The Dissenter #106 Michelle Sugiyama: The Evolution of Storytelling, and Its Role in Human Societies
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Dr. Michelle Scalise Sugiyama is Senior Instructor at the University of Oregon Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences, and an affiliate of the University of Oregon Anthropology Department. She is an evolutionary psychologist/anthropologist who specializes in symbolic and aesthetic behavior, with an emphasis on storytelling, art, and play. Her work investigates the origins of these behaviors—specifically, the selection pressures that led to their emergence, the role they played in ancestral human societies, and the design features of the mind that make them possible. She publishes in both scientific and humanities journals, and blogs for the Huffington Post, where she explores modern issues, trends, and behaviors in light of human evolutionary history.
In this episode, we talk about storytelling and folklore from an evolutionary perspective. We start off by talking about the social role and the evolutionary bases of storytelling. We then look into some of the similarities in themes and characters across cultures. We discuss if storytelling might play a role in the development of theory of mind in children. We also talk about the role of play in children’s development. And we end up talking about some of the similarities between oral storytelling and fictional literature, and the fact that storytelling still plays a big role in modern societies.
Time Links:
01:05 The role of storytelling in human societies
03:46 The evolutionary bases of storytelling
13:13 Recurrent themes across human folklore
16:12 Similar characters in stories across cultures
22:05 Looking into stories to learn more about the problems people faced
24:49 Is storytelling a human universal?
29:18 Adaptations are calibrated to local conditions
30:29 Narrative aspects of religion
33:53 Is storytelling necessary for theory of mind to develop?
36:46 The role of play in human development
43:04 Were artistic skills targets of sexual selection?
47:53 Similarities between oral storytelling and fictional literature
53:05 Follow Dr. Scalise Sugiyama’s work
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Follow Dr. Scalise Sugiyama’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/ybsmz453
University of Oregon Human Animal Lab: https://tinyurl.com/ybcof3o2
Articles on Researchgate: https://tinyurl.com/ybvuhmjp
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