Volker Sommer

Profile information.

E-mail: v.sommer@ucl.ac.uk
Publications (chronological UCL database)

Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology

PhD, Anthropology, 1985 & Habilitation in Anthropology and Primatology, 1990 Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany

BIOSKETCH

Volker Sommer an Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology. His research interests focus on the evolution of primate social and sexual behaviour, cognition, rituals, biodiversity conservation, animal rights and evolutionary ethics

Born into a farming community in Holzhausen am Reinhardswald, he grew up in a village situated in the oak forests of central Germany. Here, the Brothers Grimm had recruited native informants for their early 19th-century fairy tale collection. Animals possess human-like characteristics in these stories. As part and parcel of Volker Sommer’s childhood, these narratives inspired him to pursue a career as a zoologist and ethologist.

He studied biology, chemistry and protestant theology in Göttingen, Marburg, Hamburg and Berlin. Supervised by Christian Vogel, Sommer obtained his PhD in anthropology (1985) and his habilitation in anthropology and primatology (1990) at the Universität Göttingen, Germany. He received various early-career fellowships (DAAD, Alexander-von-Humboldt-Foundation, DFG Habilitationsstipendium). During his time as a Heisenberg-Fellow of the German Research Council, Sommer was a Research Associate at the University of California in Davis, USA (1992-1994) and at Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand (1994-1996).

Volker Sommer joined the Department of Anthropology, University College London in 1996. He developed the master programme in Human Evolution and Behaviour and, as a UCL Pro-Provost from 2008–2011, the institutions International Strategy as “London’s Global University”. His research generated exemplary impact studies that contributed to the excellent ranking of the department in recent assessment exercises (RAE, REF).

Sommer’s initial field study of animal behaviour focused on the eco-ethology of langur monkeys in Rajasthan, India - since 1981 as a doctoral student and afterwards as a post-doc. Personal highlights include residing for some years in a Shiva-temple. — From 1989, he enabled to develop a long-term study of white-handed gibbons in Thailand. Here, he lived for several years at the edge of the Khao-Yai rainforest. Personal highlights include being set upon by a tiger - and surviving. — In 1999, in Nigeria’s mountainous northeast, Volker Sommer founded the Gashaka Primate Project with a specific focus on monkeys and chimpanzees. The project evolved into one of the largest research and biodiversity conservation initiatives in West Africa. Personal highlights comprise expeditions with rangers and local villagers to Mt. Gangirwal, West Africa’s highest mountain – including a pioneering ascend through the montane jungles of its western escarpments.

Volker Sommer serves on the boards of various journals and is the only scientist advising on both the “Section on Great Apes” and the “Section on Small Apes” of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He was part of the steering committee of the London-based Centre for Ecology and Evolution (1996-2006) and of various panels, e.g. the “Evolutionary Biology” initiative of the Volkswagen Stiftung, Germany’s largest private science-supporting foundation. Sommer is also a founding scientific board member of the German-based Giordano-Bruno Foundation for Evolutionary Humanism, which promotes a scientific and secular worldview in the tradition of the Enlightenment (www.giordano-bruno-stiftung.de).

Sommer has published several hundred articles - scientific as well as popular - and two dozen books, including novels and poetry. He is a renowned science journalist in German-speaking countries, regularly featured by major magazines and newspapers (GEO, stern, natur, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, FAZ, Die Welt, bild der wissenschaft, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, Weltwoche, Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau). Upon invitation, Sommer delivered more than 400 scientific and public talks across the globe. His award-winning writings have been translated into English, Walloon, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Korean, Japanese and Persian. As a widely respected opinion-maker, Sommer is a regular guest on radio and TV. He also wrote and read numerous radio segments and presented various television documentaries. His U-tube clips exceed 70,000 views. The political magazine Cicero, in one of its latest rankings, counted Volker Sommer amongst the most influential intellectuals of the German-speaking world. His biography and philosophy was the subject of a TV documentary produced by the German-French culture channel ARTE in 2011. In 2012, Sommer received the Gold Medal of the North of England Zoological Society for lifetime achievements in conservation-related research.

Private passions include projects with contemporary artists; speed-walking marathons; seeking beatification while riding an almighty Harley; as well as performances with Tanzango, an ensemble dedicated to Tango Argentino.

ACADEMIC PROFILE

Appointments

Senior lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK (1996)
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology in the University of London (1998)

Fellowships

German Academic Exchange Service Fellowship / DAAD-Stipendium (1981-1983)
Feodor Lynen-Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (1986-1988)
Habilitation-Fellowship of the German Research Council / DFG (1988-1990)
Visiting Scientist Grant University of California at San Diego, USA (1989)
Heisenberg-Stipendium of the German Research Council / DFG (1991-1996)

Awards & Honours

Bundessieger, Wettbewerb Jugend forscht / National champion of the science fair competition, category biology, sponsored by the German government, industry and stern magazine (1973)
Hörlein-Preis, Verband Deutscher Biologen / Young scientist award, Association of German Biologists (1974)
Wettbewerb Reporter der Wissenschaft, Sonderpreis “Magazin” / National competition in science journalism, category “magazine”, sponsored by leading German newspapers and magazines (1983)
Fritz-Frank-Preis, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Säugetierkunde / Junior scientist award, German Society of Mammalogy (1988)
Contributor to “Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres” / “Science-book of the year”, chosen by magazine bild der wissenschaft (1995)
Inge-und-Werner-Grüter Preis für Wissenschaftspublizistik im Stifterverband Deutsche Wissenschaft / Prize for popularizing biological sciences; awarded for oeuvre; sponsored by Association of German Science Foundations (1997)
Honorary Conservation Fellow, North of England Zoological Society (2008)
Runner up, Communicator Preis / Public-understanding-of-sciences prize, German Research Council (2008, 2009)
Ranked amongst the most influential German intellectuals by political magazine Cicero (2009)
Gold Medal recipient of the North of England Zoological Society, for lifetime achievements in science and conservation (2010)
Folia Primatologica A. H. Schultz Best Paper Award; inaugural recipient (lead author: Alejandra Pascual-Garrido) (2014)

Advisory Boards, Organizations

Steering committee CEE (Center for Ecology and Evolution), London (1997-2005)
Council member, Primate Society of Great Britain (1998-2000)
Giordano-Bruno Foundation for Evolutionary Humanism, Germany (2004- )
Section on Great Apes, Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (SGA/SSC/IUCN) (2004- )
International Steering Group, UCL (2009-2011)
Section on Small Apes, Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (SGA/SSC/IUCN) (2013- )
Institute für Transkulturelle Gesundheitswissenschaften (IntraG) - Europa Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt / Oder (2013-2015)
Working Group Evolutionary Biology, German Association of Biologists (2014-2017)

Advisory Boards, Journals

Kulturzeitschrift Das Plateau (from inception, 1990- )
Folia Primatologica (1999- )
Primates (2003- )
Current Zoology [formerly Acta Zoologica Sinica] (2008-2014)
Erwägen-Wissen-Ethik (Deliberation-Knowledge-Ethics) (2008-2015)

Scientific Panels

VolkswagenStiftung, Hanover, Germany (Ideenwettbewerb “Evolution”) (2008)
VolkswagenStiftung, Hanover, Germany (panel “Evolutionary Biology”; grant volume 12mio £) (2009, 2012)
University of Göttingen’s excellence-initiative (Courant Center “Evolution of Social Behaviour”) (2011)
DFG Vorantrag Graduiertenkolleg Mensch/Tier, Humboldt-Universität Berlin (2013)
Evaluation committee, Leibniz-Institute German Primate Centre, Göttingen (2013)

Ad-hoc review, Grants

German Academic Exchange Service, Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation, German Research Council, Leakey Foundation, Earth Watch, NERC, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome Trust, Conservation Awards Volkswagen Mexico, Cambridge University Newton Trust, Research fellowships Emmanuel College & St John’s College Cambridge, University of Leuven, Schweizer Nationalfond, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, ZIF (Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung) Bielefeld

Ad-hoc review, Journals

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, American Journal of Primatology, Animal Behaviour, Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology, Conservation Biology, Ethology & Sociobiology, Ethology, Etica & Animali, Evolutionary Anthropology, Folia Primatologica, Human Evolution, International Journal of Primatology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Bisexuality, Journal of Human Evolution, Kulturzeitschrift Das Plateau, Primates, Proceedings of the Royal Society London (Biological Sciences), Psychologische Rundschau, Acta Zoologica Sinica, National Geographic

Ad-hoc review, Publishers

Curzon, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Princeton University Press, Berlin Verlag, Radius Verlag, BBC Radio 4, BBC Books, National Geographic

Ad-hoc review, Film industry

Consultancy on documentaries for British, German, Austrian, USA television stations as well as movie company “Hamburger Kinokompanie Hark Bohm”

PUBLICATIONS (selection)

Recent Books

Books (German, English, Translations)

Sommer, V. (1983). Nektar der Unsterblichkeit. Poetische Annäherung an Indien. Stuttgart: Radius

Sommer, V. (1986). Yeti Eine Erzählung. Stuttgart: Radius

Heinz-Mohr, Gerd & Sommer, V. (1988). Die Rose. Entfaltung eines Symbols. Cologne: Diederichs. - Italian translation 1989: La Rosa - Storia Di Un Simbolo. Milano: Rusconi

Sommer, V. (1989). Die Affen. Unsere wilde Verwandtschaft. Hamburg: GEO / Gruner & Jahr

Sommer, V. (1990). Wider die Natur ? Homosexualität und Evolution. Munich: C.H. Beck

Köthe, Rainer & V. Sommer (as ghostwriter) (1991). Was ist Was? Der Urmensch. Nürnberg: Tessloff. - 2nd ed. 2003. Translations into Polish (2008), Hungarian (2008), Georgian (2008), Chinese (2010)

Sommer, V. (1992). Lob der Lüge. Täuschung und Selbstbetrug bei Tier und Mensch. Munich: C.H. Beck. - Spanish translation 1995: Elogio de la mentira. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg / Circulo de Lectores; Italian translation 1998: Elogio della menzogna. Turin: Bollati Boringhieri

Sommer, V. (1992). Feste - Mythen - Rituale. Warum die Völker feiern. Hamburg: GEO / Gruner & Jahr

Sommer, V. (1996). Heilige Egoisten. Die Soziobiologie indischer Tempelaffen. Munich: C.H. Beck

Sommer, V. (ed.) (1996). Biologie des Menschen. Heidelberg: Spektrum der Wissenschaft

Sommer, V. & Karl Ammann (photography) (1998). Die Grossen Menschenaffen: Orang-Utan, Gorilla, Schimpanse, Bonobo. Munich: BLV

Sommer, V. (1999). Menschen und andere Tiere. Essays zur Evolutionsbiologie. Stuttgart: Hirzel

Christian Vogel (1999). Anthropologische Spuren. (edited & introduced by V. Sommer) Stuttgart: Hirzel

Sommer, V. (2002). Das grüne All. Ein Poem aus dem Regenwald. Stuttgart: Radius

Sommer, V. & Paul Vasey (eds.) (2006). Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: Evolutionary

Sommer, V. (2007). Darwinisch denken. Horizonte der Evolutionsbiologie. Stuttgart: Hirzel

Sommer, V. (2008). Schimpansenland. Wildes Leben in Afrika. München: C. H. Beck (Deutschlandradio, Frankfurter Allgemeine, TAGBLATT / OSTSCHWEIZ)

Hof, Jutta (photography) & V. Sommer (2010). Menschenaffen wie wir. Portraits einer Verwandtschaft. / Apes Like Us. Portraits of a Kinship. [Bilingual edition]. Mannheim: Edition Panorama

Sommer, V. & Caroline Ross (eds.) (2011). Primates of Gashaka: Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects). Springer: New York

Sommer, V. (2015). Lob der Lüge. Wie in der Evolution der Zweck die Mittel heiligt. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Sommer, V. (2018). Den traurigen Gedanken tanzen. Ein Poem im Tangotempo. Stuttgart: Radius. 61 pp

Marcus Coates and V. Sommer (2018). Degreecoordinates, Shared Traits of the Hominini (Humans, Bonobos and Chimpanzees). Margate: Turner Contemporary, 301 pp.

Sommer, V. (2021). Unter Mitprimaten. Ansichten eines Affenforschers. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Msindai, Josephine N. (2021). Island of the Apes. The Story of Rubondo’s chimpanzees. London: Routledge

Research Papers (English)

Sommer, V. & Surendra Mal Mohnot (1985). New observations on infanticides among hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) near Jodhpur (Rajasthan / India). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology16: 245–248

Sommer, V. (1987). Infanticide among free-ranging langurs (Presbytis entellus) at Jodhpur (Rajasthan / India). Recent observations with a reconsideration of hypotheses. Primates 28: 163-197

Sommer, V. (1988). Male competition and coalitions in langurs (Presbytis entellus) at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. Human Evolution 3: 261-278

Agoramoorthy, Govindasamy; Surendra Mal Mohnot, V. Sommer & Arun Srivastava (1988). Abortions in free ranging Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) - A male induced strategy? Human Evolution 3: 297-308

Sommer, V. (1989). Infant mistreatment in langur monkeys - sociobiology tackled from the wrong end? Pp. 110-127 in: Anne E.O. Rasa, Christian Vogel & Eckart Voland (eds), The Sociobiology of Sexual and Reproductive Strategies in Animals and Humans. London: Chapman and Hall

Sommer, V. (1989). Sexual harassment in langur monkeys (Presbytis entellus). Competition for ova, sperm, and nurture? Ethology 80: 205-217

Sommer, V. & Lal Singh Rajpurohit (1989). Male reproductive success in harem troops of Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). International Journal of Primatology 10: 293-317

Rajpurohit, Lal Singh & V. Sommer (1991). Sex differences in mortality among langurs (Presbytis entellus) of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Folia Primatologica 56: 17-27

Borries, Carola; V. Sommer & Arun Srivastava (1991). Dominance, age, and reproductive success in free-ranging female Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). International Journal of Primatology 12: 231-257

Srivastava, Arun; Carola Borries & V. Sommer (1991). Homosexual mounting in free ranging female Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). Archives of Sexual Behavior 20: 487-512

Sommer, V.; Arun Srivastava & Carola Borries (1992). Cycles, sexuality, and conception in free-ranging female langurs (Presbytis entellus). American Journal of Primatology 28: 1-27

Böer, Michael & V. Sommer (1992). Evidence for sexually selected infanticide in captive Cercopithecus mitis, Cercocebus torquatus and Mandrillus leucophaeus. Primates 33: 557-563

