Fall Semester, 1995 Dr. Ronald D. Lippi
9:00-9:50 am MWF office: NH437
classroom: NH238 phone: 845-9602, ext. 262
e-mail: rlippi@uwcmail.uwc.edu
office hours: 10:15 - 11:00 am MWF, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm TR
or by appointment
This introductory course in physical anthropology is intended to provide you with a foundation for understanding how humans came to be the unusual, domineering, upright-walking, gentle-yet-ferocious, often intelligent animals that we are. To give you an under- standing of humans as organisms, I have chosen to divide the course into six major sectons: evolutionary theory, genetics, human variability, primates, the human fossil record, and human biology.
The specific objectives include the following:
1. to understand the much misunderstood theory of evolution
2. to understand evolution from the perspective of inheritance
3. to understand how and why modern humans don't all look alike
4. to appreciate our place in nature as animals and to see how
we differ from related animals
5. to learn where humans came from and how we developed as a
species over the past few million years
6. to study human growth, development and disease
The underlying objective of the course may appear simplistic but is decidedly complex: It is to understand what kind of animals we are so that we can know ourselves better.
In the following sections, I have written out in some detail the basic policies of the course so you will get the most out of it with the least amount of anxiety. I am always happy to discuss with you anything related to the course, your performance, your intellectual curiosity, and any special problems you might be having. Please make a point of talking to me occasionally before or after class, in my office or in the Lab.
The following two books are required for this course:
Nelson, Harry and Robert Jurmain
1994 Introduction to Physical Anthropology (6th ed.).
St. Paul: West Publishing Co.
Angeloni, Elvio (editor)
1995 Annual Editions: Physical Anthropology 1995/96 (4th
ed.). Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.
I'll hand out to you one or more additional readings for the final
section of the course, which is not covered in either book.
Quiz 1 (Sept. 22) 30 points
Exam 1 (Oct. 9) 100
Quiz 2 (Nov. 3) 30
Exam 2 (Nov. 17) 100
Quiz 3 (Dec. 4) 30
Exam 3 (Dec. 19) 100
Classroom exercises (6 ea.) 30
Article review 30
Discretionary 20
470 points
The quizzes consist of 15 multiple-choice questions. They will be
taken without notes or books at the beginning of the class period
on designated days. Exams will be longer tests that are partly
objective and partly subjective (short answers and essays). The
exams will be open-notebook tests and the essay may be take-home.
Each of the three exams (including the final) will be on one third
of the course, although some material necessarily builds on what
has been previously covered in the course.The "discretionary" portion of the grade will be used by me to adjust grades upward or downward depending, respectively, on your positive contribution to the class of lack of involvement (whether through poor attendance or otherwise). If you show marked improve- ment during the semester, you will get a boost through these points. Everyone begins the semester with 10 of the 20 points and your final discretionary score may go up or down from there. There will be no extra credit; please don't ask.
For converting numerical scores into letter grades, I use a "curved percentage system." By this I mean that I try to adhere to percentages when grading, but when scores are unexpectedly high or low due to student performance or the difficulty of the test, I adjust letter grades downward or upward somewhat. In other words, I use a percentage system as a general guide but also take into account the distribution ("curve") of scores. The percentage system is the following:
100-point exam 30-point quiz
A 100 - 90 30 - 27
B 89 - 78 26 - 23
C 77 - 62 22 - 18
D 61 - 50 17 - 15
F 49 - 0 14 - 0
1. If you cannot take a quiz or exam or turn in an assignment at the scheduled time because of a severe illness, injury or family emergency, you will be allowed to make-up the work or assignment if you notify me by telephone, e-mail, or in person or leave a message with the UWMC receptionist prior to the scheduled time and if your excuse is deemed acceptable.
2. An acceptable excuse is a signed statement from a physician or written proof of a personal or family crisis (such as an obituary for a death in the family, a police report, a car towing invoice, etc.). I cannot, in fairness to students who are present for tests and assignments, take anyone's word for an excuse; you must present proof. If you are ill but do not require medical attention, then you are expected to take your test or turn in your assignment at the scheduled time.
