ANTH 5790 Graduate Core Course: Biological Anthropology                

Fall 2009

Meeting Place:                      Hale 455

Meeting Time:                      T 1:00-3:30 pm

Professor:                              Dr. Matt Sponheimer

Office:                                    Hale 347

Office Hours:                        M 2:30-5:30 pm and by appointment

Phone:                                    303-735-2065

Email:                                      matt.sponheimer@colorado.edu

Main Website:                      http://www.colorado.edu/anthropology/sponheimer

Website Mirror:                    http://melampus.colorado.edu/class/

Readings Website:               https://melampus.colorado.edu/class/readings/5790
 

Class Overview

This course is an introduction to the diverse field of biological anthropology. It is designed to expose you to the kinds of questions that biological anthropologists ask, and familiarize you with the ways they go about addressing these questions. Along the way, you should gain a fair idea of the principles, methods and theoretical foundations of contemporary biological anthropology.

Format and Grading

This course will follow a seminar format. Most reading assignments will be from books, but we will also read a few seminal pieces from the older literature, as well as some recent papers. You are expected to read the assigned material critically, keep a journal on the readings, and come to class prepared for discussion. In addition, two students will serve as principle discussants each week, meaning that they will be leading the class. You will also be expected to make a 20 minute presentation during the last two weeks of class, and submit a ~10 page paper on the same topic. Your class participation, journal, presentation, and paper will each represent 25% of your final grade.

Readings

Each week's readings will consist of either books (below) or journal articles. Journal articles will be available on the class website at the link https://melampus.colorado.edu/class/readings/5790. The books are Next of Kin by Roger Fouts, Origin of Species… by Charles Darwin, The Language of Genes by Steve Jones, The Fossil Trail (second edition) by Ian Tattersall, Skeletons in Our Closet by Clark Spencer Larsen, The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker, and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn.

An Evolving Class Schedule

August 24             Introduction

August 31             Humanity as the Center of the Blessed Universe (NOK)

September 7          Natural Selection (OOS)

September 14        Genetics etc. (LOG)

September 21        Nuts and Bolts of Human Evolution (HE)

September 28        Growth & Development (handouts)

October 5               Faculty Class 1 

October 12             Faculty Class 2

October 19             Faculty Class 3

October 26             Faculty Class 4

November 2           Bioarchaeology (SIC)

November 9           Are We Blank Slates (TBS)

November 16         Science, Progress, Epistemology (SSR)

November 23         Fall Break

November 30         Presentations

December 7            Presentations