American River College – Department of Anthropology

Course Syllabus:  ANTH300 – Physical Anthropology

Professor Jim Snoke

 

Spring Semester, 2007 – 18 week format -- Classroom:  D202 – and Ethan Way

  • Class Meeting:  MW 9:30 – 10:45 am, Course Number:  10095
  • Course Units:  3
  • Format:  Lecture with Online Support

Office Hours:  Monday, Wednesday, – 11:00 am – 12:00 pm;

Tuesday – 4:00 – 5:00 pm or by appointment

Office Location:  Liberal Arts 133 (Old Math Building) Office #22

Office Phone:  484-8213

Campus Email:  snokej@arc.losrios.edu

Blackboard Course Support:  http://blackboard.losrios.edu

Instructor Web Site:  http://www.southwestpotters.com

Required Text:  Essentials of Physical Anthropology by Jurmain, et al.  6th Edition. , Thomson/Wadsworth 2006.  ISBN:  0-495-03061-9.  The 5th edition is acceptable also, and there should be used copies of at least the 6th edition in the bookstore.  If not, you can shop online at Alibris.com or at Amazon.com.

 

Course Description:

 

This course covers the concepts, methods and theory of biological evolution and its application to the human species. There is a specific focus on molecular, Mendelian and population genetics mechanisms of evolution, primatology, paleoanthropology, biocultural adaptations, human variation, and current bioethical issues. The philosophy of science and the scientific method serve as foundations to the course. (CAN ANTH 2) AA/AS area 3A; CSU area B2; IGETC area 5B.

 

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

 

  • Identify the nature and origins of the science of Physical Anthropology as a part of the biological sciences
  • Identify the basic concepts of biological evolution and explain them
  • Identify and describe genetic concepts as they apply to human diversity within and across populations
  • Identify various kinds of evidence that support the fact of evolution
  • Identify the major methods of dating fossil and prehistoric evidence of human evolution
  • Describe the fossil evidence for human evolution and the distribution of early and late human populations
  • Describe the diversity of living primates
  • Discuss how the study of primates helps scientists understand human evolution
  • Discuss primate social behavior patterns including group behavior, family-based communities, tool-making and tool-using, and language ability contribute to our understanding of human biocultural evolution.

 

Course Reading Assignments:

 

Students are required to complete the chapters in the text, and are responsible for any additional reading assignments specifically listed in the Course Reading Assignments document for each chapter.  Reading assignments are given for each week of the course, and for each chapter in the text.  Terminology is especially important, and terms that are essential to the course are emphasized in the text in boldface type.  Additionally, the Course Reading Assignments document lists each of the terms for which you will be held accountable.

 

Writing Assignments:

 

Each chapter in the text has a small set of review questions that appear at the end of the chapter.  Each student is required to type a short-answer essay response to each of the text questions, or to any alternative questions that I may provide instead.  You must use a word processor of some kind, and your name and student id number must be included electronically.  I want you to copy and paste your essays into the space provided in Course Materials on Blackboard.  I will demonstrate the process in class for those of you who are unfamiliar with electronic posting.

 

This is a college course, and I expect you to do college-level work.  This means that the answers you give to essay questions on the Midterm or Final, and to the questions at the end of each chapter, must be written using complete sentences and complete thoughts, and you must demonstrate that you have read the material in the text when you answer the text questions, and you must demonstrate that you have assimilated the lecture material when you answer the questions on the Midterm and Final.  “Dashing off” an answer to a question is not acceptable.  I will give you examples of answers that I consider acceptable if you wish, and I will be happy to read your work before you submit it to Blackboard.  Learning is work, and you must invest time in the work you do for the course.  This means that you will have to study and write.  If you are used to underlining as your sole form of study, I can tell you that studies show that underlining does not stimulate brain activity at all.  Reading, developing questions about what you read, and writing answers to your own questions will stimulate brain activity and facilitate memory.  If the answers you write to your own questions are sufficient to cover the material, you can use them for study purposes rather than the textbook or your notes from the lectures.  You will also benefit because you have already made questions and answered them, and therefore you will not be surprised by the questions you get on the quizzes or tests.  This form of study is very productive and actually saves time over the semester.

 

Course Project:

 

In the section of the course covering non-human primates, each of you will be responsible for a term paper describing and discussing a Prosimian and an Anthropoid.  Data will be taken from library research including Internet or Web sites, as well as live observations done at the zoo.  I will provide you with an outline for the project, and forms necessary to complete the observation portion of the project.  You will be issued a pass to the zoo, which will give you a substantial discount on the admission.  There are 2 additional, small projects that involve Internet research.  I will discuss them with you as the semester progresses, and you will have some options within the context of the projects.  They will require only a one or two page summary of your findings.

 

Attendance:

 

I expect students to come to class prepared to learn.  This means that you must attend regularly, and that you will have read the material for the week prior to the lectures for that week.  I will test on the lectures I give, and the material that I bring to the lectures is in addition to that material in the text.  I will provide you with lecture outlines for each of the topics and detail associated with each of the chapters.  These outlines can be used to organize your lecture notes, and additionally give you the ability to understand what is missed should any of you be absent during a class meeting. 