Sommer, V. (1993). Father-son recognition in Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). A field experiment in India. Primates 34: 217-221

Rajpurohit, Lal Singh & V. Sommer (1993). Juvenile male emigration from one-male troops in Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) - a long-term study of intrasexual competition. Pp. 86-103 in: Michael Pereira & Lynn Fairbanks (eds), Juvenile Primates: Life History, Development, and Behavior. New York: Oxford Univ. Press

Sommer, V. (1994). Infanticide among langurs of Jodhpur - Testing the sexual selection hypothesis with a long-term record. Pp. 155-198 in: Stefano Parmigiani & Fred vom Saal (eds), Infanticide and Parental Care. (Proc. Intern. Center for Scientific Culture Ettore Majorana, Erice / Sicily, Italy) New York: Harwood Academic Publ

Borries, Carola; V. Sommer & Arun Srivastava (1994). Weaving a tight social net: Allogrooming in free-ranging female langurs (Presbytis entellus). International Journal of Primatology 15: 421-443

Reichard, Ulrich & V. Sommer (1994). Grooming site preferences in wild white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar). Primates 35: 369-374

Sommer, V. & Domingo Mendoza-Granados (1994). Play as an indicator of habitat quality: A field study of langur monkeys (Presbytis entellus). Ethology 98: 1-16

Mendoza-Granados, Domingo & V. Sommer (1995). Play in chimpanzees of the Arnhem Zoo: Self-serving compromises. Primates 36: 57-68

Rajpurohit, Lal Singh; V. Sommer & Surendra Mal Mohnot (1995). Wanderers between harems and bachelor bands: Male Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus) at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Behaviour 132: 255-299

Reichard, Ulrich & V. Sommer (1997). Group encounters in white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar): Agonism, affiliation, and the concept of infanticide. Behaviour 134: 1135-1174

Sommer, V. & Ulrich Reichard (2000). Rethinking monogamy: the gibbon case. Pp. 159-168 in: Peter Kappeler (ed), Primate Socioecology - Causes and Consequences of Variation in the Number of Males. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

Uhde, Nicola & V. Sommer (2002). Anti-predatory behaviour in gibbons (Hylobates lar, Khao Yai / Thailand). Pp. 268-291 in: Lynne Miller (ed), Eat or be eaten? Predation-Sensitive Foraging. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

Sommer, V.; Alison Denham, Katherine Little (2002). Post-conflict behaviour in wild Indian langur monkeys: Avoidance of opponents but rarely affinity. Animal Behaviour 63: 637-648

Little, Katherine & V. Sommer (2002). Changes of enclosure in langur monkeys: Implications for the evaluation of environmental enrichment. Zoo Biology 21: 549-559

Sommer, V.; Jeremiah Adanu, Isabelle Faucher & Andrew Fowler (2004). The Nigerian chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes vellerosus) at Gashaka: Two years of habituation efforts. Folia Primatologica 75: 295-316

Sommer, V.; Peter Schauer & Diana Kyriazis (2006). A wild mixture of motivations: Same-sex mounting in Indian langur monkeys. Pp. 238-272 in: V. Sommer & Paul Vasey (eds). Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: Evolutionary Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Hohmann, Gottfried; Andrew Fowler, V. Sommer & Sylvia Ortmann (2006). Frugivory and gregariousness of Salonga bonobos and Gashaka chimpanzees: the abundance and nutritional quality of fruit. Pp. 123-159 in Gottfried Hohmann, Martha M. Robbins & Christophe Boesch (eds), Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

Fowler, Andrew; Yianna Koutsioni & V. Sommer (2007). Leaf-swallowing in Nigerian chimpanzees: Assumed evidence for self-medication. Primates 48: 73-76

Schöning, Caspar; Darren Ellis, Andrew Fowler & V. Sommer (2007). Army ant prey availability and consumption by chimpanzees at Gashaka (Nigeria). Journal of Zoology 271: 125-133

Fowler, Andrew & V. Sommer (2007). Subsistence technology in Nigerian chimpanzees. International Journal of Primatology 28: 997-1023

Higham, James P.; Ymke Warren, Jeremiah Adanu, Buba N. Umaru, Ann M. MacLarnon, V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (2009). Life on the edge: Life-history of olive baboons at Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria. American Journal of Primatology 71: 293-304

King, Andrew J.; Claire Narraway, Lindsay Hodgson, Aidan Weatherill, V. Sommer & Seirian Sumner (2010). Performance of human groups in social foraging: The role of communication in consensus decision-making. Biology Letters 7: 237-240

Howarth, Helena, V. Sommer & Fiona Jordan (2010). Visual depictions of female genitalia differ depending on source. BMJ Medical Humanities 36: 75-79

Sommer, V. & Caroline Ross (2011). Exploring and protecting West Africa’s primates. The Gashaka Primate Project in context. Pp 1-37 (Ch. 01) in: V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Adanu, Jeremiah; V. Sommer & Andrew Fowler (2011). Hunters, fire, cattle. Conservation challenges in eastern Nigeria, with special reference to chimpanzees. Pp 55-100 (Ch. 03) in: V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Nyanganji, Gilbert; Andrew Fowler, Aylin McNamara & V. Sommer (2011). Monkeys and apes as animals and humans. Ethno-primatology in Nigeria’s Taraba region. Pp 101-134 (Ch. 04) in: V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Koutsioni, Yianna & V. Sommer (2011). The bush as pharmacy and supermarket. Plant use by human and non-human primates at Gashaka. Pp 135-230 (Ch. 05) in: V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Sommer, V.; Jan Bauer, Andrew Fowler & Sylvia Ortmann (2011). Patriarchal chimpanzees, matriarchal bonobos. Potential ecological causes of a Pan dichotomy. Pp 417-450 (Ch. 12) in: V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Fowler, Andrew; Alejandra Pascual-Garrido, Umaru Buba, Sandra Tranquilli, Callistus Akosim; Caspar Schöning & V. Sommer (2011). Panthropology of the fourth chimpanzee. A contribution to cultural primatology. Pp 451-492 (Ch. 13): in V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Hughes, Nicola; Norm Rosen, Neil Gretsky & V. Sommer (2011). Will the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee go extinct? Models derived from intake rates of ape sanctuaries. Pp 493-523 (Ch. 14): in V. Sommer & Caroline Ross (eds), Primates of Gashaka. Socioecology and Conservation in Nigeria’s Biodiversity Hotspot. New York: Springer

Morgan, Bethan; Alade Adeleke, Tony Bassey, Richard Bergl, Andrew Dunn, Elizabeth Gadsby, Katy Gonder, Elizabeth Greengrass, Denis Koutou Koulagna, Grace Mbah, Aaron Nicholas, John Oates, Fidelis Omeni, Yohanna Saidu, V. Sommer, Jacqueline Sunderland-Groves, Joseph Tiebou & Liz Williamson (2011). Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). IUCN /SSC Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland and Zoological Society of San Diego / CA, USA. 48 pp [French: Morgan et al. (2011). Plan d’action por la conservation du chimpanzé du Nigeria-Cameroun (Pan troglodytes ellioti). IUCN /SSC Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland and Zoological Society of San Diego / CA, USA. 48 pp]

Gumnior, Maren & V. Sommer (2012). Multi-scale, multi-temporal vegetation mapping and assessment of ecosystem degradation at Gashaka Gumti National Park (Nigeria). Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 4: 397-412

Vallo, Peter; Klára J. Petrželková, Ilona Profousová, Jana Petrášová, Kateřina Pomajbíková, Fabian Leendertz, Chie Hashimoto, Nicol Simmons, Fred Babweteera, Zarin Machanda, Alexander Piel, Martha Robbins, Christophe Boesch, Crickette Sanz, David Morgan, V. Sommer, Takeshi Furuichi, Shiho Fujita, Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Michael A. Huffman & David Modrý (2012). Molecular diversity of entodiniomorphid ciliate Troglodytella abrassarti and its coevolution with chimpanzees. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 148: 525-533

Pascual-Garrido, Alejandra; Umaru Buba, George Nodza & V. Sommer (2012). Obtaining raw material: Plants as tool sources for Nigerian chimpanzees. Folia Primatologica 83: 24-44

Sommer, V., Umaru Buba, Gonçalo Jesus & Alejandra Pascual-Garrido (2012). Till the last drop. Honey gathering in Nigerian chimpanzees. Ecotropica 18: 55-64

Allon, Oliver; Alejandra Pascual-Garrido & V. Sommer (2012). Army ant defensive behaviour and chimpanzee predation success: Field experiments in Nigeria. Journal of Zoology 288: 237-244

Power, Camilla; V. Sommer & Ian Watts (2013). The Seasonality Thermostat: Female reproductive synchrony and male behaviour in monkeys, Neanderthals and modern humans. PaleoAnthropology pp. 33−60 (DOI: 10.4207/PA.2013.ART79)

Pascual-Garrido, Alejandra; Umaru Buba, Oliver Allon & V. Sommer (2013). Apes finding ants: Predator-prey dynamics in a chimpanzee habitat in Nigeria. American Journal of Primatology 75: 1231-1244 (DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22187)

Olsen, Katharina & V. Sommer (2014). Biased hand-use in captive emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator). Journal of Comparative Psychology 128: 172-180 (DOI: 10.1037/a0034692)

Tranquilli, Sandra; M. Abedi-Lartey, K. Abernethy, F. Amsini, L. Arranz, A. Asamoah, C. Balangtaa, N. Barakabuye, S. Blake, E. Bouanga, T. Breuer, T. Brncic, G. Campbell, R. Chancellor, C. A. Chapman, T. Davenport, A. Dunn, J. Dupain, A. Ekobo, G. Etoga, T. Furuichi, S. Gatti, A. Ghiurghi, C. Hashimoto, J. Hart, T. Hart, J. Head, M. Hega, I. Herbinger, T. C. Hicks, L. H. Holbech, B. Huijbregts, H. S. Kühl, I. Imong, S. Le-Duc Yeno, J. Linder, P. Marshall, J. Mba Ayetebe, P. Minasoma, D. Morgan, L. Mubalama, P. N’Goran, A. Nicholas, S. Nixon, E. Nku Manasseh, E. Normand, L. Nziguyimpa, Z. Nzooh-Dongmo, R. Ofori-Amanfo, B. G. Ogunjemite, C. Petre, H. Rainey, S. Regnaut, O. Robinson, A. Rundus, C. Sanz, D. Tiku Okon, A. Todd, Y. Warren & V. Sommer (2014). Protected areas in tropical Africa: Assessing threats and the impact of conservation activities. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114154, p. 1-21 (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114154)

MacLarnon, Ann M.; V. Sommer, Adeelia Goffe, James Higham, Emily Lodge, Patrick Tkaczynski, Caroline Ross (2015). Assessing adaptability and reactive scope: introducing a new measure and illustrating its use through a case study of environmental stress in forest-living baboons. General and Comparative Endocrinology 215: 10-24 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2014.09.022)

Sommer, V.; Adriana Lowe, Gonçalo Jesus, Nienke Alberts, Yaelle Bouquet, David M. Inglis, Megan Peterson, Eelco van Riel, James Thompson, Caroline Ross (2016). Antelope predation by Nigerian forest baboons: Ecological and behavioural correlates. Folia Primatologica 87: 67–90 (DOI: 10.1159/00044583)

Goldstone, Lucas Guével; V. Sommer, Niina Nurmi, Colleen Stephens & Barbara Fruth (2016). Food begging in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus): assessing relationship quality? Primates 57: 367–376 (DOI: 10.1007/s10329-016-0522-6)

Sommer, V., Umaru Buba, Gonçalo Jesus, Alejandra Pascual-Garrido (2016). Sustained myrmecophagy in Nigerian chimpanzees: Preferred or fallback food? American Journal of Physical Anthropology 162: 328–336 (DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23122)

Almeida-Warren, Katarina; V. Sommer, Alex K. Piel, Alejandra Pascual-Garrido (2017). Raw material procurement for termite fishing tools by wild chimpanzees in the Issa valley, Western Tanzania. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 164: 292–304 (DOI: 10.1002/ajpa23269)

Sherrill-Mix S, McCormick K, Lauder A, Bailey A, Zimmerman L, Li Y, Django JN, Bertolani P, Colin C, Hart JA, Hart TB, Georgiev AV, Sanz CM, Morgan DB, Atencia R, Cox D, Muller MN, Sommer V, Piel AK, Stewart FA, Speede S, Roman J, Wu G, Taylor J, Bohm R, Rose HM, Carlson J, Mjungu D, Schmidt P, Gaughan C, Bushman JI, Schmidt E, Bittinger K, Collman RG, Hahn BH, Bushman FD (2018). Allometry and ecology of the bilaterian gut microbiome. mBio (American Society for Microbiology) 9: e00319-18 (DOI: org/10.1128/mBio.00319-18)

Tagg, Nikki; Maureen McCarthy, Paula Dieguez, Gaëlle Bocksberger, Jacob Willie, Roger Mundry, Fiona Stewart, Mimi Arandjelovic, Jane Widness, Anja Landsmann, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Ayuk Emmanuel Ayimisin, Mattia Bessone, Gregory Brazzola, Katherine Corogenes, Martijn ter Heegde, Tobias Deschner, Emmanuel Dilambaka, Manasseh Eno-Nku, Henk Eshuis, Annemarie Goedmakers, Anne-Céline Granjon, Josephine Head, Veerle Hermans, Sorrel Jones, Parag Kadam, Mohamed Kambi, Kevin Langergraber, Vincent Lapeyre, Juan Lapuente, Kevin Lee, Vera Leinert, Giovanna Maretti, Sergio Marrocoli, Amelia Meier, Sonia Nicholl, Emmanuelle Normand, Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Alex Piel, Orume Robinson, V. Sommer, Alexander Tickle, Els Ton, Joost van Schijndel, Hilde Vanleeuwe, Virginie Vergnes, Erin Wessling, Roman M. Wittig, Klaus Zuberbuehler, Hjalmar Kuehl & Christophe Boesch (2018). Nocturnal activity in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence for flexible sleeping patterns and insights into human evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 166: 510–529

Bryson, Kathleen; Christophe Soligo & V. Sommer (2018). Ambiguity tolerance towards non-binary sexuality concepts: Evidence from British newspapers. Journal of Bisexuality 18: 446–477 (DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2018.1495591)

