This course employs an evolutionary perspective to understand modern humans and their origins. The course includes discussion of the genetics of human variation and evolution, the study of living non-human primates, the fossil record and its interpretation, and the biology of modern humans.

• Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology, 2nd Edition, edited by Shook, Braff, Nelson, & Aguilera. Open Educational Resource; PDF chapters will be posted to Canvas. An ebook is available for download, and a bound copy can be ordered if preferred.

A few additional readings will be posted on Canvas.

ANTH1020 is a General Education (GE) course in the Social and Behavioral Science category. These GE courses are intended to develop students’ understanding of themselves and the world through the study of methods and theories used by historians and scientists. Courses in this knowledge area seek to, describe, explain, and analyze individual and collective human behavior and relationships. These courses prepare students to grasp the diversities and complexities of human life, past and present, and come to an informed sense of self and others.

Intercultural Knowledge and Competence: Students demonstrate that they possess a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.

Knowledge of Human Cultures: Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of relevant social and behavioral science methodologies and how they are used to understand or explain human relations or interactions;
2. Identify general principles of behavioral and social functioning;
3. Connect those questions and issues to the students’ own experiences; and
4. Demonstrate a critically reasoned understanding of social patterns and individual variation congruent with and divergent from those patterns.

Activities

Many class periods will have activities. For example, we will have team-based exam review games. Actively participating in exam reviews will earn you points. For some class periods you will earn points just for attendance, and some activities will require you to turn in a response to a question asked in class. Occasionally you will be asked to complete an activity outside of class time (e.g., completing an internet game called the Peppered Moth Game). The total number of points for all the activities associated with the class is 270. If you are absent when an activity is completed, see Canvas for a makeup activity. However, some activities cannot be completed outside of class because they require materials used in class (e.g., skull casts). If you miss an activity that cannot be completed outside class, you will have to complete an alternate assignment (e.g., write a paper addressing the topic covered by the activity or schedule a time to come to my office to complete the activity). Alternate activities will be posted to Canvas.

In addition to the regular course activities, you will complete a group-based activity during your final exam period. The final activity is worth 120 points (separate from the other 270 activity points). In this in-class assignment you will examine hominin skull models and taste hominin foods to document differences in morphological characteristics associated with particular diets.

Reading Notes

You should complete the reading associated with each class period before class that day. As you read, you are expected to take notes. Research shows that taking notes while reading improves comprehension and retention of information (e.g., Gourley, 2021). Once per week (typically on Friday), you will be expected to submit the first page of your handwritten reading notes for that week. You need to submit one full page of notes in order to receive full credit. Weekly reading notes are worth 10 points (x 13 weeks for a total of 130 points). You may submit notes in class or via Canvas upload.

Exams

There will be four exams in the course. If your score for any of the first three exams is less than your score on the fourth exam, your lowest exam score will be replaced by your fourth exam score. The first three exams are not cumulative, and will be taken in class, without the use of electronics, notes, or any class materials. Exam dates are provided in the course schedule. The fourth exam is a take-home, open-book exam that will include new questions covering material from the last portion of the class and a selection of questions from the first three exams. The take-home exam will be due during the final exam period.

Grading

Your grade will be based on your performance on 4 exams worth 120 points each (480 points total), a final activity worth 120 points, reading notes worth 130 points, and various activities worth a total of 270 points. There will be a total of 1000 points in the class.

Grades will be assigned as follows:

Entries marked with an asterisk (*) indicate reading notes are due that day.

Late Work and Missed Work

During the semester, late assignments are accepted for a reduction in points. Late work will be accepted up to two weeks after the deadline (but not beyond the end of the term). 2% will be deducted from the score for each day the assignment is late (e.g., for an assignment submitted 4 days late, the maximum score you can earn is 92%). The maximum late deduction is 20%. Assignments will not be accepted after 10:50 AM on Thursday, December 11th.

Note that some assignments may require alternate assignments if they are missed. See Canvas for alternate assignments other than exams.

Missed Exams

If you miss an in-person exam, you will receive a zero for that exam. The take-home final will take the place of that zero. If you miss more than one exam, you will have a non-replaceable zero. In extenuating circumstances (excused absences for university sports and documented medical emergencies), the instructor will work with you to make up missed in-person exams within a reasonable timeframe. University sports absences must be documented ahead of time.

Electronics

Silence all electronics before class. You may use your laptop for note-taking purposes. Do not browse the Internet, use social media, or use your phone during class. If you are being distracting, you may be asked to leave class.

Canvas and Communication

Readings, grades, lecture slides, links to relevant resources, and announcements will be posted on Canvas. Check Canvas regularly.

Use of AI

The use of generative AI in this class is prohibited for any submitted work. You may use AI as a study aid (e.g., for self-quizzing) but you should never turn in work generated by AI as your own.

This is a face-to-face course. There will be no accommodations for remote learning without documentation from the Disability Resource Center. You are expected to attend class regularly, and you are unlikely to succeed in this class if you are routinely absent.

Some class periods will have in-class activities with associated points. If you miss class, check Canvas to see how you can make up the points associated with the class you missed. Note that some makeup activities will differ from the in-class activity. For instance, if students received points for attendance on a day you missed class, you may have to turn in notes or an article analysis to make up the missed points. See the Exams policy for procedures regarding missed exams.

Courses in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are assigned a program fee of $4.00 per credit hour.