Biological Anthropology ð Spring 2016 Anthropology 101 Modesto Junior College T-­‐Th 9:35 -­‐ 11:00 a.m. in Center for Advanced Technologies (CAT) 218 Contact Information: Dr. Susan Kerr Office: CAT 205 Office Hours: M 11 am 1 pm; T 1-­‐2 pm; W 8:30-­‐9:30 am; Th 2:30-­‐3:30 pm, or by appointment Phone: 575-­‐6107 Email: kerrs@mjc.edu MJC Web Page: www.kerrs.faculty.mjc.edu General info on the class, website links, and class documents can be found here. Canvas Shell: I will post files and grades in a Canvas shell. URL: modestoold.instructure.com Course Objectives This course is designed to give the student a comprehensive introduction to the study of physical anthropology. As such we will be learning about evolutionary theory, how evolution works (i.e. genetics), the lives of our closest relatives (the rest of the members of the Order Primates) and how humans evolved from an ape-­‐like being into the complex biocultural beings we are today. This course is transferable to CSU and UC system campuses. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: 1. Explain the theory of biological evolution and how the scientific method serves as a foundation for anthropological studies; 2. Demonstrate the concepts/methods used to analyze human evolution; 3. Evaluate human adaptation from an anthropological perspective. Textbooks There are 3 required texts for this course—available in the bookstore and on reserve at the library beginning Week 1: nd
1. Larsen, Essentials of Physical Anthropology, 2 edition, 2011. ISBN: 978-­‐0-­‐393-­‐91938-­‐7—see my MJC site for st
nd
details on the 1 vs. 2 editions; textbook website: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail-­‐
students.aspx?ID=4294969399 2. Goodall, In the Shadow of Man (any version) 3. Shubin, Your Inner Fish (any version)—need this NOW! If you cannot buy it, go to the MJC East Campus library and read the copy on reserve. Supplemental Instruction/Tutor Sessions We are lucky to have a number of ways for you to gain more from the class than just sitting in lecture and reading the textbooks! First, we have a Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader who will be leading SI sessions on a weekly basis. These sessions are great and you should definitely take advantage of having this resource. IMPORTANT: Your participation grade in this class requires that you participate in four Supplemental Instruction sessions/review session (40 participation points). • Each SI session is worth 10 points. • You must get 20 points before the first exam, 10 between the first and second exams, and 10 before the final exam. • I am telling you this now, so if you need to arrange a work schedule so that you can attend you may do that as soon as possible. If you have a severe scheduling issue, come see me before the end of Week 3 to discuss options. If you do not make contact with me, this tells me that you are able to make the SI sessions. Biological Anthropology ð Spring 2016 Class Participation and Policies for Late or Make-­‐up Work Readings, Class Participation and Attendance Active engagement in a class is integral to your success! You are expected to complete the assigned readings before the week begins without reminders (they are listed in this syllabus). Attendance in the class is YOUR responsibility. If you miss a class, please see a classmate to get the notes or announcements you missed. Activities done in class cannot be made up since the activity depends on class participation. However, being PRESENT does not mean you pass the class. Another important thing to note is that for this 3 unit class, to be successful, you are expected to be working on course material for 6 hours per week outside of class. In this way, you will be able to come to class PREPARED. The SI sessions count towards these hours, as they will help you succeed in class. There are MANY other resources available to you at MJC to help you succeed…take advantage of them! Make-­‐up Work, Late Work, and Extra Credit There are no makeup quizzes in this class, but I do drop your lowest quiz score. Also, makeup exams are given only with a valid written excuse (family or medical) or if you have contacted me BEFORE the exam you must miss. Contact includes leaving a message on my voice mail or sending me an email. Makeup exams, when approved, are essay-­‐only in format. You may take ONE makeup exam during the course of the semester unless there are extraordinary circumstances. Class assignments/projects