Kühl, Hjalmar S.*, Christophe Boesch, Lars Kulik, Fabian Haas, Mimi Arandjelovic, Paula Dieguez, Gaëlle Bocksberger, Mary Brooke McElreath, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin, Emma Bailey, Donatienne Barubiyo, Mattia Bessone, Gregory Brazzola, Rebecca Chancellor, Heather Cohen, Charlotte Coupland, Emmanuel Danquah, Tobias Deschner, Orume Diotoh, Dervla Dowd, Andrew Dunn, Villard Ebot Egbe, Henk Eshuis, Rumen Fernandez, Yisa Ginath, Annemarie Goedmakers, Anne-Céline Granjon, Josephine Head, Daniela Hedwig, Veerle Hermans, Inaoyom Imong, Kathryn J. Jeffery„ Sorrel Jones, Jessica Junker, Parag Kadam, Mbangi Kambere, Mohamed Kambi, Ivonne Kienast, Deo Kujirakwinja, Kevin Langergraber, Juan Lapuente, Bradley Larson, Kevin Lee, Vera Leinert, Manuel Llana, Giovanna Maretti, Sergio Marrocoli, Tanyi Julius Mbi, Amelia C. Meier, Bethan Morgan, David Morgan, Felix Mulindahabi, Mizuki Murai, Emily Neil, Protais Niyigaba, Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Liliana Pacheco, Alex Piel, Jodie Preece, Sebastien Regnaut, Aaron Rundus, Crickette Sanz, Joost van Schijndel, V. Sommer, Fiona Stewart, Nikki Tagg, Elleni Vendras, Virginie Vergnes, Adam Welsh, Erin G. Wessling, Jacob Willie, Roman M. Wittig, Kyle Yurkiw, Klaus Zuberbuehler, Ammie K. Kalan* (2019). Human impact erodes chimpanzee behavioral diversity. Science 363(6434):1453-1455 (DOI: 10.1126/science.aau4532)

Kalan Ammie K.; Gottfried Hohmann, Mimi Arandjelovic, Christophe Boesch, Maureen S. McCarthy, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Emma Bailey, Cosma Wilungula Belongelwa, Mattia Bessone, Gaëlle Bocksberger, Sally Jewel Coxe, Tobias Deschner, Marie-Lyne Després-Einspenner, Paula Dieguez, Barbara Fruth, Ilka Herbinger, Anne-Céline Granjon, Josephine Head, Yves Aka Kablan, Kevin E. Langergraber, Albert Lotana Lokasola, Giovanna Maretti, Sergio Marrocoli, Menard Mbende, Jennifer Moustgaard, Paul Kouame N’Goran, Martha M. Robbins, Joost van Schijndel, V. Sommer, Martin Surbeck, Nikki Tagg, Jacob Willie, Roman M. Wittig & Hjalmar S. Kühl (2019). Novelty response of wild African apes to camera-traps. Current Biology (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.024)

Murthy, Sripriya; Kathryn O’Brien, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Mimi Arandjelovic, Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin, Emma Bailey, Richard A Bergl, Gregory Brazzola, Paula Dieguez, Manasseh Eno-Nku, Henk Eshuis, Barbara Fruth, Thomas R Gillespie, Yisa Ginath, Maryke Gray, Ilka Herbinger, Sorrel Jones, Laura Kehoe, Hjalmar Kühl, Deo Kujirakwinja, Kevin Lee, Nadège F Madinda, Guillain Mitamba, Emmanuel Muhindo, Radar Nishuli, Lucy J Ormsby, Klara J Petrzelkova, Andrew J Plumptre, Martha M Robbins, V. Sommer, Martijn Ter Heegde, Angelique Todd, Raymond Tokunda, Erin Wessling, Michael A Jarvis, Fabian H Leendertz, Bernhard Ehlers, Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer (2019). Cytomegalovirus distribution and evolution in hominines. Virus Evolution 5 (2) (DOI.org/10.1093/ve/vez015)

Gogarten, Jan; Hoffmann, Constanze; Arandjelovic, Mimi; Sachse, Andreas; Merkel, Kevin; Dieguez, Paula; Agbor, Anthony; Angedakin, Samuel; Brazzola, Gregory; Jones, Sorrel; Langergraber, Kevin; Lee, Kevin; Marrocoli, Sergio; Murai, Mizuki; Sommer, V.; Kühl, Hjalmar; Leendertz, Fabian; Calvignac-Spencer, Sébastien (2019). Fly‐derived DNA and camera traps are complementary tools for assessing mammalian biodiversity. Environmental DNA (DOI: 10.1002/edn3.46)

Bryson, Kathleen; Christophe Soligo & V. Sommer (2020). Interrogating boundaries against animals and machines: Human speciesism in British newspapers. Journal of Posthuman Studies

Kalan, Ammie K.; Lars Kulik, Mimi Arandjelovic, Christophe Boesch, Fabian Haas, Paula Dieguez, Christopher D. Barratt, Ekwoge E. Abwe, Anthony Agbor, Samuel Angedakin, Floris Aubert, Emmanuel Ayuk Ayimisin, Emma Bailey, Mattia Bessone, Gregory Brazzola, Valentine Ebua Buh, Rebecca Chancellor, Heather Cohen, Charlotte Couplan, Bryan Curran, Emmanuel Danquah, Tobias Deschner, Dervla Dow, Manasseh Eno-Nku, J. Michael Fay, Annemarie Goedmakers, Anne-Céline Granjon, Josephine Head, Daniela Hedwig, Veerle Hermans, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Sorrel Jones, Jessica Junker, Parag Kadam, Mohamed Kambi, Ivonne Kienast, Deo Kujirakwinja, Kevin E. Langergraber, Juan Lapuente, Bradley Larson, Kevin C. Lee, Vera Leinert, Manuel Llana, Sergio Marrocoli, Amelia C. Meier, Bethan Morgan, David Morgan, Emily Neil, Sonia Nicholl, Emmanuelle Norman, Lucy Jayne Ormsby, Liliana Pacheco, Alex Piel, Jodie Preece, Martha Robbins, Aaron Rundus, Crickette Sanzv, Volker Sommer, Fiona Stewart, Nikki Tagg, Claudio Tennie, Virginie Vergnes, Adam Welsh, Erin G. Wessling, Jacob Willie, Roman M. Wittig, Yisa Ginath Yuh, Klaus Zuberbühler & Hjalmar S. Kühl (2020). Environmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioral diversity. PNAS

Msindai, Josephine N.; Christian Roos, Felix Schürmann & V. Sommer (2021). Population history of chimpanzees introduced to Lake Victoria’s Rubondo Island. Primates

Review Articles (English)

Sommer, V. (2000). The holy wars about infanticide. Which side are you on? And why? Pp. 9-26 in: Carel van Schaik & Charles Janson (eds), Infanticide by Males and its Implications. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

Sommer, V. (2002). In divine company. India’s langur monkeys. BBC Wildlife Magazine (January) 20: 52-56

Vasey, Paul & V. Sommer (2006). Homosexual behaviour in animals. Topics, hypotheses, and research trajectories. Pp. 3-42 in: V. Sommer & Paul Vasey (eds). Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: Evolutionary Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

Sommer, V. (2006). Against nature?! An epilogue about animal sex and the moral dimension. Pp. 365-371 in: V. Sommer & Paul Vasey (eds), Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: Evolutionary Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

Sommer, V. (2010). The anthropologist as a primatologist. Mental journeys of a fieldworker. Pp. 32-48 in: Jeremy MacClancy & Agustín Fuentes (eds), Centralizing Fieldwork. Critical perspectives from primatology and biological anthropology in the lens of social anthropological theory and practice. (Proceedings, conference on “Fieldwork”, 05-06May06, Dept. of Anthropology, Oxford Brookes Univ., UK) Oxford: Berghahn

Sommer, V. & Amy Parish (2010). Living differences. The paradigm of animal cultures. Pp. 17-31 in: Ulrich Frey, Charlotte Störmer & Kai Willführ (eds), Homo Novus - A Human Without Illusions. The Frontiers Collection. Heidelberg: Springer

Minocher, Riana & V. Sommer (2016). Why do mothers harm their babies? Evolutionary perspectives. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 41: 335–350 (DOI: 10.1080/03080188.2016.1256593)

Hawkes, Kristen; James S. Chisholm, Lynn A. Fairbanks, Johannes Johow, Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter, Katja Liebal, Masako Myowa-Yamakoshi, V. Sommer, Bernard Thierry & Barbara L. Finlay (2018). Primate infancies: causes and consequences of varying care. Pp. 68–107 in: Kim Bard & Heidi Keller (eds), Contextualizing Attachment. The Cultural Nature of Attachment (Ernst Strüngmann Forum Reports). Cambridge / MA: MIT Press

Sommer, V. (2018). Extended labels (interpretive didactics) for 13 works. Pp 10-111 in: Amalia Pica (artist catalogue), please listen hurry others speak better. Berlin: SternbergPress

Sommer, V. (2018). Equality beyond humanity? Legal rights for our next of kin. Pp. 16-23 in: Amalia Pica (artist catalogue), please listen hurry others speak better. Berlin: SternbergPress. – Reprinted in: Progress Reader, 12th Shanghai Biennale (2018): New Century Art Foundation, pp. 183–208

Review Articles (German)

Sommer, V. (1987). Das Töten von Artgenossen. Kontroversen der Verhaltensforschung. Pp. 85-97 in: Heinrich Albertz (ed), Die Zehn Gebote. Stuttgart: Radius, Bd. 6 (Du sollst nicht töten)

Sommer, V. (1989). Das Selbst und die anderen. Zur Biologie der Nächstenliebe. Pp. 72-88 in: Heinrich Albertz (ed), Die Zehn Gebote. Stuttgart: Radius, Bd. 11, (Du sollst deinen Nächsten lieben)

Sommer, V. (1991). Rose und Eros. Schriftenreihe Rosenmuseum Steinfurth (ed. Sabine Kübler). Steinfurth: Rosenmuseum

Sommer, V. (1992). Soziobiologie: Wissenschaftliche Innovation oder ideologischer Anachronismus? Pp. 51-73 in: Eckart Voland (ed), Fortpflanzung: Natur und Kultur im Wechselspiel. Versuch eines Dialoges zwischen Biologen und Sozialwissenschaftlern. (Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft 983). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp

Vogel, Christian & V. Sommer (1994). Drum prüfe, wer sich ewig bindet. Pp. 13-42 in Wulf Schiefenhövel, Christian Vogel, Gerhard Vollmer (eds), Vom Affen zum Halbgott. Stuttgart: Trias

Sommer, V. (1993). Homosexualität und Evolution. Perspektiven der modernen Verhaltensbiologie. Pp. 7-47 in Ernst Peter Fischer (ed), Mannheimer Forum 93/94 (founded by Hoimar v. Ditfurth). Munich: R. Piper

Sommer, V. (1993): Die evolutionäre Logik der Lüge bei Tier und Mensch. Hauptartikel - Kritiken - Replik in: Ethik und Sozialwissenschaften (Streitforum für Erwägungskultur) 4: 439-508

Sommer, V. (1993). Die Vergangenheit einer Illusion: Religion aus evolutionsbiologischer Sicht. Pp. 229-248 in Eckart Voland (ed), Evolution und Anpassung - Warum die Vergangenheit die Gegenwart erklärt. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Sommer, V. (1994). Homo ludens. Spiel und Humor. Pp. 139-164 in Wulf Schiefenhövel, Christian Vogel, Gerhard Vollmer (eds), Vom Affen zum Halbgott. Stuttgart: Trias

Sommer, V. (1996). “Sind Affen denn auch Leute?” Ja. Denn zwischen Natur und Kultur fließen die Übergänge. Pp. 75-95 in: Paolo Cavalieri (ed), The Great Ape Project Continues. Etica & Animali (special issue)

Sommer, V. (1998). Die Gene der Göttin. Einer Urreligion auf der Spur. Das Plateau 49: 4-20

Sommer, V. (1999). “Das sogenannte Böse” des Konrad Lorenz: Gelesen für die Gegenwart. Pp. 23-35 in: Martin Kleer & Caspar Söling (eds), Wie böse ist der Mensch? Paderborn: Bonifatius

Sommer, V. (2000). Von der Natur in der Kultur. Rituale aus evolutionsbiologischer Sicht. Pp. 29-40 in: Siegfried Fröhlich (ed), Kultur - ein interdisziplinäres Kolloquium zur Begrifflichkeit, Halle (Saale), 18-21 Feb 1999 / Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte. Halle (Saale): Landesamt für Archäologie

Sommer, V. (2000). Vom Ursprung der Religion im Konfliktfeld der Geschlechter. Pp. 66-81 in: Sigurd Martin Daecke & Jürgen Schnakenberg (eds), Gottesglaube - ein Selektionsvorteil? Religion in der Evolution. Natur- und Geisteswissenschaftler im Gespräch. Gütersloh: Chr. Kaiser / Gütersloher Verlagshaus

Sommer, V. (2001). Schlange, Adler, Affe & Co. Tierkult und Tierschutz im Hinduismus. Pp. 177-193 in: ZDF nachtstudio (ed), Mensch und Tier. Geschichte einer heiklen Beziehung. Frankfurt / M.: Suhrkamp

Sommer, V. (2002). Der “nackte Affe” in neuem Licht. Sexualbiologie von Menschen und anderen Primaten. Pp. 82-90 in: Wilhelm R. Baier & Franz M. Wuketits (eds), Mann und Frau. Der Mensch als geschlechtliches Wesen. Graz: Leykam

Sommer, V. (2003). Geistlose Affen oder äffische Geistwesen? Eine Exkursion durch die mentale Welt unserer Mitprimaten. Pp. 112-136 in: Alexander Becker, C. Mehr, H. H. Nau, G. Reuter & Dagmar Stegmüller (eds), Gene, Meme und Gehirne. Geist und Gesellschaft als Natur. Frankfurt / M.: Suhrkamp

Sommer, V. (2003). “Wissenschaft ist Politik”. Postmoderne Vorwürfe an die Evolutionsbiologie. Pp. 277-305 in: Wolfgang Buschlinger & Christoph Luetge (eds), Kaltblütig. Philosophie von einem rationalen Standpunkt. Festschrift für Gerhard Vollmer zum 60. Geburtstag. Stuttgart: Hirzel

Sommer, V. (2003). Zwischen Kooperation und Konkurrenz. Erkenntnisse der Biologie über naturgegebene Grenzen von Solidarität. Pp. 1-13 (plus discussion, pp. 14-31) in Johannes Müller & Michael Reder (eds), Der Mensch vor der Herausforderung nachhaltiger Solidarität. (Vol. 9, Veröffentlichungen der Rottendorf-Stiftung an der Hochschule für Philosophie, München) Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer

Sommer, V. (2004). Gene einen - Vorurteile trennen. Ein Denkstück zum Rassismus. Das Plateau 83: 4-24

