Social networks and evolution

The aims of the Calleva Research Centre at Magdalen College are to investigate key questions about the origins, development, causes and functions of human behaviour by bridging the humanities, and the social, cognitive, and biological sciences in an evolutionary framework. This symposium was chaired by the Director of the Centre Dr Jennifer Lau, Tutorial Fellow in Psychology. Nicholas Christakis directs the Human Nature Lab at Harvard University, and is a Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Nick is world renowned for his work showing how social networks can transmit not only obesity but also other health-related behaviors, including smoking, drinking and happiness. Nick's book "Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives", has been translated into nearly twenty foreign languages. In 2009 and again in 2010, Nick was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of its' top global thinkers and listed in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.