Although evolution is not a grandiose part of my degrees, that and human variation can contribute to one’s (and in this case, mine) understanding of the fields. My majors are International Relations and Comparative Cultures & Politics, which are both B.A.’s, which require little science. However, with the central theme of the Alters and Alters piece being that “evolution is a unifying theme among many sciences”, it is both present in other fields, giving it its importance. In International Relations, it is not so clear how evolution and/or human variation can connect because of its lack of focus on people. In CCP, it is a little bit clearer, but is still not a scientific major and thus not a direct connection. History is an important part of both degrees, in that understanding how maybe humans have evolved, as well as how humans differ does play a key role in IR and CCP. CCP focuses on culture a great deal, and human variation (there is a lot of discussion about difference in race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc.) because it has been used throughout time to justify bogus practices that are based on these differences we have (race and gender specifically). Evolution shows that despite we are all humans and have evolved as a species over time, we are all very different in ways that we can and can’t see. CCP, while culture is the main part of the degree, requires one to understand how people think and interpret signs and symbols etc. to understand the world they live in. The discussion of genetic and environmental factors in regard to specific regions also has come up in CCP because of the fact certain cultures or groups may be predisposed genetically or within their environment to be susceptible to certain diseases.

This week’s readings and videos were very interesting. Because of the non-scientific nature of my degrees, this new information I have learned gave me a new perspective regarding my field. The discussion in one of the National Geographic videos about how different continents, in the example, had groups of people with specific (to the continent) but varied (amongst the other continents) DNA and mutations. Previously, I understood that there were groups that migrated out of Africa and into Oceania, Europe, and/or Asia. However, I didn’t fully understand the use and usefulness of genetic markers to trace evolution, as well as the fact that people all over the world belong to specific, distinct groups of people. This, tied in with the cultural aspects of both of my majors, helps me understand better the complexity of people and the ‘categories’ they may belong to (and how that can affect relations between and within groups). The fact that due to where one lives they may have a resistance/susceptibility to certain diseases has broadened my idea of my field because that has a huge effect on culture and the way people live their lives. Lastly, as discussed in lecture and the Alters and Alters reading, pathogens, amongst other things, have become resistant to either “the body’s natural defenses” or the pesticides we use on our plants. In one of my IR classes, which had a more scientific approach (in regard to the environment at least), we discussed how as a world we have used pesticides and how these pests have become resistant, creating large societal and environmental implications. This, in turn, can be connected the human body and the fact many around the world do not have proper access to the complete set of antibiotics they need to fully fight these diseases. Overall, I think the readings, evolution, and human variation offered a different perspective to view my majors in, I wouldn’t say it has revolutionarily changed my understanding of them.