Sommer, V. (2005). Theodizee und Genodizee. Warum ist die Welt voll Leid? Pp. 68-91 in: P. Weingartner (ed), Das Problem des Übels in der Welt. (Veröffentlichungen des Internationalen Forschungszentrums für Grundfragen der Wissenschaften Salzburg, Vol. 13). Salzburg: Peter Lang

Sommer, V. (2005). Warum gefällt der Pfauenmann durch bunte Augen und die Menschenfrau durch Schminke? Pp. 37-48 in: Johann Grolle (ed), Evolution. Wege des Lebens. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt: München & Deutsches Hygiene-Museum: Dresden

Sommer, V. (2007). Warum Rituale wirken. Die natürlichen Wurzeln eines kulturellen Phänomens. Pp. 41-50 in: Heinrich Schmidinger & Clemens Sedmak (ed), Der Mensch - ein animal symbolicum? Sprache - Dialog - Ritual / Bd. 4, Topologien des Menschlichen, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft

Sommer, V. (2007). Kultur in der Natur. Wie Tiere Traditionen pflegen. Das Plateau 102: 5-26

Sommer, V. (2008). Die Krise des Festes: Urbedürfnis nach teuren Signalen? Critique of Michael Maurer, Feste in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Erwägen - Wissen - Ethik 19: 249-251

Sommer, V. (2009). Menschenaffen wie wir. Plädoyer für eine radikale evolutionäre Anthropologie. Biologie in unserer Zeit 39: 196-204

Sommer, V. (2010). Evolution ernst nehmen. Pp. 39-58 in: Joachim Oehler (ed), Der Mensch - Evolution, Natur und Kultur. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer

Sommer, V. & Michael Schmidt-Salomon (2011). Bruder Schimpanse, Schwester Bonobo. Grundrechte für Menschenaffen. (English: Brother Chimp, Sister Bonobo. Rights for Great Apes) Mastershausen: Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung, 8 pp

Sommer, V. (2011). Mann und Frau als Männchen und Weibchen. Sexualbiologie bei Primaten. Pp 147-155 in: Helmut Fink & Rainer Rosenzweig (eds), Mann, Frau, Gehirn. Geschlechterdifferenz und Neurowissenschaft. Aschaffenburg: Alibri

Sommer, V. (2011). Evolution paradox? Homosexueller Sex unter Tieren. Das Plateau 126: 4-19

Sommer, V. (2011). Luxus stiftet Frieden. Zur Evolutionsbiologie von Ritualen. Spektrum der Wissenschaft Spezial (Rituale. Was unser Leben zusammenhält) 1: 28-32

Sommer, V. (2011). Kulturnatur, Naturkultur. Argumente für einen Monismus. Zeitschrift für Kulturphilosophie 5: 9-40

Sommer, V. (2013). Die Meinigkeit des Schweins. Über die Gefühle der Tiere. Das Plateau 136: 4-22

Sommer, V. (2013). Schimpanse und Bonobo gehören in die Gattung Homo. Pp. 15-23 in: Grundrechte für Menschenaffen. (Vol. 4, Schriftenreihe der Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung)

Sommer, V. (2013). Nicht Mensch und Tier - sondern Menschen und andere Tiere. Bekenntnisse eines Primatologen. Pp 153-148 in: Helmut Fink & Rainer Rosenzweig (eds), Das Tier in uns. Triebe, Reize, Reaktionen. Münster: mentis

Sommer, V. (2013). Schamane im Märchenwald. Affen, Homosex und der liebe Gott (Interview). Psychoanalyse & Körper 23: 63-70

Sommer, V. (2015). Zoologie. Von “Mensch und Tier” zu “Menschen und andere Tiere”. Pp 359-386: Gabriela Kompatscher-Gufler, Reingard Spannring, Karin Schachinger & Alejandro Boucabeille (eds): Disziplinierte Tiere? Perspektiven der Human-Animal Studies für die wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen. Bielefeld: Transcript

Sommer, V. (2015). In freier Wildbahn. Aus- und Ansichten eines Primatologen. neofelis 8: 131-142

Sommer, V. (2016). Planet ohne Affen? Zur Zukunft unserer Mitprimaten. Pp 67-78 in: Wolfgang Haber, Martin Held & Markus Vogt (eds), Die Welt im Anthropozän. Erkundungen im Spannungsfeld zwischen Ökologie und Humanität. München: oekom

Sommer, V. (2016). Menschenaffen als Personen? Das Great Ape Project im Für und Wider. Pp 9-40 in: Martin Böhnert, Matthias Wunsch, Kristian Köchy (eds): Programme der Tierforschung. Methoden, Modelle und Maximen. Freiburg: Karl Alber

Sommer, V. (2017). Prähistorie der Primaten? Fortschritte einer Archäologie des Geistes. Pp. 395–408 in: Nicole Rupp, Christina Beck, Gabriele Franke & Karl Peter Wendt (eds), Winds of Change. Festschrift für Peter Breunig zum 65. Geburtstag (Frankfurter Archäologische Schriften). Frankfurt: Dr. Rudolf Habelt

Sommer, V. (2017). Ché Bandoneón. Kurze Geschichte des Tangoglüx. Das Plateau 160: 4–22

Sommer, V. (2019). Welt der 1000 Stäbe. Was spricht gegen Zoos? Dritte Natur 02 (1): 6–20

Sommer, V. (2019). Feldforschung ist immer Feldurlaub (Interview). Pp. 249–269 in: Katja Liebal, Oliver Lubrich & Thomas Stodulka (eds), Emotionen im Feld, pp. 249–269. Bielefeld: Transcript

Sommer, V. (2019). Anthropomorphisieren – Zoologisieren. Agierende Tiere in Gegenwartskunst und Verhaltensbiologie. Pp. 143–160 in: Bettina Paust & Laura-Mareen Janssen (eds), Das ausgestellte Tier. Lebende und tote Tiere in der zeitgenössischen Kunst. Berlin: Neofelis

Sommer, V. (2019). Warum Zoos sich weitgehend selbst abschaffen sollten. Pp. 296–301 in: Elke Diehl & Jens Tuider (eds.), Haben Tiere Rechte? Aspekte und Dimensionen der Mensch-Tier-Beziehung. (bpb Schriftenreihe Band 10450) Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung

Reference Entries (English, German)

Sommer, V. (2014). Evolutionäre Anthropologie. Pp. 25-34 in: Achim Stephan & Sven Walter (eds), Handbuch Kognitionswissenschaft. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler

Thomsen, Ruth & V. Sommer (2015). Entry “Masturbation (non-human primates)”. In: Patricia Whelehan & Anne Bolin (eds), The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality (Vol. 1). Boston: Wiley-Blackwell; DOI: 10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs289

Thomsen, Ruth & V. Sommer (2017). Entry “Masturbation”. In: Agustin Fuentes (ed), The International Encyclopedia of Primatology. Hoboken / NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Sommer, V. (2017). Entry “Non-human primate personhood”. In: Agustin Fuentes (ed), The International Encyclopedia of Primatology. Hoboken / NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Sommer, V.; Riana Minocher & Adriana Lowe (2018). Entry “Infanticide”. In: Hilary Callan (ed), The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology (12 vol). Hoboken / NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Sommer, V. & Adriana Lowe (2018). Entry “Homosexuality. Biosocial theories”. In: Hilary Callan (ed), The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology (12 vol). Hoboken / NJ: John Wiley & Sons

Brindel, Matilda-jane; V. Sommer & Ruth Thomsen (2021). Entry “Masturbation”. In: Todd Shackelford (ed), The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Sexual Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Book Reviews (German, English)

Sommer, V. (1983). Sprung statt Wandel. Steven Stanleys Evolutionsfahrplan. DIE ZEIT 42: 38. [Review of: Steven Stanley (1983), Der neue Fahrplan der Evolution. Fossilien, Gene und der Ursprung der Arten. München: Harnack.]

Sommer, V. (1984). Das krumme Ding mit der Intelligenz. Stephen Jay Goulds Abrechnung mit den Intelligenzforschern aus zwei Jahrhunderten. DIE ZEIT 16: 30. [Review of: Stephen Jay Gould (1983), Der falsch vermessene Mensch, Basel: Birkhäuser.]

Sommer, V. (1989). Anthropologischer Anzeiger 47: 87-88. [Review of: Laura Betzig, Monique Borgerhoff-Mulder & Paul Turke (eds) (1988), Human Reproductive Behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.]

Sommer, V. (1989). Anthropologischer Anzeiger 47: 252-254. [Review of: Rolf Löther (ed) (1988), Tiersozietäten und Menschengesellschaften. Jena: G. Fischer.]

Sommer, V. (1991). natur 6: 94-99. [Review of: Frans de Waal (1991), Wilde Diplomaten. Versöhnung und Entspannungspolitik bei Affen und Menschen. München: Hanser.]

Sommer, V. (1997). Kratze einen Altruisten. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24.11.97. [Review of: Matt Ridley (1997). Die Biologie der Tugend. Berlin: Ullstein. Original: The Origins of Virtue. 1996] - Partial reprint: P. 46 in: Dieter Kopriwa (ed), Freiheit und Determination. München: Bayerischer Schulbuch-Verlag (1997)

Sommer, V. (1998). Wer hat die Kokosnuß geklaut? Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 28.04.98. [Review of: Robin Dunbar (1998). Klatsch und Tratsch. Wie der Mensch zur Sprache fand. München: C. Bertelsmann. Original: Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language. London: Faber & Faber, 1996.] - Reprint pp. 829-830 in: FAZ (ed), Ein Büchertagebuch. Frankfurt / Main (1998)

Sommer, V. (1999). Spektrum der Wissenschaft, August, pp. 105f. [Review of: Dieter Neumann, Arno Schöppe & Alfred K. Treml (eds) (1999). Die Natur der Moral. Evolutionäre Ethik und Erziehung. Hirzel (Edition Universitas); Stuttgart und Leipzig]

Sommer, V. & Andrew Fowler (1999). Animal Behaviour 58: 917-918 [Review of: Craig Stanford (1998). Chimpanzee and Red Colobus. The Ecology of Predator and Prey. Cambridge / MA, London: Harvard Univ. Press]

Sommer, V. (2000). Mauer im Gutmenschenkopf. Der Spiegel 16: 262f [Review of: Randy Thornhill & Craig Palmer (2000). A Natural History of Rape. Cambridge: MIT Press]

Sommer, V. (2002). Universitas, January (No. 667 / 57. Jg.) [Review of Richard Wrangham & Dale Peterson (2001). Bruder Affe. Menschenaffen und die Ursprünge menschlicher Gewalt. München: Hugendubel (Diederichs). - Original: Demonic Males. Apes and the Origins of Human Violence. London: Bloomsbury, 1996]

Sommer, V. & Andrew Fowler (2006). Environmental Conservation 33: 172 [Review of: Julian Caldecott & Vera Miles (eds) (2005). World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation. Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press]

Sommer, V. (2008). Folia Primatologica 79: 52-53 [Review of: Susan Hurley & Matthew Nudds (eds) (2006). Rational Animals? Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press]

Sommer, V. (2009). The field workers’ wild truths. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25: 10-11 [Review of: Amanda Rees (2009). The Infanticide Controversy, Primatology and the Art of Field Science. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press]

Sommer, V. (2009). Kein Wir-Gefühl im Pongoland. Frankfurter Rundschau 27 Sep 09 [Review of Michael Tomasello (2009), Die Ursprünge der menschlichen Kommunikation. Berlin: Suhrkamp / Insel. - Original: The Origins of Human Communication. Cambridge / MA, London / UK: MIT Press]

Sommer, V. (2011). Primates 52: 287-289 [Review of: Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Stephen R. Ross & Tetsuro Matsuzawa (eds) (2010). The Mind of the Chimpanzee: Ecological and Experimental Perspectives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press]

Sommer, V. (2011). Animal Behaviour 82: 1213-1214 [Review of: Aldo Poiani (2010). Animal Homosexuality: A Biosocial Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press]

Newspaper & Magazine Contributions (German)

Sommer, V. (1984). Kindesmord bei Affen. bild der wissenschaft 10: 72-82

Sommer, V. (1984). Zurück auf die Bäume. Im Orang-Utan Zentrum auf Sumatra werden zahme Affen an die Wildnis gewöhnt. DIE ZEIT 44: 90

Sommer, V. (1986). Der Yeti muß gefunden werden. Die Geschichte einer Expedition durch den Himalaya, die mit der Überzeugung endete, der Wahrheit näher gekommen zu sein. DIE ZEIT 21: 78

Schilling, Detlef & V. Sommer (1986). Gibbons im thailändischen Regenwald: Sie singen, schwingen und springen. bild der wissenschaft 4: 60-74

Sommer, V. (1988). Babysitter gesucht ! Verwandtschaftshilfe unter Grauen Languren. Kosmos 6: 74-80

Sommer, V. (1989). Die Affen. Unsere wilde Verwandtschaft. GEO 10: 164-188

Sommer, V. (1989). Pakte, die der Paarung dienen. Sexualität und Fortpflanzung bei Primaten. GEO-Wissen 1 (Sex - Geburt - Genetik): 132-141. (2nd ed. 1993, new edition 1998)

Sommer, V. (1989). Lügen haben lange Beine. Information und Manipulation von Artgenossen. GEO-Wissen 2 (Kommunikation): 148-157

Sommer, V. (1990). Sozialverhalten indischer Languren. Mitteilungen der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH-Magazin) 56: 3-16

Sommer, V. (1990). Das schöpferische Spiel. GEO-Wissen 2 (Chaos - Kreativität - Ordnung): 64-70

Sommer, V. (1990). Das Tabu. Homosexuelle Tiere. natur 10: 54-58

Sommer, V. (1991). Erfolg mit Masse und mit Klasse. GEO 1 (Schwerpunkt Bevölkerungsexplosion): 62-70

Sommer, V. (1991). Die Erfindung der Großmutter. GEO-Wissen 1 (Altern und Jugendwahn): 134-146

Sommer, V. (1991). Unser Vetter aus Zaire. Kosmos 5: 24-29

Sommer, V. (1991). Arten: Trennung ist aller Vielfalt Anfang. GEO-Wissen 3 (Landwirtschaft und Biotechnik): 38-41

Sommer, V. (1992). Feste - Mythen - Rituale. Warum die Völker feiern. GEO 11: 12-34

Sommer, V. (2000). Bald sind wir allein. Die Menschenaffen sterben - ein Verwandtschaftsbesuch in Nigeria. Die Welt 09Sep00: 3 (Literarische Welt)

