Anthropology 301: Human Evolution & Variation

Class Time: Monday 5:30 – 8:10

Room: Sabin Hall 165

Instructor: Lindsay Barone

Email:

Office Hours: T 9:30-11:30 AM in Sabin Hall G36

or by appointment

Spring 2012

Course Prerequisites

Sophomore standing and one of the following three classes:

Anthropology 101

Biological Sciences 100, 102

If you are a student who has not taken one of the three listed classes, please consider this a warning that you may find this class difficult, particularly if this is your first exposure to evolution.

Required Reading

1. Cartmill M, Smith FH. 2009. The Human Lineage. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 0471214914

2. Mielke JH, Konigsberg LW, Relethford JH. 2010. Human Biological Variation. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0195387406

Grading

Your final grade for this course has the following components:

Midterm Exam………………………………. 20%

Final Exam …………………………………. 40%

Lab Grade ………………………………….. 25%

Assignments ………….…………………….15%

Assignments

Details for each of the three out-of-class assignments will be given in-class prior to the due dates.

Attendance Policy

Although attendance is not required, we will have weekly lab activities that you are required to be present to complete. Therefore, if you choose not to come, you will be missing 25% of your final grade in this class – not to mention a whole lot of information!

Absence Policy

Throughout the semester, issues in attendance may arise for some students. Any coursework missed due to military leave, religious holidays, and emergency situations will be fully excused when brought to my attention ahead of time. Illness is only considered an excused absence and eligible for make-up work if you have a doctor’s note. In these instances, work may be made up with no penalty, provided that the student brings in proper documentation. If you already are aware of potential religious (or other) conflicts, please notify me as soon as possible so accommodations can be made.

Students are allowed to drop their lowest lab grade from their final lab grade. Consider this your one free pass, but use it wisely (ie, in the event of an illness where you don’t actually go to the doctor and get a doctor’s note).

Make-up Work

In the event of an excused absence, you have ONE WEEK to make up any missed work (in extreme cases, you must at least make arrangements to complete the work within a week). If it is not completed within the required time frame, you will not have the opportunity to complete the missed work.

Other Information

Students with Disabilities: Please contact me to make arrangements that you may need for the course.

Academic Misconduct: Under no circumstances will this be tolerated. Any person caught is subject to review and failure.

Sexual Harassment: Zero tolerance.

Cell Phone Use: The use of cell phones is not permitted in class, particularly on exam days. Cell phone use during an exam is absolutely forbidden and will result in a zero on the exam.

For more information on university policies regarding religious observances, discriminatory conduct, military service, students with disabilities, exam policies, and academic misconduct, visit the Secretary of the University website:

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf

Class Schedule

Week 1 (1/23) Introduction Lab #1

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 1

Week 2 (1/30) Darwin, Natural Selection, and Evolutionary History Lab #2

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 2

Week 3 (2/6) Primates Lab #3

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 3

Week 4 (2/13) Australopithecines Lab #4

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 4

Week 5 (2/20) The Genus Homo Lab #5

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 5

ASSIGNMENT #1 DUE

Week 6 (2/27) Archaic H. sapiens Lab #6

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 6, 7

Week 7 (3/5) Modern Human Origins Lab #7

→ Cartmill & Smith: Chapter 8

Week 8 (3/12) MIDTERM EXAM

Week 9 (3/19) NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK

Week 10 (3/26) Encephalization & Cognition Lab #8

Week 11 (4/2) Bipedalism Lab #9

Week 12 (4/9) The Human Life Cycle Lab #10

→ Mielke et al: Chapter 10, 11

ASSIGNMENT #2 DUE

Week 13 (4/16) Population Variation & Race

→ Mielke et al : Chapter 1, p. 51 - 58

Week 14 (4/23) Disease Lab #11

→ Mielke et al: Chapter 7, p. 102 - 117

Week 15 (4/30) Modern Human Behavior Lab #12

→ Mielke et al: Chapter 14

Week 16 (5/7) Review

ASSIGNMENT #3 DUE

Week 17 (5/14) FINAL EXAM – 5:30 PM, Sabin Hall 165