Judith L. Hand is an American

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life for ...

animal behaviorist Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

(

ethologist Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...

) and a novelist. She writes on a variety of topics related to the science of animal and human behavior, including the biological and evolutionary roots of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

gender differences Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...

, the empowerment of women, and the steps for ending

. Her book, ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace''2003 ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace''. San Diego, CA : Questpath Publishing. is an in-depth exploration of human gender differences with regard to

aggression Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...

. Her book, ''Shift:The Beginning of War, The Ending of War''2014 ''Shift: The Beginning of War, The Ending of War''. San Diego, CA : Questpath Publishing. is an in-depth exploration of the origins of

, causes of

, human

with regard to war, and possible means to end

. Her website, ''A Future Without War'',''A Future Without War''. http://www.afww.org a book by the same name,2006 ''A Future Without War: The Strategy of a Warfare Transition''. San Diego, CA : Questpath Publishing. and a paper, ''To Abolish War'',2010 Hand, Judith L. "To Abolish War." ''Journal of Aggression, Conflict, and Peace Research'' 2(4): 44-56. are devoted to the concept of and requirements for abolishing war. Hand has been a member of the International Society for Human Ethology (ISHE), since its inception in 1972. ISHE is a professional organization whose members study human behavior and come from such diverse disciplines as

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. The term "peace ethology" was coined by ethologist, Peter Verbeek, as a subdiscipline of human ethology, one that is concerned with issues of human conflict, conflict resolution,

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

, war,

peacemaking Peacemaking is practical conflict transformation focused upon establishing equitable power relationships robust enough to forestall future conflict, often including the establishment of means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community, ...

, and

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

behavior.2008 Verbeek, Peter. "Peace Ethology." ''Behaviour'' 145(11): 1497-1524.

Education and research

From 1967 to 1975, Hand taught high school biology at

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

Santa Monica, CA Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. While still teaching, she began a Ph.D. program at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and in 1979 was awarded a Ph.D. in

Animal Behavior Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...

, also called

Ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

(her subfields were

Ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

Primatology Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse Academic discipline, discipline at the boundary between mammalogy and anthropology, and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medici ...

). Her doctoral dissertation compared vocalizations of two populations of

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

(''Larus occidentalis''), and the results were used to reclassify the gull population in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

as a separate species, (''Larus livens''), not just a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''Larus occidentalis''. After completing her doctorate, she continued behavioral research as a Smithsonian Post-doctoral Fellow at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. (1979–1980). This research resulted in published papers on conflict resolution highlighting the use of

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

behavior to resolve conflicts. For example, mated gull pairs in conflict over nesting duties or access to choice food used such methods as sharing, first-come-first-served, and negotiation rather than the commonly studied dominance and subordination behavior to resolve conflicts.1985 "Egalitarian resolution of social conflicts: a study of pair-bonded gulls in nest duty and feeding contexts." ''Z. Tierpsychol.'' 70: 123-147. Female gulls of the species she studied are always smaller than their mates. In her theoretical paper in the ''Quarterly Review of Biology'' (Vol. 61, 1986) she used a game theory approach to introduce the concept of “leverage” to explain why smaller individuals are sometimes able to establish an egalitarian relationship with much larger individuals, ones that could easily dominate them physically.1986 "Resolution of Social Conflicts: Dominance, Egalitarianism, Spheres of Dominance and Game Theory." ''Quart. Rev. Biol''. 61:201-220. This paper also introduced the concept of “spheres of dominance” to explain why, in a given relationship between two individuals, the relative payoffs to survival or reproduction depends on the context of a conflict. Different contexts will provide different payoffs to each individual and consequently determine which individual of the pair will be dominant in a given context, instead of one individual being dominant over the other in all contexts. From 1980 to 1985, she was a Research Associate and Lecturer in the UCLA biology department teaching Animal Behavior and Ornithology. In 1987, she moved from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and spent several years writing fiction. In 2003, however, she returned to ethology and self-published ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace.'' The book draws from fields as diverse as evolutionary biology, primatology, behavior, ornithology,

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...