Sommer, V. (2003). “Stress macht eher schwul.” Zu Ursachen und Funktion der Homosexualität. Weltwoche (Switzerland) 5 (March): 68f

Sommer, V. (2003). Bruder Affe. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Lead essay for “Wir Affen. Der Mensch und seine Verwandten”. NZZ Folio (August): 14-18

Sommer, V. (2003). “Wir sind alle Afrikaner.” Die moderne Genetik macht dem Rassekonzept den Garaus. Weltwoche (Switzerland) 31 (August): 4f

Sommer, V. (2005). Wenn “Nein” keine Antwort ist. Zur Naturgeschichte der sexuellen Nötigung. Weltwoche 11: 66f

Sommer, V. & Carsten Schradin (2006). “Ach, Männer…” Zur Biologie der Vaterrolle. Weltwoche 26: 46-48

Sommer, V. (2007). Kultur in der Natur. Wie Tiere Traditionen pflegen. Das Plateau 102

Sommer, V. (2008). Welcher Affe steckt in uns? Schimpansen oder Bonobos. bild der wissenschaft 4: 2-9

Sommer, V. (2009). Menschen und andere Tiere. Frankfurter Rundschau 10 Jul 09

Sommer, V. (2009). Affe, Pinguin & Co. Bei Tieren ist Homosex ganz normal. bild der wissenschaft 11: 72-75

Sommer, V. (2010). Warum wir einen evolutionären Humanismus brauchen. GEO Forum (October)

Sommer, V. (2012). Liebt mich mein Liebling? Emotionen bei Tieren. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, NZZ Folio (“Haustiere”) 250: 42-45

Sommer, V. (2016). Wilde Gefühle. Haben Tiere Emotionen? ARTE Magazin

Sommer, V. (2016). Lug undTrug – Triebfedern der Evolution. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 292: N2 (FAZ online: 08Feb17)

Sommer, V. (2018). Von Backentaschen und Kammermägen. Die Sozioökologie indischer Tempelaffen. Bild der Wissenschaft 5: 86–91

Sommer, V. (2019). Gorillas unter Personenschutz (Interview “Tierrechte Menschenaffen”). greenpeace magazin 2.19: 12–17

Sommer, V. (2020). Uns laust kein Affe mehr. Primatologie und Pandemie. Der Freitag 24: 15

EXHIBITIONS

Natural History Exhibits and Events

Hygienemuseum Dresden / Germany (2002). “Sex - vom Wissen und Wünschen”. Exhibit “Sexualbiologie Primaten”
Hygienemuseum Dresden / Germany (2005). (Florence / Italy, Kerkrade / Netherlands, 2006-2010). Evolution. Wege des Lebens. Exhibit “Schimpansentechnologie in Nigeria”
Museum of Sex, New York / USA (2008-2009, 2012-13). The Sex Live of Animals. Exhibit “Homosexual Behaviour in Monkeys”
Twentieth Century Fox Film, The Soho Hotel, London / UK (2014). Q&A @ UK launch of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (04Jun14)
Shuffle Festival, Tower Hamlets Cemetery, London / UK (2014). Q&A @ film screening “Gorillas in the Mist” (30Jul14)

Contemporary Arts Exhibits and Events

Gallery Esther Schippe & Michael Krome, Cologne / Germany (1994). Carsten Höller, DU YOU (30Apr-15Jun94). Conceptual art installation by V. Sommer & Amy Parish
Kunstverein Wolfsburg / Germany (2003). Marion Porten, Skulptur “Wunderwelt Verhaltensforschung” (Jan-Mar03). Catalogue essay: V. Sommer, Die Natur und die Verhaltensforschung, p 19
GV Art Gallery London / UK (2010). Katherine Dowson, Relics of the Mind (17Sep- 06Nov10). Q&A @ Vernissage & catalogue essay: V. Sommer, How our memory creates ourselves, pp 14-20
Shonibar Studio, London / UK (2012). Guest Projects: Catherine Anyango & Julie Hill, Crying Out Loud (10-31May12). Catalogue essay: V. Sommer, A short history of hysteria, pp. 6-16
Tango Nautica / UK (2012). TangoWalk for Gi20 (Gone in 20 minutes; a National Showcase for Outdoor Artists): a narrative for two exploring the art of navigation through public space by means of social dance. Concept: Nordic Nomad & The Kindest Group; music: Volker Sommer / James Ogle: Dúo Tanzango. London National Theatre, 07-08Jul12; Stockton International Riverside Festival, 04-05Aug12 (youtube.com /watch?v=Rjsuk6vWO1Q)
Freud Museum, London / UK (2013). Damián Ortega, Apestraction. Curated by Ana Luiza Teixeira de Freitas, Gonçalo Jesus & V. Sommer (06Jun-01Sep13)
October Gallery, London / UK (2013). Talk “Showcase Memory” @ Bloomsbury Festival (17Oct13)
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin / Germany (2015). Exhibit Marcus Coates & Volker Sommer, Degreecoordinates @ exhibition Ape Culture (30Apr–06Jul15). – Catalogue: Marcus Coates / V. Sommer, Degreecoordinates. Shared traits of the Hominini. Folienschrift auf Wand, variable Maße, Pp. 68–71 in Anselm Franke, Hila Peleg (eds), Ape Culture / Kultur der Affen. Leipzig: Spector
Wellcome Collection, London / UK (2017). Exhibit Marcus Coates & Volker Sommer, Degreecoordinates @ exhibition Making Nature: How we see animals (01Dec16–21May17)
NC-arte, Bogotá, Colombia (2017). Amalia Pica, A un Brazo de Distancia. Curated by Ana Luiza Teixeira de Freitas, Claudia Segura Campins, Gonçalo Jesus & V. Sommer (22Apr–30Jun17)
Turner Contemporary, Margate / UK (2018). Exhibit Marcus Coates & Volker Sommer, Degreecoordinates @ exhibition Animals and Us. Folio (25May–30Sep)
Marta Herford, Museum for Art, Architecture, Design / Germany (2019). Exhibit Marcus Coates & Volker Sommer, Degreecoordinates @ exhibition Creatures Made to Measure (Kreaturen nach Maß – Tiere und Gegenwartsdesign). Folio (16Sep18–06Jan19); exhibition recreated at Design Museum Gent 17May–29Sep2019
58th Venice Biennale May You Live in Interesting Times (2019). “Transhuman”-component for Lara Favaretto’s Thinking Head

AUDIOGRAPHY

Radio Segments (German)

“Drum prüfe, wer sich ewig bindet” (1994). Volker Sommer & Christian Vogel. Funkkolleg Anthropologie, ARD; 60 min
“Homo ludens. Spiel und Humor” (1994). Funkkolleg Anthropologie, ARD; 60 min
“Feste feiern wie sie fallen” (1998). “Glaubensfragen”, Hessischer Rundfunk; 25 min (25Dec98)
“Die Rose. Entfaltung eines Symbols” (1999). Hessischer Rundfunk; 45 min
“Evolutionsbiologische Glossen” (2000). “5 vor 6”, SWR; 5 pieces of 5 min (01-06 Dec 00)
“Der Affe als Mensch oder der Mensch als Affe? Warum die Evolutionsbiologie unsere Sicht vom Tier verändert” (2004). Aula, SWR2, 30 min (23May04)
“Ganz schön klug und clever. Warum Affen lügen können” (2005). Aula für Kinder, SWR2, 30 min (15May05)
“Wir alle sind Afrikaner. Warum der Begriff ‘Rasse’ sinnlos geworden ist” (2007). Aula, SWR2, 30 min (12Aug07)
“Vorbei mit den Grenzen. Warum sich der Mensch nur graduell vom Tier unterscheidet” (2009). Aula, SWR2, 30 min (22Nov09)
“War Flipper schwul? Homosexualität bei Tieren” (2010). Aula, SWR2, 30 min (07Feb10)
“Wilde Gefühle. Haben Tiere Emotionen?” (2014). Aula, SWR2, 30 min
“Sind Menschenaffen Personen?” (2014). Aula, SWR2, 30 min (28Sep14)
“Planet ohne Affen? Zur Zukunft unserer Mitprimaten” (2017). Aula, SWR2, 30 min
“Der nackte Affe in neuem Licht. Sexualbiologie der Primaten” (2018). Aula, SWR2, 30 min
“Was spricht gegen Zoos?” (2019). Aula, SWR2, 30 min

Radio Segments (English)

“Almost Human Rights. The Debate about Non-human Personhood” (2016). BBC Radio 4, 30 min (21Dec16)

Discography

Good News Singer (1974). Good news a gogo. Frankfurt: JFC
Dúo Tanzango (2011). Chimichurri (James Ogle - violín & V. Sommer - acordeón y voz ). CD (17 tangos). Bremen: Starfish

FILMOGRAPHY

UCL U-Tube Videos

(views as per 01Jul20)

Sommer, V. (2009). Protecting the Primates of Gashaka. 3 min UCLTV video. Posted 13May10, 3K views
Sommer, V. (2010). Homosexuality, Morality and Nature. 3 min UCLTV mini-lecture. Posted 23Jun10, 19K views
Sommer, V. (2011). Against Nature? Homosexuality and Evolution. 45 min UCL Lunch hour lecture. Posted 17Nov11, 62K views
Sommer, V. (2017). Non-human personhood? Demanding legal rights for our next of kin. 45 min UCL Lunch hour lecture. BWQ1QrVuXLE. Posted 15Nov17, 1K views

TV Biopics

(Documentaries featuring Volker Sommer’s work; produced by German public television ARD [Allgemeine Rundfunkanstalten Deutschland]; typically aired at prime-time, with numerous repeat broadcasts)

Research on Asia’s small apes: “Von Affenliebe und Affentreue. Gibbons in Thailands Regenwald”. 22-min documentary for series “Zoo & Co”, Bayerischer Rundfunk; author Felix Heidinger, editor Udo Zimmermann; first aired Feb96; additional 45-min adaptation for series “Zuflucht Wildnis”, ARD, first aired Aug96
Biology of myths and rituals: “Von der Natur in der Kultur. Die Biologie von Mythen und Ritualen”. 45-min documentary for series “Teleakademie”, Südwest-Rundfunk (SWR); first aired10Jan98
Socioecology of Indian temple monkeys: “Die Herrscher der blauen Stadt. Tempelaffen in Indien”. 22-min documentary for series “Zoo & Co”, Bayerischer Rundfunk; author Felix Heidinger, editor Udo Zimmermann; first aired 26Jun00
India’s sacred animals: “Indiens heilige Tiere”. 45-min documentary for series “Zuflucht Wildnis”, ARD / Bayerischer Rundfunk; author Felix Heidinger, editor Udo Zimmermann; first aired Apr00
Biodiversity and conservation in West Africa: “Der Affenwald von Gashaka. Forschung in Nigerias Wildnis”. 45-min documentary for series “Zuflucht Wildnis”, ARD / Bayerischer Rundfunk; author Felix Heidinger, editor Udo Zimmermann; first aired Aug03
Nigeria’s Primate Paradise”. 25-min educational video about conservation activities in Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria; authored and produced by V. Sommer, Felix Heidinger & Bayerischer Rundfunk; 2003
Volker Sommer’s life and philosophy: “Ich bin ein Affenmensch. Der Weltenbürger Volker Sommer”. 45-min documentary authored by Anja Krug-Metzinger for French-German TV culture channel ARTE (Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne); first aired May11

TV Documentaries (German)

(Strategies of love, strategies of life: “Strategien der Liebe, Strategien des Lebens”. For German public television ARD (Allgemeine Rundfunkanstalten Deutschland), Volker Sommer developed and presented 3 miniseries of two parts each on the topic of evolutionary anthropology. Author Felix Heidinger, editors Reinhold Gruber, Udo Zimmermann. Length per part: 45-min, with numerous repeat broadcasts across the ARD regional network)
Season 1 / Mate choice: “Partnerwahl & Evolution”. Episode 1: “Damenwahl bei den Herrentieren”. Episode 2: “Gene, Sex und Seitensprung” – Volker Sommer presents the research of: Prof. Karl Grammer, Wien; Dr. Astrid Jütte, Wien; Prof. Harald Euler, Kassel; Dr. Victor Oubaid, Hamburg; Prof. Kerrin Christiansen, Hamburg; Prof. Ronald Henss, Saarbrücken; Zoo Apenheul; first aired Sep02
Season 2 / Parenting: “Elternverhalten & Evolution”. Episode 3: “Väter, Mütter, Steinzeitbabys”. Episode 4: “Söhne, Töchter, Kuckuckskinder” – Volker Sommer presents the research of: PD Gabriele Haug-Schnabel, Freiburg; Dr. Joachim Bensel, Kandern; Prof. Heidi Keller, Osnabrück; Dr. Jan Beise, Rostock; Prof. Eckart Voland, Gießen; first aired Aug04
Season 3 / Cognition: “Intelligenz & Evolution”. Episode 5: “Ein Lob auf die Lüge?”. Episode 6: “Gelobt sei, was schlau macht…” – Volker Sommer presents the research of: Prof. Werner Kotrschal & co-workers, Konrad-Lorenz Forschungsstelle Grünau; Dr. Judith Burkart, Zurich; Dr. Josep Call & working group, MPI EVA & Zoo, Leipzig; Prof. Jochen Mecke, Regensburg; Prof. Redouan Bshary, Neuchatel; first aired Aug07

MEDIA COVERAGE

(Volker Sommer’s research and expertise has been covered hundreds of times on radio, TV, in print and online; similarly, his books were subject of hundreds of reviews)

Radio & TV Appearances

(Featuring Volker Sommer on radio (R) and Television (T) as a guest in talkshows, science-programmes, commentaries; channels based in Germany, if not indicated otherwise)

