The Brown Symposium is now presented by Southwestern University on a biennial basis. The symposium is funded through an endowment established by The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston, Texas, for professorships at the University.

The symposia are designed to enhance the effectiveness of the work for which the endowed professorships were established. Each symposium presents topics in one of the broad areas of study represented by the chairholder.

ATTRACTION: The science and art of sex and romance
February 16, 2022
Alma Thomas Fine Arts Center

The 40th Brown Symposium scheduled in 2022 focuses on attraction, as studied from diverse cultural and scientific perspectives—including sexual selection, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, as well as fashion and art. The symposium is being organized by Fay Guarraci, Department of Psychology, and Ben Pierce, Department of Biology, Southwestern University. The topic of the symposium represents their shared interests in the study of evolution and sexual behavior. The symposium will discuss attraction from the scientific viewpoint of psychologists and biologists as well as from sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives, specifically as attraction relates to fashion, body adornments, and relationships. The symposium will bring to campus five speakers who can address the intersection of the life sciences, the humanities, and the arts.

Fay Guarraci
Professor of Psychology
John H. Duncan Chair

Ben Pierce
Professor of Biology
Holder of the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair

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