, and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. Hand has expanded concepts from ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace'' into essays on her website, ''A Future Without War''.

Education and work history

Hand earned a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree from Wheaton College,

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

, in 1961, graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

, having majored in

before switching to

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. In 1963, she earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in general

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

at UCLA, after which she briefly worked as a laboratory technician at UCLA's Brain Research Institute. In 1963–1964, Hand was a research technician at the

Max Planck Institute Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

for

Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychiatry or Organic Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neurop ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany, where she assisted in brain surgeries designed to evoke vocalizations in squirrel monkeys; she published her first scientific papers on these behavioral experiments.1966 Winter, Ploog, and Hand. "Vocal repertoire of the Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus), its analysis and significance." ''Experimental Brain Research'' 1: 359-384.1967 Hand, Hopf, and Ploog. "Observations on mating behavior and sexual play in the Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus)." ''Primates'' 8: 229-246. From 1965 through 1966, at the

Pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

Department of the

UCLA Medical School The University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine—known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM)—is an accredited medical school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. The school was renamed in 2001 in h ...

, she was head technician in a physiological laboratory studying

bilirubin Bilirubin (BR) (Latin for "red bile") is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normal catabolic pathway that breaks down heme in vertebrates. This catabolism is a necessary process in the body's clearance of waste products that arise from the ...

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

Fiction: strong heroines in historical epics and action thrillers

After moving from

in 1987, Hand turned her attention to writing fiction. In 2001, she self-published the novel ''Voice of the Goddess.''2001 ''Voice of the Goddess''. Cardiff, CA: Pacific Rim Press. , In her book ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace,'' Hand states that she was subsequently drawn back into the subject of war and women while promoting this book. The novel's background is the

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

Culture which Hand portrays as woman-centered, goddess-worshipping, and without wars of aggression, a view she considers valid but which remains controversial. In 2004, two of her novels were published by New York publishing houses, the first, an historical epic set against the background of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

2004 ''The Amazon and the Warrior.'' NY: Tor/Forge. and the second, a contemporary women's action adventure.2004 ''Code Name: Dove''. NY: Silhouette Books. More published novels soon followed; all featuring strong heroines struggling in epic conflicts in partnership with equally strong heroes.2005 ''Iron Dove''. NY: Silhouette Books. 2006 ''Captive Dove''. NY: Silhouette Books. 2007 ''The Good Thief''. NY: Silhouette Books.

Family

Judith Leon (née Latta) Hand was born in Cherokee, Oklahoma, the daughter of John Leon Latta & Wanda Hazel Latta (1914–1994). Her father, a successful restaurateur, died when she was nine; her mother, a registered nurse, raised Hand and her younger sister alone. Hand graduated from

Torrance High School Torrance High School is a high school located in Torrance, California. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and is the oldest of the four high schools in the Torrance Unified School District. Four of ...

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

, in 1957. In 1967, she married Los Angeles police detective, Harold M. Hand, and remained married to him until his death in 1996. They had no children.

Publications

Articles

*1966. Winter, Ploog, and Hand. "Vocal repertoire of the Squirrel Monkey (''Saimiri sciureus''), its analysis and significance." ''Experimental Brain Research'' 1: 359–384. *1967. Hand, Hopf, and Ploog. "Observations on mating behavior and sexual play in the Squirrel Monkey (''Saimiri sciureus'')." ''Primates'' 8: 229–246. *1981. "Sociobiological implications of unusual sexual behaviors of gulls: the genotype/behavioral phenotype problem. ''Ethology and Sociobiology'' 2:135-145. 1981. *1985. "Egalitarian resolution of social conflicts: a study of pair-bonded gulls in nest duty and feeding contexts." ''Z. Tierpsychol.'' 70: 123–147. *1986. "Territory defense and associated vocalizations of Western Gulls." ''J. Field Ornithology'' 57:1-15. *1986. "Resolution of Social Conflicts: Dominance, Egalitarianism, Spheres of Dominance and Game Theory." ''Quart. Rev. Biol.'' 61:201-220. *1997. Pierotti, Annett, & Hand. "Male and Female Perceptions of Pair-bond Dynamics: Monogamy in the Western Gull, ''Larus occidentalis''." pp. 261–175 in ''Feminism and Evolutionary Biology: Boundaries, Intersections, and Frontiers'', Patricia Adair Gowaty, ed. NY: Chapman and Hall. . *2008. Hand, Judith L. (Review) ''Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace'' by Douglas P. Fry. ''Human Ethology Bulletin'' 23(2). *2010. Hand, Judith L. "To Abolish War." ''Journal of Aggression, Conflict, and Peace Research.'' 2 (4):44-56. *2013. Hand, Judith L. (Review) ''The Moral Molecule: the Source of Love and Prosperity'' by Paul Zak. ''Human Ethology Bulletin'' 28(1).