(R) “Aus Kirche und Welt”, Hessischer Rundfunk (27Jul83)
(R) “Wissenschaftsredaktion”, RIAS 1 (06Dec89)
(R) “Das Radioskop”, Hessischer Rundfunk (30Dec90)
(R) Deutschlandfunk (Dec90)
(R) “Daheim & Unterwegs”, WDR (1991)
(R) Deutschlandradio (1992)
(R) MDR (1992)
(R) “Eckpunkt”, Süddeutscher Rundfunk 2 (1992)
(R) “Hallo Ü-Wagen”, WDR (27Feb92)
(T) “Buchladen”, WDR 3 (02Apr92)
(R) Sender Freies Berlin (13May92)
(R) “Global”, RIAS Berlin (15May92)
(R) WDR, Hörfunk (22May92)
(R) “Wissenschaftsjournal”, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (20Jun92)
(R) “Budengasse”, WDR (24Jun92)
(R) “Daheim & Unterwegs”, WDR (26Jun92)
(T) “Lese-Zeichen Politik”, Bayerisches Fernsehen (05Jul92)
(T) “Forscher - Fakten - Visionen”, BR (Jul92)
(R) “Europaprogramm”, Deutschlandfunk (15Jul92)
(R) “Meinung über Bücher”, WDR Hörfunk (24Jul92)
(R) “Das Büchermagazin”, Radio Bremen (26Jul92)
(R) “Wissenschaft”, Sender Freies Berlin (31Jul92)
(R) “S2 Buchzeit”, Südwestfunk (01Sep92)
(R) “Büchermarkt”, Deutschlandfunk (12Sep92)
(R) “S2 Buchzeit”, Süddeutscher Runkfunk (19Nov92)
(T) “NDR Talkshow”, NDR (03Dec92)
(R) “Fragen an den Autor”, Saarländischer Rundfunk (06Dec92)
(R) “Das Buch”, Deutschlandsender Kultur (22Dec92)
(R) “Lesezeichen”, NDR 4 (21Mar93)
(R) “Politik”, SDR (29Mar93)
(R) “Am Morgen”, SWF 2 (27May93)
(R) “Fragen an den Autor”, Saarländischer Rundfunk (13Jun93)
(T) “0137”, Premiere (17Jun93)
(T) “stern tv”, SAT 1 (Jul93 and highlights of the year)
(R) “Kaleidoskop”, WDR (28Jun93, 12Jul93)
(T) “Gottschalk Late Night”, RTL (19Oct93)
(T) “Forscher - Fakten - Visionen”, BR (Apr94)
(R) ÖRF / Austria (07May94)
(T) “Prime Time - Spätausgabe”, RTL (15May94)
(R) “Das!”, NDR (26May94)
(T) “Panorama,” ARTE (1996)
(T) “Wunder der Erde”, ARD (16Sep96)
(T) “Bärbel Schäfer”, RTL (03Dec96)
(R) “Lesezeichen”, NDR 4 (22Dec96)
(R) “Kakadu”, Deutschlandradio (09Feb97)
(R) HR (10Feb97)
(R) WDR 5 (10Feb97)
(R) “Forum Buch & Leser”, Saarländischer Rundfunk (14Feb97)
(T) “Schreinemakers Live”, RTL (10Apr97)
(R) MDR (Jun97)
(T) “Prime Time - Spätausgabe”, RTL (Jul97)
(T) “Mitternachtsmagazin”, VOX (Aug97)
(T) “10 vor 11”, RTL (18Aug97)
(T) Talkshow, ARD (22Sep97)
(R) WDR (27Sep97)
(R) Deutschlandsender Kultur (Dec97)
(R) WDR 5 (22Dec97, 23Feb98)
(T) “nachtstudio”, ZDF (24Feb98)
(T) “Forscher - Fakten - Visionen”, BR (18Apr98)
(T) “Wissenschaftsgespräch”, BR (17Jul98; alpha 22Nov98)
(R) Zeitfragen-Streitfragen, WDR 3 (29Nov98)
(R) “Leonardo - Wissenschaft und mehr…”, WDR 5 (10Dec98)
(T) “Galileo”, ProSieben (Jul99)
(T) “Forscher-Fakten-Visionen”, BR (Nov99)
(R) Yola Radio Taraba / Nigeria (23Jan00)
(R) “Leonardo”, WDR 5 (10Apr00)
(T) “nachtstudio”, ZDF (17May00)
(R) Radio Sweden / Uppsala, Sweden (20May00)
(T) “Thema Vergewaltigung”, ARD (03Jul01)
(T) “37 Grad plus”, ZDF (07Aug01)
(T) “Grenzspiele”, 3sat (Dez03), ZDF-Digital (Feb03)
(R) “Standpunkte”, ÖRF / Austria (Mar06)
(T) “Richard & Judy”, ITV / UK (Aug06)
(R) “Zeitgenossen”, SWR2 (06Feb05)
(T) “nachtstudio, ZDF (14Nov07)
(T) “Buchzeit”, Leipzig Buchmesse, 3sat (13Mar08)
(R) “Leonardo”, WDR 5 (28 Mar 08)
(R) Deutschlandfunk (06 Apr 08)
(T) “Planet Wissen”, WDR (11Jun08)
(R) “Redezeit”, WDR 5 (13Jun08)
(R) “Doppelkopf”, HR 2 (09Sep08)
(T) “scobel”, 3sat (30Oct08)
(R) “Menschenbilder” Radio ÖRF, Austria (18May18)
(T) “nachtstudio, ZDF (17May09)
(R) “Funkhausgespräch”, WDR 5 (12Nov09)
(T) “Planet Wissen”, Südwestfunk (15Dec09)
(T) “Sternstunde Philosophie”, Schweizer Fernsehen 1 / Switzerland (24May09)
(T) “scobel”, 3sat (14Oct10)
(R) “Forum”, BBC World Service / UK: Lord Meghnad Desai, V. Sommer, Lesley Lokko (04Dec10)
(R) Deutschlandradio, Feature “Persona non grata” (28Jun13)
(R) “Museum of Curiosity” Series 6 (Palmer, Sommer, O’Neill), BBC Radio 4 / UK (14-20Oct13)
(R) “Archive Hour: Monkey Planet”, BBC Radio 4 / UK (30Nov13)
(R) “Lange Nacht” / Thema Primaten, Deutschlandradio (12Sep14)
(R) “Redezeit”, WDR 5 (09May16)
(R) “Unser Konsum tötet die Affen!” SWR2 Impuls (14Dec17)
(T) “Same-sex sex in animals” Channel 4 documentary, UK (May19)

Print Interviews (German, English, Spanish)

2000 DIE ZEIT (Dec) “Ich bin ein Affenmensch”
2008 natur+kosmos (Aug). “Untergang der Menschenaffen”
2008 FAZ.net (21Nov) “Primaten wie wir”
2010 GEO forum (Oct) “Warum die Zeit reif ist für evolutionären Humanismus”
2011 AnthroNews “My fieldwork experience”
2012 Die Welt online (12May) “Wann ist ein Mann ein richtiger Mann?”
2012 Frankfurter Rundschau & Berliner Zeitung (23-24Jun) “Homosexualität bei Tieren”
2012 Frankfurter Rundschau & Berliner Zeitung (20Jul) “Schamane im Märchenwald”
2013 GEO kompakt (Jan) “Grundrechte für Menschenaffen”
2013 WERTE “Der kluge Egoist kooperiert “
2014 Der Spiegel (05May) “Personenstatus für Kühe”
2014 Cicero online (06May) „Ich bin ein Mensch, der zu den Affen zählt”
2015 CREDO (Apr) “Die Lüge ist ein Wetzstein unserer Intelligenz”
2015 CREDO (Apr) “Lying is a sharpening stone for our intelligence”
2016 Frankfurter Rundschau (30Apr-01May) “Der Wetzstein unserer Intelligenz”
2016 Máster Primatologia, Fundación Mona (21Dec16) “Conoce a un primatólogo”
2018 Spektrum der Wissenschaft (Oct2018, p. 12-17) “Religion und Wissenschaft”
2019 Greenpeace Magazin Germany “Gorillas unter Personenschutz” (15Feb19)

Radio & TV Interviews (selected links)

2005 Radio SWR2 “Zeitgenossen”: “Volker Sommer. Der Primatologe und Anthropologe im Gespräch mit Ralf Caspary”
2008 TV 3-sat “Scobel”: “Menschenaffen - Affenmenschen. Ein spannendes Gespräch unter Verwandten”
2008 Radio Hessischer Rundfunk “Doppelkopf” Hessischer Rundfunk “Am Tisch mit Volker Sommer, Affenforscher”
2008 Radio ÖRF “Menschenbilder”: “Wir und andere Kulturwesen. Der Anthropologe Volker Sommer” (18May)
2009 Radio WDR 5 “Funkhausgespräch”: “Volker Sommer und Reinhard Brand” (29Nov)
2009 TV Südwestfunk “Planet Wissen”: “Wir Menschenaffen”
2010 Radio BBC World Service “The Forum”: Lord Meghnad Desai, Volker Sommer, Lesley Lokko (04Dec)
2011 Radio Deutschlandfunk “Zwischentöne”, “Der Anthropologe Volker Sommer im Gespräch mit Michael Langer (Jun)

Event Reports (selected links)

2009 Kultur in der Natur - 20. Bamberger Hegelwoche (03 Jul)
2013 The Big Ig Nobel UK Show - with Volker Sommer performing (UCL Anthropology, Events, 12 Mar)
2013 Apestraction - Damián Ortega exhibits in London (UCL Anthropology, Events, Jun)
2013 “Monkey Planet” with Volker Sommer on BBC Radio 4 (UCL Anthropology, Events, 27 Nov)
2014 Wildlife Expedition to Nigeria’s “Mountain of Death” (UCL Anthropology, Events, 30 Jan)
2014 Basic rights for Apes - Campaign to change Germany’s constitution ” (UCL Anthropology, Events, 07 May)
2014 Museum of Curiosity (BBC Radio 4) with Volker Sommer (UCL Anthropology, Events, 07 Oct)
2014/15 “Harley Buddha. On the road in America’s West” (UCL Anthropolitan)
2014 Conserving the world’s rarest chimpanzee (UCL Research Excellence Framework Impact Case Study, 12 Dec)
2015 “In there for the long run” (Scientific Director’s Report, Gashaka-Biodiversity-Project, Aug)
2015 “Not eating like a pig”. Research on boars washing their food makes headlines (UCL Anthropology, Events, Nov)

TALKS - SCIENTIFIC AND PUBLIC

(Across the globe, Volker Sommer has delivered more than 400 talks, with a selection listed below. More than 350 of these presentations were upon invitation, including many keynotes and plenary talks at conferences, and they often attract large audiences.)

