Human Diet Oct 7, 2020 This lecture will address the evolution of the human diet in a comparative setting. It will highlight the importance of cultural inventions from hunting prey much larger than ourselves to processing and cooking food. All indications are that humans are now biologically dependent on the cultural... read more
Margaret Schoeninger		Fossil Record of Human Origins Sep 30, 2020 This lecture focuses on the fossil record with an emphasis on ecological changes and associated dietary changes facilitating the appearance of anatomically modern humans (AMHs). We begin by tracing the evolution of the earliest primate-like mammals from more than 50 million years ago (mya), to the... read more