 

Blackboard Course Hosting:

 

My anthropology and computer science courses are supported fully online using Blackboard.com as the course host.  This means that each of you can have access to course materials, assignments, audio lectures, quizzes, and exams online.  I will be posting quizzes weekly for the chapters in the text, and you will need to go online to take them.  I will give you a preview of the quizzes and their format during the first week.  The audio lectures are supplemental to the weekly lectures, and are designed to cover in more depth the topics discussed each week in the classroom.

 

Testing:

 

Quizzes will be given regularly on the terminology associated with each of the chapters, and they are, for the most part, multiple choice.  You may take the quizzes online by logging into Blackboard and proceeding to Course Materials.  The quizzes may be taken from any locality, including home, and ARC’s Learning Resource Center has high-speed Internet access if your home ISP is too slow.  I will demonstrate the process of taking the quiz, and the first quiz is a “groundbreaking ceremony”.  This means that you will use it as a practice quiz, but any questions you answer correctly will be “banked” so that you may use the points to make up deficits you may have on future quizzes.  Generally, quizzes will cover 20 terms, and they are timed.  The online quizzes may be taken any time during the week they are made available.  This means that you can take the quiz when you are ready, rather than when I am ready to have you take it.  Once the week is over, however, the quiz may not be taken.

 

In addition to the chapter quizzes, there will be a Midterm and a Final examination.  Each of them is in two parts:  Lecture Material and Text Material.  The Midterm will consist of several parts:  1. Quiz on the Human Skeleton; 2. Quiz on the Geologic Time Scale; and 3. Quiz on Primate Taxonomy.  The Final Exam will consist of a test on the development of the Hominids from the earliest Hominoid/Hominid split to the development of modern humans.   Prior to each there will be a review of concepts that will be included on the tests, and review questions will be published in advance.  I will announce the date for the Midterm during the semester.  The Final Exam date is published in the spring 2007 Class Schedule.  Each student is on his or her honor not to cheat during the quizzes, midterm, or final.  This is an absolute policy, and applies to the take-home portion of the midterm and final as well.  The Midterm and the Final must be taken in order to successfully complete the course, and they are taken as in-class tests without open books, without open notes, and without open neighbors.

 

Grading:

 

Each of the chapter quizzes will be worth 20 points.  There are 14 chapters in the book, and if we complete the book during the semester, there will be a total of 280 points possible from the quizzes.  The Midterm and the Final examination are worth 100 points each, and the Primate project is worth 50 points.  The total number of points possible upon completion of the course is 530.  Extra credit is available over and above the points just explained.  Ask me about this.

 

            A = 460 – 530

            B = 420 – 459

            C = 380 – 419

            D = 340 – 379

            F = Below 340

 

The above point ranges break out something like this:  Hypothetically, if you earned 17 points (average) per quiz, earned 89 on the Midterm and 89 on the Final, and a 44 on the Primate project, your total score would be:  460.  The point ranges for each grade category are more than fair, and each of you should be able to earn an ‘A’ in the class by studying and keeping up with the material in the course.

 

Make-up Exams:

 

If you miss the Midterm, you must make it up.  Anyone wishing to make up the Midterm must do so within one week of the original test date.  I will work with you to provide a time that will meet your schedule.  The make-up test may not be taken during class time.  The Final Exam date is an actual class meeting.  If you cannot attend the final exam class meeting, you may schedule another date later than the original meeting.  The make-up tests may not be identical to the Midterm or Final that the class completes during the scheduled day and time.

 

Classroom Behavior:

 

Students are expected to attend class regularly and to come prepared to learn.  I do take attendance each class meeting, so be certain to sign the class roster before you leave the classroom.  I do not allow cell phones or pagers in the classroom, and I do not tolerate rudeness of any kind – either directed at me or at your fellow students.  I encourage asking questions, and also discussions, as long as they are directly related to the topics covered in the text and lectures. 

 

When discussions take place, I insist on following the “Law of Rationality” or the “Law of Argument”, which requires that unsupported opinion has no place in an academic environment where data-driven, scientific study and discourse are taking place.  Students have the right to attend class and to be graded fairly.  My charge as a teacher is to provide an academic environment within which students can learn.  I will be happy to discuss opinions outside of class, but not in the classroom.  You may feel that your rights extend to those forms of “self-expression” but they do not.  If you cannot or will not come to class interested in the material and willing to learn, you may find yourself being asked to leave the room.  If you need to talk to each other during class time, leave the room until you are finished with whatever is more important than my class.

 

Having said all this, I believe that this course and the subject matter it embraces is one of the most interesting I have encountered in my college career.  Learning is fun, and this class has always been a great deal of fun – and it is my hope that we can all enjoy the next 18 weeks together. 

 

Jim