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Contact: University Communications & Marketing
Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
ucm@westga.edu
Spring 2005 Waring Lecture
February 22, 2005
CARROLLTON, GA - Primatologist Dr. William McGrew will deliver the Spring 2005 Waring Distinguished Lecture in Anthropology, “Chimpanzee Culture: Nonsense or Breakthrough?,” at the University of West Georgia on Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m.
During
his discussion, McGrew will define chimpanzee culture, as represented
by 150 years of chimpanzee observation. McGrew argues that the traditional
definition of anthropology, which only includes human culture, should
be expanded to include animal culture.
McGrew has been in the field of primatology for more than 30 years, and has studied chimpanzees from Senegal to Tanzania. He is “one of the foremost chimpanzee experts,” said Dr. Julie Wieczkowski, assistant professor of anthropology at UWG. He is considered an expert because of his educational background, since primatology is an interdisciplinary area that encompasses psychology, zoology and anthropology.
McGrew
received his Bachelor of Science degree with special distinction in zoology
from the University of Oklahoma. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from
the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, and he received a Ph.D. in
anthropology from the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland.
McGrew will interact with the UWG community at three events on March 4.
He will give a morning lecture, entitled “Thirty Years of Chasing
Wild Chimpanzees,” at the Technology-Enhanced Learning Center, Room
1-303 at 9 a.m. He will also hold a lunch discussion with anthropology
majors and primatology students at noon at the University Community Center,
(UCC), Room 312.
His evening lecture, “Chimpanzee Culture: Nonsense or Breakthrough?,” will be held at Kathy Cashen Recital Hall at 7 p.m.
“His lecture will help us to understand our own cultural evolution. We’re not that different from other animals,” said Wieczkowski.
The Waring Distinguished Lecture Series is supported by the Antonio J. Waring Jr. Endowment in Anthropology. The endowment was established in memory of Dr. Antonio J. Waring Jr. (1915-1964) by his widow Henrietta Waring. A pioneer of anthropology in Georgia, Antonio Waring was responsible for defining the prehistoric cultural chronology of the state’s coastal region, and he directed and participated in several major archaeological excavations in the southeastern United States.
For more information on this free event, contact the Department of Anthropology at 678-839-6455.
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