Zoologisches Kolloquium, Zoologisches Inst. der Univ., 22Feb74, Regensburg, Germany
International Symposium on Primates, 17-20Feb82, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
18. Tagung, Gesellsch. Anthropologie & Humangenetik, 05-08Oct83, Münster, Germany
Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft, 11-16Jun84, Gießen, Germany
7th Meeting, European Sociobiological Society, 18-19Jan86, Göttingen, Germany
XIth Congress, International Primatological Society, 20-25Jul86, Göttingen, Germany
International Symposium “Primates - The New Revolution”, 26-31Dec86, New Delhi, India
XIIth Congress, International Primatological Society, 24-29Jul88, Brasilia, Brazil
Chicago Center for Religion and Science, 06-09Oct88, Ev. Akademie Loccum, Germany
Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of California, San Diego, 02Oct89, La Jolla, USA
Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of California Davis & California Primate Research Center, 05Oct89, Davis, USA
Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of California Berkeley, 10Oct89, Berkeley, USA
1. Kongreß, Gesellschaft für Primatologie, 18-20Oct89, Göttingen, Germany
Center Ettore Majorana, 14-20Jun90, Erice, Sicily, Italy
“Mobilization for Animals”, 20-30Jun90, Oberwolfach / Black Forest, Germany
Buchhandlung Backhaus / Kulturamt Stadt Aachen, 18Dec90, Univ. Aachen, Germany
Naturwissenschaftl. Verein in der Wittheit, Stadtbibliothek, 10Jan91, Bremen, Germany
Philosoph.-Naturwissenschaftl. Kolloquium, Johannes-Gutenberg-Univ., 29May91, Mainz, Germany
Graduiertenkolleg Neurobiologie, Eberhard-Karls-Univ. Tübingen, 07-09Jun91, Salem, Germany
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, 27Jun91, Hanover, Germany
Rosenmuseum Steinfurth, 13Sep91, Bad Nauheim, Germany
Anthropologisches Kolloquium, Univ. Zürich-Irchel, 18Nov91, Zurich, Switzerland
Stiftung Stonewall, Univ. Basel, 26Nov91, Basel, Switzerland
Fachbereich Biologie, Mar92, Gesamthochschule Kassel, Germany
Buchhandlung Max & Milian / Kulturamt Stadt München, Germany, 26Jun92, Munich, Germany
XVIth Congress, International Primatological Society, 16-21Aug92, Strasbourg, France
Symposium Primaten-Feldforschung, Thyssen-Stiftung, 21-23Aug92, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Göttingen, Germany
Plenary address, The Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, 13-15Nov92, San Diego, USA
Studium Generale, Johannes-Gutenberg-Univ., 07Dec92, Mainz, Germany
Gonsenheimer Rathauslesung, Universitas Buchhandlung, 08Dec92, Mainz, Germany
Biological Colloquium, Univ. of California, 24Feb93, Santa Cruz, USA
Philosoph. Seminar, Pädagog. Hochschule Erfurt-Mühlhausen, 08Jun93, Erfurt, Germany
Collegium Gissenum (Studium Generale), Justus-Liebig-Univ., 15Jun93, Gießen, Germany
Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences, 31Jul-06Aug93, Dartmouth, USA
Plenary address, 3. Kongreß, Gesellschaft für Primatologie, 01Oct93, Tübingen, Germany
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 23-25Feb94, Bonn, Germany
Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of California 04Mar94, Los Angeles, USA
Canetti-Symposium, Wiener Urania und Kunstverein Wien, 05-08May94, Vienna, Austria
Wildbiologisches Colloquium, Georg-August-Univ., 14Jun94, Göttingen, Germany
Interdisziplinäres Forum der Univ. Heidelberg, 29Jun94, Heidelberg, Germany
Philosophische Gesellschaft, 16Nov94, Bremen, Germany
Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung, Univ. Bielefeld, 17-19Nov94, Bielefeld, Germany
Katholische Akademie der Erzdiozöse Freiburg, 22-23Apr95, Freiburg, Germany
Gruter Inst. for Law and Behavioral Research / Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung, 24-26Apr95, Munich, Germany
Bischöfliche Akademie des Bistums Aachen, 13-14Oct95, Aachen, Germany
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 20-22Oct95, Bonn, Germany
Studium Generale, Tierärztliche Hochschule, 25Oct95, Hanover, Germany
Symposium “Anthropologie”, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, 13-14Jul96, Berlin, Germany
XIIXth Congress, International Primatological Society, 11-17Aug96, Madison, USA
Center for Ecology and Evolution, Univ. of London, 12Oct96, London, UK
Zoologische Gesellschaft Zürich, 22Oct96, Zurich, Switzerland
Sub-department of Animal Behaviour, Univ. of Cambridge, 20Nov96, Madingley, UK
Royal Swedish Acad. of Sciences, Inst. of Future Studies, 28-29Nov96, Stockholm, Sweden
Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Cambridge, 05Feb97, Cambridge, UK
Anthropologisches Kolloquium, Univ. Zürich-Irchel, 28Apr97, Zurich, Switzerland
Science & Conservation Seminar Series, Inst. of Zoology, 29May97, London, UK
Lunchhour Lecture, Univ. College London, 28Oct97, London, UK
Ringvorlesung “Humanbiologie”, 08Dec97, Univ. Hamburg, Germany
1. Göttinger Freilandtage, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, 09-12Dec97, Göttingen, Germany
Studium Generale, Johannes Gutenberg-Univ. Mainz, 04Feb98, Germany
Dept. of Biology, 10Feb98, Univ. of Liverpool, UK
Literatur im März, Kunstverein Wien, 29Mar98, Vienna, Austria
Dept. of Psychology, 20Mar98, Univ. of St. Andrews, Scotland
Radical Anthropology Group, 31Mar98, London, UK
Ringvorlesung, Univ. Leipzig, 13May98, Leipzig, Germany
Schwulenreferat & Studium Generale, Johannes-Gutenberg-Univ. Mainz, 17Jun98, Germany
Gruter Inst. for Law and Behavioral Research, Tauberbischofsheim, 18-20Sep98, Germany
Zoo Dresden & Landesmuseum, 02Dec98, Dresden, Germany
Symposium “Kultur”, Landesamt für Archäologie, 19-21Feb99, Halle, Germany
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Dornburger Schlösser, 24-25Apr99, Dornburg, Germany
Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag, 18Jun99, Stuttgart, Germany
Keynote, 6th Conference, Gesellschaft für Primatologie, 18-21Aug99, Utrecht, Netherlands
Katholische Akademie, 15-17Oct99, Aachen, Germany
Lunchhour Lecture, Univ. College London, 25Nov99, London, UK
Workshop “The Handicap Principle”, CEE & ELSE, ZSL, 08Dec99, London, UK
Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, San Diego Zoo, 26Apr00, San Diego, USA
Center for Reproductive Biology, 18May00, Uppsala, Sweden
Cusanus-Stiftung, Bonn, 02Nov00, Niddatal-Ilbenstadt, Germany
Chester Zoo, Outreach Programme Lectures, 28Oct00, Chester, UK
Keynote, European Federation of Primatology & PSGB, 28-29Nov00, London, UK
Dept. of Biological Anthropology, Durham Univ., 10 0ct01, Durham, UK
Urania, 13Nov01, Graz, Austria
Hospitalhof Stuttgart / Evangelisches Bildungswerk, 19Nov01, Stuttgart, Germany
Forschungskolleg “Geist und Natur”, 28-29Nov01, Goethe-Univ. Frankfurt, Germany
Symposium “Solidarität”, Hochschule für Philosophie, 07-08Jun02, Munich, Germany
Kunststiftung des Landes Baden-Württemberg, 01Jun02, Stuttgart, Germany
Werkstatt für Zukunfts-Forschung und -Gestaltung, Biomedizinischer Foschungs-Campus, 10Jun02, Berlin-Buch, Germany
Humboldt-Univ., 11Jun02, Berlin / Charité, Germany
49th Conference of IRAS (Inst. for Religion in an Age of Sciences), 27Jul-03Aug02, Star-Island, New Hampshire, USA
DFG Graduiertenkolleg “Kulturen der Lüge”, 29Sep-02Oct02, Univ. Regensburg, Germany
Int. Forschungszentrum für Grundfragen der Wissenschaft, 03-05Mar03, Salzburg, Austria
Southern California Primate Forum, 12Apr03, Riverside, USA
Symposium “Kultur der Tiere”, Univ. Leipzig, 10-11Oct03, Leipzig, Germany
1st Internat. Conf. on Primatology, 13-16Oct03, Technical Univ., Lisboa, Portugal
Zoologisches Inst., Ruprecht-Karls-Univ., 30Nov03, Heidelberg, Germany
Hospitalhof Stuttgart / Evangelisches Bildungswerk, 08Dec03, Stuttgart, Germany
Key note, 15th Int. Conference on Bear Research & Management, 12Feb04, San Diego, USA
Veterinärwissenschaftliche Univ. & United Creatures, 03Mar04, Vienna, Austria
Inst.a Neurosciencia Nacionale, Mexico City, 09-10Sep04
Conference “Rituals”, Medizinische Hochschule, 15-17Oct04, Heidelberg, Germany
Inauguration, Gashaka Primate Project, Kwano Field Station, 12Jan05, Gashaka, Nigeria
Science Lunch, Zoo Basel, 23May05, Basel, Switzerland
Science et Cité, Auditorium Maximum, ETH, 24May05, Zurich, Switzerland
Ringvorlesung “Evolution”, Katholische Akademie, 14Jun05, Dresden, Germany
Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft, 9-10Dec05, Vienna, Austria
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Univ., 16May06, Frankfurt, Germany
Dinner-Speech, “40 Jahre Jugend forscht”, May06, Krönungssaal Rathaus, Aachen, Germany
Tierärztliche Hochschule, 26June06, Hanover, Germany
Hospital Italiano, 27Oct06, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Kunststiftung Morat, Finissage 100 Issues “Das Plateau”, 12May07, Freiburg, Germany
Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin-Brandenburg, 08-09Nov07, Marburg, Germany
Philosophisches Seminar, 16Jan08, Cologne, Germany
Southern California Primate Forum, 12Apr08, Fullerton, USA
Freie Akademie Berlin, 01-04 Mai08, Schloß Schney, Franken, Germany
Ringvorlesung Univ. Gießen, 01Jul08, Gießen, Germany
Lübeck Univ., 11Jul08, Lübeck, Germany
Plenary address, Sophia Europa / Xavier Tilliette Inst., 02-06Oct08, Gorizia, Trieste, Italy
Zoologisches Inst., Ruprecht-Karls-Univ., 07Dec08, Heidelberg, Germany
Plenary address, Volkswagen Foundation / Inst. of Evolution & Biodiversity, 26Feb09, Münster, Germany
Philosophical Seminar, Northampton Univ., 27Apr09, Northampton, UK
GorillaGorillaGorilla-Exhibition, Kunsthaus Graz, 12May09, Graz, Austria
Kinderuniversität / Children Univ., Audi Max, 20May09, Göttingen, Germany
Kinderuniversität für Erwachsene, Alte Aula, 20May 09, Göttingen, Germany
VIIth Vienna Symposium Psychoanalysis and Body, 22May09, Vienna, Austria
“Bologna - Zukunft der Lehre”, VolkswagenStiftung & Stiftung Mercator, 17Jun09, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Hegel-Woche, Philosophical Symposium, Univ. Bamberg, 25Jun09, Bamberg, Germany
Einstein-Forum, 08Jul09, Potsdam, Germany
Center for Advanced Studies & Philosophical Seminar, Univ. Freiburg, 16-17Jul09, Freiburg, Germany
Interdepartmental Centre for Ethics, Eberhard-Karls Univ., 31Jul09, Tübingen, Germany
Zoologische Gesellschaft Zürich, Univ. Zürich 20Oct09, Zurich, Switzerland
Deutsches Hygienemuseum & Univ. 06Nov09, Dresden, Germany
Kinder-Univ. / Children’s Univ., Deutsches Hygienemuseum, 09Nov09, Dresden, Germany
Senckenberg-Museum, 10Nov09, Frankfurt / Main, Germany
Inst. for Evolution & Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms-Univ., 13Nov09, Münster, Germany
51. Phylogenetisches Symposium, 21-22Nov09, Braunschweig, Germany
Liberté de conscience, Abbaye de Neumünster, 06Feb10, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Studien (ZIF) der Univ. Bielefeld, 19May10, Bielefeld, Germany
DFG Sonderforschungsbereich “Ritualdynamik” & 14. Berliner Kolloquium der Gottlieb Daimler- & Karl Benz-Stiftung, 20May10, Berlin, Germany
9. Petersberger Forum, Thema “Wir”, 23Jun10, Bonn, Germany
Inst. für Deutsche Philologie, Univ. Würzburg, 24Jun10, Würzburg, Germany
Turm der Sinne Symposium “Mann, Frau Gehirn”, 02-03Oct10, Nuremberg, Germany
12th Conference, Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, 30Mar-01Apr11 Utrecht / Netherlands
Kinder-Univ. Westsachsen, 18May11, Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany
Heidelberg Forum - Biosciences and Society, 19May11, Heidelberg, Germany
Laudatio - Ethics Prize Giordano-Bruno-Foundation (to Great Ape Project initiators Peter Singer & Paola Cavalieri), 02Jun11, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Frankfurt, Germany
Proteus Management Seminar, 06Jun11, London Business School, London, UK
Inst. für Philosophie, Univ. Kassel, 22Jun11, Kassel, Germany
Animals and Aesthetics, Keynote, 29-30Oct11, Univ. der Künste, Berlin, Germany
UCL Lunchhour Lecture, 17Nov11, London, UK
London Evolutionary Research Network, 02Nov11, London, UK
Ringvorlesung, Alte Aula, Univ. Göttingen, 13Dec11, Göttingen, Germany
Julius Berger Nigeria, 28Jan12, Life Camp, Abuja, Nigeria
GALHA (Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association), 10Feb12, Conway Hall, London, UK
School of Human Sciences, Roehampton Univ., 15Mar12, London, UK
Forum for European Philosophy, London School of Economics, 30Apr12, London, UK
Zoologisches Inst., Univ. Basel, 15May12, Basel, Switzerland
South Place Ethical Society, 20May12, Conway Hall, London, UK
Gold Medal recipient speech, North of England Zoological Society, 06Jun12, Chester, UK
Inst. for Transcultural Health Studies, 23Jun12, Europa Univ. Viadrina, Frankfurt / Oder, Germany
Plenary address, Anthropology in the 21st Century, 02Jun12, Univ. of Coimbra, Portugal
Plenary address, Industriellenvereinigung der Steiermark, 29Jun12, Graz, Austria
12. Primatenpflegertreffen / 12th Primate Zookeeper Workshop, 05-07Oct, Dresden, Germany
Opening plenary, Turm der Sinne Symposium “Unser inneres Tier”, 19-21Oct12, Nuremberg, Germany
Kinderuniversität, Audi Max, Georg-August-Univ., 12Dec12, Göttingen, Germany
Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung Regionalgruppe / Univ. Kassel, 13Dec12, Kassel, Germany
Ig Nobel tour of the UK / National Science and Engineering Week, Imperial College, 15Mar13, London, UK
Naturforschende Gesellschaft Basel, 29May13, Basel, Switzerland
Keynote, Conference “Evolution für die Grundschule”, 29Nov-01Dec13, Giessen, Germany
Luxembourg Inst. for European and International Studies, 05-06Dec13, Luxembourg
Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein in Hamburg, 09Dec13, Hamburg, Germany
Colloquium Praehistoricum, 10Dec13, Goethe-Univ. Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Keynote, Annual Company Assembly, Julius-Berger-International, 13Dec13, Wiesbaden, Germany
Studium universale, 18Jun14, Univ. Leipzig, Germany
Cultural and Literary Animal Studies, 25Sep14, Univ. Würzburg, Germany
innovation-night, Industriellenvereinigung Vorarlberg, 20Oct14, Lustenau, Austria
Sonntagsmatinée, Univ. Heidelberg, 07Dec14, Heidelberg, Germany
Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Kent, 27Jan15, Canterbury, UK
Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, 07Feb15, Braunschweig, Germany
Symposium “Philosophie der Tierforschung”, Univ. Kassel, 23Mar15, Kassel, Germany
Kinderuniversität / Children Univ., Audi Max, 06May15, Göttingen, Germany
Tengwood Organization for Nature Conservation, 09May15, Winterthur, Switzerland
Keynote “Animal Agency” / exhibition „#catcontent”, 12-13Jun15, Kunstpalais, Erlangen, Germany
Plenary address, “50 Jahre Jugend forscht”, 22Jun15, Jacobs Univ., Bremen, Germany
Rachel Carson Center, LM University Munich, 18-20Sep15, Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, Germany
Keynote, 5th Congress, Iberian Primatological Society, 18Nov15, Evora, Portugal
Ernst Strüngmann Forum, 03-08Apr16, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Frankfurt / M., Germany
Königsteiner Forum, 05Dec16, Königstein, Germany
Senckenberg-Museum, 14Dec16, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
Primate Society of Great Britain, Winter-Meeting, 10–11Jan17, Durham, England
11th Symposium Evolution, METU (Middle East Technical University), 18–19Feb17, Ankara, Turkey
“Lauffen will es wissen” 12. Staffel (bild der wissenschaft / Stadt Lauffen), 16Mar17, Lauffen/Neckar, Germany
Soirée, Radius-Verlag, 17Mar17, Stuttgart, Germany
Keynote, INTERPHARM / Deutscher Apotheker-Verlag, 01Apr17, Bonn, Germany
Postmatinee, Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung, 02Apr17, Oberwesel, Germany
Animals as Actors and Agents in Contemporary Arts (“Tiere als Akteure und Material in der zeitgenössischen Kunst”), 12–13May17, Schloss Moyland, Germany
International Day against Homo- & Transphobia (IDAHOT), Audimax, Gutenberg-Universität, 15May17, Mainz, Germany
Keynote, “Nonhuman animals in society”, Pufendorf Institute & Critical Animal Studies Network, Lund University (LUCASN), 5th Conference, European Association for Critical Animal Studies (EACAS), 28–28Oct17, Lund, Sweden
Würzburger Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft, Toscanasaal Würzburger Residenz, 02Feb18, Würzburg, Germany
University of the Fine Arts, 21Jun18, Münster, Germany
Keynote, XIth Vienna Symposium “Psychoanalyse & Körper”, Sigmund-Freud-Universität, 31Aug-02Sep18, Vienna, Austria
Ape Alliance Annual Symposium, 28Nov18, UCL, London, England
Forum for Critical Interdisciplinarity, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 11Dec18, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Chimaira” Ringvorlesung, Humboldt-Universität, 14May19, Berlin, Germany
Verband österreichischer Tierschutzorganisationen, Universität Wien, 26May19, Vienna, Austria
“Im Lichte der Evolution”, DA! – Initiative for Evolutionary Humanism, 25Oct19, Düsseldorf, Germany
“Umwelten. Literatur zwischen Öko- und Technosphäre”, Literaturforum im Brecht-Haus, 20Aug20, Berlin, Germany

TEACHING

Institut für Anthropologie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germanyn (1988-1995)

