culture evolves!

publications

[in preparation to be entered]

Lawson, D.W., Jordan, F.M., & K. Magid. 2008. On Sex and Suicide Bombing: An evaluation of Kanazawa’s ‘Evolutionary Psychological Imagination’. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 6(1), 73-84.

Jordan, F. M. 2007. Engaging in chit-chat (and all that). Review of Why We Talk: The Evolutionary Origins of Language by Jean-Louis Dessalles. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, 5(1-4), 241-244.

Jordan, F. M. 2007. A Comparative Phylogenetic Approach to Austronesian Cultural Evolution. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University College London, London.

Mace, R. & Jordan, F. M. 2005. The evolution of human sex-ratio at birth: a bio-cultural analysis. In R. Mace, C. J. Holden & S. Shennan (eds) The Evolution of Cultural Diversity: A Phylogenetic Approach. London: UCL Press.

Mace, R. Jordan, F. M. & Holden, C. J. 2003. Testing evolutionary hypotheses about human biological adaptation using cross-cultural comparison. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A, 136, 85-94.

Jordan, F. M. & Gray, R. D. 2001. Comment on Terrell, Kerry and Rainbird. Current Anthropology, 42(1): 114-115.

Jordan, F. M. & Gray, R. D. 2001. Austronesian language phylogenies: How tree-like is cultural evolution? Human Behavior and Evolution Society conference, University College London, UK, June 16, 2001.

Gray, R. D. & Jordan, F. M. 2000. Language trees support the express-train sequence of Austronesian expansion. Nature, 405: 1052-1055.

Jordan, F. M. 1999. Nga whakapapa o nga reo: Colonisation, Evolution and Interaction in Austronesian languages. Unpublished Honours thesis, University of Auckland. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Russell Gray.

conference talks and presentations

Jordan, F. M. 2007. Sisters are doing it for themselves: the evolution of matrilineal families. BA Festival of Science, York, September 2007.

Jordan, F. M. 2007. Does culture evolve? BA Festival of Science, York, September 2007. [poster presentation]

Co-convenor of symposium at Evolution 2007 meeting: “Cultural phylogenetics: Dispatches from the frontiers”. Christchurch, New Zealand, June 2007.

Jordan, F. M. and Mace, R. 2007. Matriliny and male fishing: natural selection or nice story? Evolution meeting, Christchurch, New Zealand, June 2007.

Jordan, F. M. 2007. Another of Murdock’s Problems (Solved, With Examples). European Human Behaviour and Evolution Society meeting, London, March 2007.

Jordan, F. M. & Gray, R. D. 2001. Austronesian language phylogenies: How treelike is language evolution? Human Behavior and Evolution Society conference, London, June 2001.

Jordan, F. M. & Gray, R. D. 2000. Rigorous tests of adaptive hypotheses: Are language trees an answer? Human Behavior and Evolution Society conference, Amherst, MA, June 9, 2000.

Departmental seminars for:
Anthropology, UCL and CECD, UCL
Archaeology, Sheffield
Anthropology, Durham
Anthropology & Archaeology, Bristol

academic employment

University College London, London
2007-present Postdoctoral Research Fellow
AHRB Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity
Project: Comparing cultural evolution across language families

Classes taught: 2008 Human Behaviour and Evolution [Masters seminar]

2005 Research Fellow
AHRB Centre for the Evolutionary Analysis of Culture
Project: Rates of change in cultural evolution

University of Auckland, New Zealand
2000-2001 Lecturer
Biopsychology: Full-time lecturer, including preparation of new course content
Evolutionary Psychology: Full-time lecturer for graduate seminar course, including course development
Evolution, Behaviour & Cognition: Guest Lecturer

1999-2001 Tutor (small group teaching)
Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Human Evolution
Biopsychology
Human Neuroscience
Evolution, Behaviour & Cognition

1996 Summer Research Fellow
Anthropology Endocrine Analysis Lab. Supervisor: Dr Chris Pryce

education

2001-03, 2005-07
University College London, United Kingdom
PhD Biological Anthropology: A Comparative Phylogenetic Approach to Austronesian Cultural Evolution
Supervisor: Dr Ruth Mace

1996-1999
University of Auckland, New Zealand
BSc (Hons) with First Class Honours (Majors: Biology, Psychology)
[Research Masters equivalent]
Honours Supervisor: Dr Russell Gray

1994-1998
University of Auckland
1994-1998 BA (Majors: Psychology, Anthropology)

scholarships and prizes

2001
Commonwealth Scholarship to University College London
Awarded Fulbright Graduate Scholarship to United States (not taken up)

1996-1999
Dean of Science Prize for top dissertation in Science Faculty, University of Auckland
Freemasons Graduate Scholarship

professional memberships

Human Behavior and Evolution Society
Society for Systematic Biology