may be turned in late, however each additional day late (beginning at the end of the class period the assignment was due) the project is turned in will result in the deduction of a letter grade. I do not, for any reason, approve individual extra credit work. I may offer some extra credit in the form of a quiz, exam question, or out-­‐of-­‐class activity. What are not allowed are extra independent papers to improve your grade. Class Assignments: Exams, Quizzes and Journals Exams There will be three exams in this course, two within the semester, and one final. Exams will cover reading, lecture, discussion, and video materials, and will include multiple choice, short answer and long essay type questions. The typical breakdown will be 25% multiple choice and 75% written work of some kind. Short and long essay questions will come from the study guides. The final exam is COMPREHENSIVE. You must take the final exam to pass this class. Quizzes Every other week there will be a 20 point quiz covering the assigned reading, lecture and any in-­‐class videos or work completed. These will be either written (based on Journal Work) or multiple choice/short essay/fill-­‐in. Reminder-­‐
No Makeup Quizzes (I will drop your lowest quiz score at the end of the term). ****If you are a qualified student with disability and need accommodation to complete exams or quizzes, please present your written accommodation request well BEFORE the first quiz so that arrangements can be made.**** Journal Assignments A series of journal entries on your learning process is required for this class. The journals are based on the different Units that you will be learning about as we go through the class. We will begin this right away, and the journals will be due on a regular basis throughout the semester. I will give you time off close to the exams, however. More details of these assignments will be given during class. You may miss ONE journal without harming your grade. Academic Information: Conduct and Add/Drop Policies Academic Conduct While engaged in this course you are expected to abide by the rules of academic conduct. For details on acceptable behavior, see your course catalog. Specifically, plagiarism, cheating, or other types of academic misconduct are totally unacceptable. If I suspect that you are copying material from ANYWHERE, you will receive a ZERO on that assignment until the issue is resolved (possible resolutions include confirmation of the validity of your source, a rewrite Biological Anthropology ð Spring 2016 of the assignment, or a permanent zero [Student Conduct Report filled out with the college, and may result in an “F” in the course]). These will be dealt with according to the fullest extent of the rules of this institution. In addition, arriving late and talking to friends during class is distracting and rude to other students and me; if you do this, you will be asked to leave. On a technical note—unless I ask you to use them, please TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES while in class. If you would like to take notes on a laptop, tablet, or phone, first see me for approval, always SIT WHERE THERE IS NO ONE BEHIND YOU to be distracted by your device, and expect to be checked. Even with approval, if you (or others) appear to be distracted by the device, you will be asked to turn it off and take notes by hand. Dropping the Class Once the first two weeks of class are completed, you are in the class officially and I expect that you will finish and pass! I want you to succeed! This is NOT a simple class, however, and you need to stay on top of your work. If you feel overwhelmed, the first thing to do is contact me! I am here to help. Do not just drop the class. Let’s work together to see how we can increase your chance of success. I have Anthropology tutors available, and you can come visit m e during office hours to talk about topics that may be unclear to you. Most importantly, do not JUST drop without talking to me first! If, after our discussion you still need to drop, you may complete the process through the MJC website. ****If you are a qualified student with disability and need accommodation to complete exams or quizzes, please present your written accommodation ASAP. This is essential since we will need to make plans for the hands-­‐on portions of the exams and/or quizzes.