News Article

Sociologist Dr. Nancy Howell to Lecture on the Dobe !Kung Bushmen at FSW

Aug 28, 2018

AUGUST 28, 2018 – FORT MYERS, FLA – Sociologist, demographer and author Dr. Nancy Howell will present a lecture on the Dobe !Kung bushmen of the Kalahari Dessert at 4:30 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 6, in the Rush Auditorium, Building J, Room 103, at the Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) Thomas Edison Campus, 8099 College Parkway, Fort Myers. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Her book, “Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung,” re-examines an important anthropological data set for the Dobe !Kung, the well-known “Bushmen” of the Kalahari Desert. Using life history analysis, Dr. Howell reinterprets this rich material to address the question of how these hunter-gatherers maintain their notably good health from childhood through old age in the Kalahari’s harsh environment. She divides the population into life history stages that correlate with estimated chronological ages and demonstrates how and why they survive, even thrive, on a modest allotment of calories. She describes how surplus food is produced and distributed, and she considers both the motives for the generous sharing she has observed among the Dobe !Kung and some evolutionary implications of that behavior.

Dr. Howell received her doctorate from the Harvard University Department of Social Relations in 1968. She taught in the department of Sociology at the University of Toronto for thirty years, after brief stints at Wellesley College and Princeton University. She is a fellow of the anthropology section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, based on her demographic studies of the !Kung bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. She is retired from teaching, but continues research and writing.

“My students have always enjoyed studying Dr. Howell’s research in class,” said Janelle Christensen, FSW adjunct professor, anthropology. “Hearing first-hand about Dr. Howell’s research and fieldwork experiences brings an even greater understanding of her work. She is a foremost expert in her area of study, and we are thrilled to welcome her to FSW.”

For more information, contact Christensen at (239) 432-6771.

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Last Updated: August 28, 2018