3. An emergency can occur on your way to class (car breakdown or accident) making advance notification impossible. In that case you must notify me as soon as possible and subsequently provide written proof of the mishap.
4. In case of a snowstorm or natural disaster which makes travel to campus very dangerous, students who are out of town will be pardoned on an individual basis. If the campus is officially closed because of bad weather (that almost never happens) or for any other reason, no call-ins are necessary.
5. No make-ups will be given to students who are out of town on personal business or vacation. Acceptable excuses for leaving town are the following: registering at a 4-year campus, partici- pating in an official UWMC event (ex., soccer game, field trip), national guard or reserve duty, or a funeral of a close relative or friend.
6. You must make arrangements with me as soon as possible to take a make-up, preferably before the regularly scheduled time. This is your responsibility, not mine. If you wait more than a day after you return to campus, I may deny you a make-up.
Date Topics/Tests Assigned Readings
9/06 INTRODUCTION N&J ch 1
9/08 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
Evolution and Its Emergence N&J ch 4 (to p 90);
9/11 Emergence of Evolutionism/
Natural Selection Theory
9/13 Natural Selection Theory AE #6
9/15 Science and Theories AE #1
9/18 Evolutionism vs. Creationism AE #2-3
9/20 evolution review
9/22 QUIZ 1 [N&J ch 1, 4 (to p 90); AE #1-3,6]
GENETICS
DNA and Cells N&J ch 2; AE #37
9/25 Cell Division and Gene Theory AE #36
9/27 Mendelian Genetics N&J ch 3
9/29 The Synthetic Theory N&J ch 4 (p 90+)
10/02 Population Genetics N&J ch 5 (p 123+)
10/04 Population Genetics, Blood
Systems
10/06 genetics review
10/09 EXAM 1 [N&J ch 1-5,not pp 109-122; AE #1-3,6,36-37]
10/11 HUMAN VARIABILITY
Adaptations N&J ch 6
10/13 Adaptations AE #4
10/16 The Concept of Race N&J ch 5 (pp 109-
123); AE #7
10/18 Race and Intelligence
10/20 variability review
10/23 PRIMATES
Living Primates N&J ch 8; AE #8-10
10/25 Living Primates AE #11-13
10/27 Primate Behavior N&J ch 9; AE #14-15
10/30 Primate Behavior AE #16-17
11/01 Models for Early Human N&J ch 10
Behavior AE #18
11/03 QUIZ 2 [N&J ch 5 (pp 109-123), 6, 8-10; AE #4,7-18]
THE FOSSIL RECORD
Primate Evolution N&J ch 11
11/06 Primate Evolution AE #20-21
11/08 Paleoanthropology N&J ch 12; AE #19
11/10 Plio-Pleistocene Hominids N&J ch 13; AE #24
11/13 Plio-Pleistocene Hominids AE #22, 26
11/15 Plio-Pleistocene Hominids N&J ch 14
11/17 EXAM 2 [N&J ch 5 (109-123),6, 8-13; AE #4,7-22,24]
11/20 Plio-Pleistocene Hominids N&J ch 14; AE
#25-27
11/22 Homo erectus N&J ch 15; AE #23
11/27 Homo erectus AE #28
11/29 Archaic Homo sapiens N&J ch 16
12/01 Archaic Homo sapiens AE #29
12/04 QUIZ 3 [N&J ch 14-16; AE pp 162-3, #23,25-29]
Homo sapiens sapiens N&J ch 17; AE #30-
31
12/06 Homo sapiens sapiens AE #32-33
12/08 HUMAN BIOLOGY
Human Growth and Development (to be handed out)
12/11 Health and Disease (to be handed out);
AE #5
12/13 Health and Disease AE #41
12/15 Forensic Anthropology AE #35
12/18 CONCLUSION
The Future of Human Evolution
12/19 EXAM 3 (FINAL EXAM) [N&J ch 14-17; AE #5,30-33,35,41;
and assigned article] 3:30-5:30 pm