**** Student Success Specialists MJC has special counselors who can help with any and all issues related to your success as a student at MJC. The two “Specialists” for our department are Araceli Arceo (zaratea@mjc.edu) and LaKiesha McDonald (mcdonaldl@mjc.edu) . Email them to get help if you need it. They have offices in CAT and Founders Hall, so you can check with them there as well. The office in Founders Hall is Room 116. In CAT, the office is changing, so email works best to contact Araceli Zarate. Don’t hesitate to contact them!! They are great at solving problems that may seem insurmountable. Grades! Your grade will be determined on the basis of your performance on quizzes, exams, and paper. Please note that the final exam is REQUIRED to pass this class. The point breakdown is: Assignments: Points: Your Grades: Four Quizzes (20 points each-­‐lowest score dropped) 60 Participation (Class Projects, Book Presentation, Notes 90 Quizzes, SI Sessions—points will vary) Exam 1 100 Exam 2 100 Journal Entries (20 points each) 100 Final Exam (Exam 3: Cumulative and Required) 150 Total Points Possible 600 Letter grades for the class will be assigned based on the following breakdown of points: 540-­‐600 points A (outstanding) 480-­‐539 points B (very good) 420-­‐479 points C (average) 360-­‐419 points D (below adequate) below 360 points F (not passing) If your grade is important to you, PLEASE keep track of it! This means keeping all assignments until the end of the semester (or even until grades are posted!), and recording your own grades above. Course Schedule
Dates (T and Th) Week 1 (1/12 & 1/14) Topic of the Week Introduction to Four Fields of Anthropology Week 2 (1/19 & 1/21) Biological Anthropology Week 3 (1/26 & 1/28) Week 4 (2/2 & 2/4) Week 5 (2/9 & 2/11) History of Evolutionary Theory **QUIZ 1** Week 6 (2/16 & 2/18) Week 7 (2/23 & 2/25) Genetics Heredity and Evolution in Action/Population Genetics **QUIZ 2** Modern Human Variation **EXAM 1** TUESDAY The Human Place in the World and Biological Classification Biological Anthropology ð Spring 2016 Readings Larsen Text: Chapter 1 Online Articles * (as discussed in class) from the site: http://anthropology.tamu.edu/news.htm (Anthropology in the News) Larsen Text: Chapter 1 Online Article/Readings: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=w
hy-­‐everyone-­‐should-­‐learn-­‐evolution and UC Berkeley site on evolution at http://evolution.berkeley.edu Larsen Text: Chapter 2 Shubin**: Preface and Chapters 1-­‐7 Larsen Text: Chapter 3 Shubin: Chapters 8-­‐11 Larsen Text: Chapter 4 Larsen Text: Chapter 5 Larsen Text: pp. 138-­‐142 (begin at “What are the Kinds of Primates?”-­‐ end at “Prosimians: The Lesser Primates”); pp. 180-­‐183 (Time in Perspective/Geologic Time, Figs. 8.7-­‐8.8); review pp. 26-­‐28 (end at “Demography”) Larsen Text: Chapter 6 Goodall**: Chapters 1-­‐10 Shubin: Review Chapter 9 Larsen Text: Chapter 7 Goodall: Chapters 15-­‐20 Week 8 (3/1 & 3/3) Introduction to the Primate Order Week 9 (3/8 & 3/10) The Order Primates and Primate Behavior **QUIZ 3** Week 10 (3/15 & 3/17) Reconstructing the Past and The Human Skeleton Week 11 (3/22 & 3/24) Week 12 (3/29 & 3/31) Week 13 (4/5 & 4/7) Primate Evolution Larsen Text: Chapter 8 Bones Handout Shubin: Review Chapter 4 (Teeth Everywhere) Larsen Text: Chapter 9 **EXAM 2 ** THURSDAY Begin reading for next week J What Makes a Hominid? The Australopithecines and early Homo and Homo erectus Larsen Text: Chapters 10 and 11; Online: Becoming Human site at www.becominghuman.org Biological Anthropology ð Spring 2016 Dates (T and Th) Week 14 (4/12 & 4/14) Topic of the Week (and Web Reading Assignments) Neanderthals, archaic Homo sapiens, and Early Modern Humans **QUIZ 4** TUESDAY Week 15 (4/19 & 4/21) Homo sapiens sapiens, The Future, and Review th
FINAL EXAM Tuesday, April 26 , 10: 00 am -­‐ 12:50 pm (In the same room as always!) Week 16 Finals Week Readings Larsen Text: Chapter 12 Online Cave Art: Lascaux at http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/?lng=en#/fr/00.xml and Chauvet at http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/chauvet/
en/ Larsen Text: Chapter 13 NOTES: * There may also be articles or web pages as assigned reading. I may announce new readings in class that are NOT listed here. ** These Goodall and Shubin readings can be found on reserve at the library or online. The schedules and procedures in this syllabus are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. Table to List Your Visits to Supplemental Instruction Sessions (40 points) Type (SI Session or Tutor Session) Date Time Spent Topic/Issue