(with Christian Vogel, Paul Winkler, Eckart Voland)
Lab: Kleines Anthropologisches Praktikum A
Lectures & Seminar: Sexualität - Sexismus - Soziobiologie
Lecture: Evolution der Homosexualität
Lecture: Psychobiologie der Primaten
Seminar: Geschlecht - Neuere Forschungen zu einer anthropologischen Kategorie
Seminar: Anthropologie des Spiels
Seminar: Geburt, Krankheit, Tod - Zur Evolution der Vergänglichkeit
Seminar: Lehramtskandidaten Biologie: Kolloquium
Seminar: Wahrheit, Lüge, Selbstbetrug - Zur Evolution der Kommunikation

Department of Zoology, University of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India (1986-1987)

(co-supervision of PhD candidates, with Surendra Mal Mohnot)

Socio-Ecology of Free-Ranging Primates

Department of Anthropology, University of California at San Diego, USA (1989)

(exchange visitor programme of UCSD; lecture, 3 h; with James Moore)

The Study of Primates in Nature

Department of Wildlife Management, Federal University of Yola, Nigeria (2000-2014)

(supervision of UG projects, master and PhD candidates, with Callistus Akosim)

Wildlife Conservation and Management

Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK (1996-)

- past modules:

UG seminar: Anthropology of the Mind (with S. Kuechler / M. Stewart)
UG lecture and tutorials: Human Sociobiology
UG lecture and tutorials: Evolutionary Anthropology

- current modules:

UG lecture and tutorials: Introduction to Biological Anthropology
UG lab class: Methods and Techniques in Biological Anthropology
UG lecture and tutorials: Primate Behaviour and Ecology
Graduate Seminar: Primate Socioecology
Research Reading Group: Primate Sexualities (with Kathleen Bryson)

GRADUATE STUDENT SUPERVISION

Diplomarbeiten

(1990-1997 supervision as an associate of the Faculty of Biology, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany. Note: A Diplomarbeit at German-speaking Universities is an empirical research project - typically more extensive than a master’s thesis -, conducted over a 1.5-2 yr period. The resulting degree of “Diplom-Biologe” / “Diplom-Biologin” has been slowly phased out with the introduction of Bologna reforms.)

Ulrich Reichard (1991). Zum Sozialverhalten einer Gruppe freilebender Weißhandgibbons (data collection in Thailand)
Anouchka Nettelbeck (1993). Zur Öko-Ethologie freilebender Weißhandgibbons in Thailand (Diplomarbeit, University of Hamburg; data collection Thailand)
Jörg Neudenberger (1993). Untersuchungen zur Monogamie freilebender Weißhandgibbons (data collection in Thailand)
Domingo Mendoza (1992). Sozialspiel bei immaturen Schimpansen (Diplomarbeit, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg; data collection at Arnhem Zoo, The Netherlands)
Sylvia Ehrhardt (1993). Das Salutierverhalten bei Bartaffen (Macaca silenus) (data collection at the German Primate Center, Göttingen, and Zoo Stendhal)
Julia Nikolei (1993). Geschlechtstypisches Verhalten juveniler Languren (Presbytis entellus) (data collection in Nepal [supervision with C. Borries])
Uta Skamel (1994). Zwischengeschlechtliche Beziehungen bei Berberaffen außerhalb der Paarungszeit (data collection at Affenberg Salem, Germany [supervision with A. Paul])
Gina Barbaranelli (1994). Männchen-Männchen-Beziehungen bei Berberaffen außerhalb der Paarungszeit (data collection at Affenberg Salem, Germany [supervision with A. Paul])
Ralf Armbrecht (1995). Verhaltensbiologische und bioakustische Untersuchungen zur Lautkommunikation bei männlichen Hanuman-Languren in Ramnagar, Nepal (data collection in Nepal [supervision with P. Winkler])
Nicola Uhde (1997). Das Raubfeindrisiko bei Gibbons - Eine sozioökologische Studie im Regenwald des Khao Yai (data collection in Thailand)

MTech theses

(Department of Wildlife Conservation & Management, Federal University of Technology Yola, Nigeria)

Buba, Umaru (2007). An investigation of the behaviour of pregnant and lactating baboons at Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria (Masters of Technology, co-supervision with Callistus Akosim)

MRes theses

Katherine Little (1997). Adaptation of a langur group to changing captive environments (data collection in London Zoo) (Environmental Sciences, UCL)
Mary Peart (2015). Queer love: Is long-term mate preference gender-specific? (Anthropology, UCL)

MSc theses

(Master in Human Evolution & Behaviour, Department of Anthropology, UCL)

Hannah Davis (1997). Mechanisms and functions of behavioural change across reproductive stages in primates - a case study of the Hanuman langurs
Claire Bracebridge (1998). Empathy in non-human primates? Reactions towards sick and dead conspecifics in non-human primates
Alison Denham (1998). Does reconciliation occur in Hanuman langurs?
Simon Dennis (1997-98). Activity budgets of white-handed gibbons (professional rower who enrolled part-time and went on to win the gold medal with the England rowing eight at the Sydney Olympics)
Ymke Warren (1998). Social interactions in multi-male groups of wild mountain gorillas (data collection in Rwanda)
Andrew Fowler (1999). Song pattern of white-handed gibbons
Graham Pink (2000). Pair relationships in white-handed gibbons (data collection in Thailand)
Diana Kyriazis (2002). Homosexual behaviour among free ranging langur monkeys: an evolutionary analysis
Lisa Brooker (2002). Reintroduction of orang-utans: A critical review (based on visits to Indonesia)
Tomas Persson (2002). Multi-male gorilla groups: A behavioural case study at Apenheul (data collection in The Netherlands)
Yianna Koutsioni (2003). Merging ethnobotany and zoopharmacognosy: A case study in Gashaka, Nigeria (data collection in Nigeria)
Nicola Hughes (2003). Orphaned chimpanzees and gorillas in Cameroon and Nigeria: Victims of the bushmeat trade (data collection in Nigeria and Cameroon)
Sophie Bulbrook (2004). A framework for the study of emotions in chimpanzees (co-supervision with Kim Bard, Portsmouth)
Darren Ellis (2005). Seasonal variation in availability and consumption of army ants by Nigerian chimpanzees (data collection in Nigeria)
Charlotte Frearson (2005). Masturbation in male primates: Taxonomic distribution, proximate causes and potential evolutionary functions
Elena Jones (2005). Masturbation in female primates: Taxonomic distribution, proximate causes and potential evolutionary functions
Robert Davies (2005). Bioacoustical analysis of free-ranging slender loris (Loris tardigradus) whistles: Their role in communication and some factors influencing their production (in conjunction with Anna Nekaris, Oxford Brookes; data collection in Sri Lanka)
Emily Beach (2005). Sexual swelling colour change: The evolution of full colour vision in primates and the accurate analysis of colour
Nienke Alberts (2006). Mechanisms and functions of estrus desynchrony in Indian langur monkeys
Sarah Couto (2006). Activity and association pattern of wild olive baboons at Gashaka / Nigeria: Spatio-temporal variation in relation to resource availability
Helena Howarth (2008). Male choice. Potential preferences for female external genital morphology
Gemma Gordon (2009). Male consortship in wild olive baboons: A study at Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Nigeria (data collection in Nigeria)
Lindsay Hodgson (2009). Using RFID technology to track human foraging activity: how communication facilitates group coordination and the emergence of leaders and followers in small groups (based on experiments conducted with London Zoo visitors)
Robert Hodgson (2010). Handpicked for performance: Hand preference in wild olive baboons (data collection in Nigeria)
Thomas Roberts (2010). Infant socialisation in wild olive baboons (data collection in Nigeria)
Gina Depper (2010). Socioecology of capuchin monkeys (data collection in Costa Rica)
Omer Nevo (2010). Responses to olfactoric stimuli in monkeys and apes (data collection at Heidelberg Zoo)
Chiara Flaim (2011). Left or right in Amazonia? Hand use of saddle-back tamarins (in conjunction with Eckhard Heymann, Göttingen; data collection in Peru)
Katharina Olsen (2011). The hand that feeds: hand preference in captive emperor tamarins (data collection at London Zoo)
Emily Creaser (2011). Developmental instability: environmental stress and fluctuating assymetry in Nigerian baboons (in conjunction with Christophe Soligo; data collection in Nigeria)
James Thompson (2012). Form without function? Infant handling of wild female olive baboons (data collection in Nigeria)
Emily Gelipter (2013). Stress induced variations in dental development among Nigerian baboons (in conjunction with Fire Kovarovicz, Durham University; data collection in Nigeria)
Adriana Lowe (2014). The influence of female reproductive state on gregariousness in wild female olive baboons (data collection in Nigeria)
Kyle Hendrikson (2014). Sleeping site selection in olive baboons (data collection in Nigeria)
Lucas Goldstone (2014). Food-begging in wild bonobos (data collection in DR Congo; co-supervision with Barbara Fruth, MPI-EVA, Leipzig)
Katarina Warren (2015). Termite fishing in wild chimpanzees: Procuring material for tool use (data collection in Tanzania; co-supervision with Alejandra Pascual-Garrido, University of Oxford)
Sophie Kirklin (2016). Infant development in wild orangutans (data collection in Indonesia; co-supervision with the Centre for the International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatlands, CIMTROP)
Kristin Havercamp (2017). Measuring chimpanzee gregariousness through camera traps. Data for four subspecies (co-supervision with Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig)
Mohammad Kazeround (2019). Let’s play. Gestural communication and play in wild chimpanzees at Budongo, Uganda (co-supervision with Catherine Hobaiter, University of St Andrews)
Zoë Xiao Schultz (2019). Hand-bias in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus): Experimental evidence and evolutionary perspectives (data collection at Affenberg Salem, Germany)

PhD theses

(Until 1996, Volker Sommer supervised graduate students as an associate of the Faculty of Biology, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany; since then, as a staff member in the Department of Anthropology, UCL, UK)

(Note: A German Doktorarbeit is equivalent to a PhD dissertation; science-based dissertations merit the degree of Dr. rer. nat.; until 2010, Göttingen University did not permit to submit theses in English)

(Note: Doctoral students at UK universities are initially enrolled as MPhil students; within the first year or so of their studies, they defend their research proposal during a viva; if successful, candidates have earned the title “Master of Philosophy”; they are then “upgraded” to the status of “PhD candidate”)

Dr Ulrich Reichard (1991-1995). Sozial- und Fortpflanzungsverhalten von Weisshandgibbons. Eine Freilandstudie im thailändischen Khao Yai Regenwald (Doktorarbeit, University of Göttingen; data collection in Thailand; funded by DAAD)

Isabelle Faucher (1997; upgraded 1999). Socio-ecology and conservation of cercopithecine monkeys in South-West Cameroon (UCL; grant from Quebec / Canada; data collection in Cameroon; thesis completed to MPhil stage)

Dr Katherine Little (1998-2002). Genetic composition of a population of Hanuman langurs (UCL; data collection in India; graduate school scholarship; co-supervision with Mike Bruford, Inst. of Zoology, London and Cardiff University)

Dr Julie Anderson (2002-2005). Population dynamics of the Angolan black-and-white colobus monkey in South coast Kenya (UCL; data collection in East Africa; co-supervision with Guy Cowlishaw, Inst. of Zoology, London; NERC-funded)

Dr Andrew Fowler (2000-2006). Socio-ecology of Nigerian chimpanzees (UCL; data collection in Nigeria)

Dr Andrew King (2005-2008). Coordinated behaviour and decision-making in wild primates (UCL; data collection in Namibia; co-supervision with Guy Cowlishaw, Inst. of Zoology, London; NERC-funded)

Dr Sandra Tranquilli (2005-2012). Great ape conservation in Africa and anthropogenic threats (UCL; data analyses at MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig)

Dr Umaru Buba (2007-2014). Habitat ecology of Nigerian chimpanzees at Gashaka Gumti National Park (data collection in Nigeria; co-supervision with Callistus Akosim, Federal University of Technology Yola, Nigeria)

Dr Suzanne Harvey (2009-2014). Audience effect in wild olive baboons at Nigeria (UCL; data collection in Nigeria; co-supervision with Klaus Zuberbühler, St. Andrews University; funded by Carnegie Trust, Scotland)

Dr Alejandra Pascual-Garrido (2006-2011). Insectivory of Nigerian Chimpanzees: Habitat Ecology and Harvesting Strategies (data collection in Nigeria; field supervisor; primary supervisor: Fernando Colmenares, Departamento De Psicobiología, Facultad De Psicología, Universidad Complutense De Madrid)

Dr Gonçalo Jesus (2008-2018). Habitat ecology and primate gregariousness in Nigeria’s Gashaka Gumti National Park (UCL; data collection in Nigeria; funded by Portuguese government, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia)

Norm Rosen (since 2003; upgraded 2004). Ape orphans in Africa: A window into extinction processes (UCL; data collection in 20 sanctuaries across Africa) (thesis completed to MPhil stage)

Dr Kathleen Bryson (2010–2017). Evolving the binary. Perspectives on infra- and ultrahumanisation (UCL)

Dr Josephine Msindai (2011–2018). Nest-building in the chimpanzee population released onto Rubondo Island, Lake Victoria (UCL; data collection in Tanzania)

Dr Alexandra Palmer (2015–2018). Politics, ethics, and economics in international orangutan conservation (UCL; recipient of UCL’s GRS and ORS awards; co-supervision with Marc Brightman, UCL Anthropology; data collection in Indonesia and Malaysia)

Dr Claudia Martina (2016–2018). Individual differences in associative learning in wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) (UCL; co-supervision with Guy Cowlishaw, Inst. of Zoology, London; funded through Mexico: CONACYT / Fondo para el Desarrollo de Recursos Humanos; data collection in Namibia)

Carole Jahme (2016– ). She avoids maths but excels at mind-reading: Resolving the candidacy of the Extreme Female Brain

Matilda-jane Brindle (2017– ). Mechanisms and functions of autosexual behaviour in primates (co-supervision with Guy Cowlishaw, Inst. of Zoology, London; funded through NERC DTP)

Vittoria Roatti (2019–2024). Understanding constraints on horizontal and vertical information transmission in baboons: Implications for the evolution of culture (co-supervision with Alecia Carter, UCL Anthropology, and Guy Cowlishaw, Inst. of Zoology, London; funded through UCL Anthropology Mary Douglas scholarship; data collection in Namibia)

SELECTED LINKS

Websites

Giordano-Bruno-Foundation for Evolutionary Humanism (Video presentation of evolutionary humanism)