Short Talks on Big Ideas: Jeremy DeSilva on the Evolution of Upright Walking from Dartmouth Advancement on Vimeo.
Dartmouth NEXT is excited to introduce the latest speaker in our Short Talks on Big Ideas series, Associate Professor of Anthropology Jeremy "Jerry" DeSilva. In this video, Professor DeSilva tells the story of human evolution, why our ancestors stood up on two feet and how upright walking shapes the human experience.
Hear From Professor DeSilva on Short Talks, Big Ideas
Professor DeSilva and his work on the fossil record are highly-regarded by his students and colleagues. In addition to his post as Associate Professor of Anthropology, Dr. DeSilva’s academic appointments include:
- Faculty in Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society (EEES) graduate program
- Honorary Research Fellow, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Professor DeSilva is a paleoanthropologist, specializing in the locomotion both the first apes as well as our early human ancestors. His particular expertise is the evolution of the human foot and ankle. The professor has studied wild chimpanzees in Western Uganda as well as early human fossils throughout Eastern and South Africa. Before joining the Anthropology Department at Dartmouth, Jerry worked as an educator at the Boston Museum of Science where he developed his passion for science education. His book First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human debuted in 2021.
You can meet this impressive teacher-scholar by tuning in to the latest episode of Short Talks, Big Ideas, which premiered in August. You can learn more about the premiere and other ways to watch it by visiting the Dartmouth NEXT website.
Dartmouth NEXT is a virtual forum of big ideas—developed to bring the best of Dartmouth straight to you. Each month we explore contemporary issues and engage in conversations around the world’s most significant challenges during virtual events streamed straight from campus ’round the girdled earth.