ANTH 5790 Graduate Core Course: Biological Anthropology                

Spring 2007

Meeting Place:                      Hale 455

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

Professor:                              Matt Sponheimer

Office:                                    Hale 347

Office Hours:                        Th 12:15-3:00 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

Most of the readings will be from books that are available for purchase at the CU Bookstore under “ANTH 5790”. Other readings will be placed on reserve in the graduate student lounge or on will be available on the class website. The books are Next of Kin by Roger Fouts, The Creationists by Ronald Numbers, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, Origin of Species… by Charles Darwin, The Language of Genes by Steve Jones, Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction by Bernard Wood, Bones of Contention by Roger Lewin, On Fertile Ground by Peter Ellison, The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker, The Ape and the Sushi Master by Frans DeWaal, and The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn.

An Evolving Class Schedule

January 16             Introduction

January 23             Humanity as the Center of the Blessed Universe (NOK)

January 30             Creationism (TC)

February 6             Special Class: A Brief Grounding in the Broader Scientific Context (SHNE)

February 13           Natural Selection (OOS)

February 20           Genetics (LOG)

February 27           Nuts and Bolts of Human Evolution (HE)

March 6                 Humans and the Study of Human Evolution (BOC)

March 13               Growth & Development

March 20               Human Reproduction (OFG)

March 27               Spring Break

April 3                    Are We Blank Slates (TBS)

April 10                  Non-Human Primate Cultures? (AASM)

April 17                  Science and Epistemology (SSR)

April 24                  Presentations

May 1                     Presentations