Books

Nonfiction

*1987 Hand, Southern, & Vermeer (eds.), ''Ecology and Behavior of Gulls; Studies in Avian Biology, No. 10.'' *2003 ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace.'' San Diego, CA: Questpath Publishing. *2006 ''A Future Without War: The Strategy of a Warfare Transition.'' San Diego, CA: Questpath Publishing. *2014 ''Shift: The Beginning of War, The Ending of War''. San Diego, CA: Questpath Publishing. *2018 ''War and Sex and Human Destiny''. San Diego, CA: Questpath Publishing.

Fiction

*2001 ''Voice of the Goddess.'' Cardiff, CA: Pacific Rim Press. *2002 ''Die Gőttin des wűtenden Berges.'' *2004 ''The Amazon and the Warrior.'' NY: Tor/Forge. *2004 ''Code Name: Dove.'' NY: Silhouette Books. *2005 ''Iron Dove.'' NY: Silhouette Books. *2006 ''Captive Dove.'' NY: Silhouette Books. *2007 ''The Good Thief.'' NY: Silhouette Books.

Honors or awards

Academic

*1966 Student Research Grant, Chapman Fund, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. *1968 Outstanding Student Paper Award, Annual Meeting, American Ornithologists Union. *1969 Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. *1984 Elected Member – American Ornithologists Union

Selected fiction awards

*1999 Winner, NE Indiana Romance Authors, "Opening Gambit," Historical, "Voice of the Goddess." *1999 Winner, Sooner Area Romance Authors, "Shooting Star Award," "Historical, Voice of the Goddess." *1999 Winner, San Diego Book Awards, Unpublished Novelists, "Voice of the Goddess." *2005 Winner, San Diego Book Awards, Best Historical Novel, "The Amazon and the Warrior."

Miscellaneous

*1982. Chair of the Pacific Seabird Group. During Hand's tenure, the organization gained non-profit status and established an endowment fund. *1984. Co-convener of a symposium on the ''Impact of the 1982-83 El Niño on Seabird Ecology.'' AAAS Western Division, San Francisco, CA. *1987. Article by William Jordan: "Divorce, Sea-gull Style. Sometimes Two Birds Just Can’t See Eye to Eye Over Brooding Privileges." ''Los Angeles Times Magazine'', February 22. Features Dr. Hand's studies on conflict resolution by mated breeding gull pairs. *1994. Co-convener of a workshop on ''Women in Ornithology.'' Combined meeting of the American Ornithologist's Union, Cooper Ornithological Society, and Wilson Ornithological Society. Missoula, MT.

Quotes

"Because of genetic inclinations that are as deeply rooted as the bonding-for-aggression inclinations of men, most women would prefer to make or keep the peace, the sooner the better." In ''Women, Power, and the Biology of Peace'', p. 45. "If women around the world in the twenty-first century would get their act together they could, partnered with men of like mind, shift the direction of world history to create a future without war." In ''A Future Without War: the Strategy of a Warfare Transition'', p. 53.

References

External links

Judith Hand’s Personal WebsiteA Future Without War website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Judith 1940 births Living people Ethologists Evolutionary biologists American anti-war activists American science writers American thriller writers American historical novelists Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Women science writers 21st-century American women writers Women thriller writers Women historical novelists University of California, Los Angeles alumni American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers