ANTH-A 107 Becoming Human: Evolving Genes, Bodies,
Behavior, Ideas
What makes us human?
The human story is revealed not only in our ideas and
cultural behaviors, but also in our bodies and our genes. This class will introduce you to the
scientific quest for human origins. We can make inferences about human
evolution by comparing ourselves to our close living relatives (primates), but
we can only really know how we became the unique species we are today by
looking at ancient evidence, and tracing our bio-cultural evolution deep into
prehistoric times.
Ultimately our goal is to help you appreciate how a
knowledge of the deep human past is relevant to your own life, whether as a
student at IU today, or as a future parent, medical patient, consumer, or IT
professional.
Lectures will include digital media presentations and
discussions using interactive student response systems (clickers) to model
problem-solving and help students understand difficult concepts.
Weekly labs and discussions will give students the chance
to study different types of evidence for themselves (e.g., casts of fossils,
artifacts) and to learn about the strengths and
weaknesses of each approach to interpreting our past. Grades will be based on lecture
participation, weekly take-home quizzes (administered online), weekly lab
exercises, and three short essay assignments / projects.
