Transcript title
Biological Anthropology
Credits
4
Grading mode
Standard letter grades
Total contact hours
60
Lecture hours
30
Lab hours
30
Course Description
An introduction to biological anthropology. The goal of this course is to achieve the basic scientific literacy necessary to understand and think critically about contemporary human variation, bio-cultural interactions, and five million years of human evolution. It examines the biological evidence for human evolution and population variation. Lecture topics include the mechanisms of evolution, cell biology and human genetics, primate behavior, the human fossil record, and modern human variation and adaptations.
Course learning outcomes
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the process of scientific inquiry.
2. A firm grounding in the basics of genetics including cell biology and DNA structure, Mendelian inheritance, and molecular genetics.
3. A practical understanding of the basic principles of microevolution including the ability to work the Hardy-Weinberg theorem.
4. General knowledge of speciation and mammalian evolution with a particular focus on primate taxonomy.
5. An understanding of the evolution of bipedalism through a comparison of primate and human skeletons.
6. The ability to identify and discuss the major hominin fossils and the evolutionary trends represented in the hominin fossil record.
7. An introduction to the debates and evidence regarding the origins of modern human populations with a focus on modern human diversity.
8. The ability to think critically in the field of biological anthropology.
General education/Related instruction lists
