ANTHRO 201 : Human Evolution

Arts

2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Explores issues fundamental to understanding humans’ place in nature from a biocultural perspective. What led to the evolution of bipedalism, large brains, and language? How do we define species in the fossil record? How can we reconstruct ancient diets and ecologies? The course will examine how new discoveries and advancements in biology are reshaping understandings of our evolutionary history.

Course Overview

In this course we will explore how various evolutionary forces act within biosocial contexts to influence distributions of phenotypic variation over multiple generations. Students will be introduced to important concepts like life history theory and niche construction and review others, like natural selection, gene flow, and genetic drift. Students will learn that answers to most of the important questions we ask are incomplete and debated. Take advantage of things you are learning here and elsewhere to ask useful questions. Think about the kinds of evidence required to evaluate them. These are challenging tasks but exciting too. 

Course delivery has been modified over the past two years in response to students’ requests for more time for labs. This year we will have two hours of lecture every week and two hours of lab every other week starting in week two. For students who have Friday labs, we need to shift Lab 3 to the first week after the mid-semester break.  

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 30 points in Anthropology or 60 points passed

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of current views on human evolutionary history and processes, and an awareness of the contingent, uncertain and important questions that remain (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)
  2. Learn how hypotheses are developed and tested (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 5.2)
  3. Identify and describe important theories, hypotheses, and research techniques used by biological anthropologists (Capability 1.1 and 4.1)
  4. Recognize extant primates and fossil hominins and important aspects of their anatomy (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2 and 2.3)
  5. Synthesise and present scientific information in an effective and thoughtful manner (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1, 5.1 and 5.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Laboratories (6) 15% Individual Coursework
Lab Test 10% Individual Test
Reading Quizzes (10) 10% Individual Coursework
Research Paper Proposal 10% Individual Coursework
Research Paper 25% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 30% Individual Examination

The Research Paper Proposal must be completed satisfactorily to pass the course.

Next offered

This course will be offered next in Semester 1 of 2021.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend, on average, 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in. Time will be spent attending lectures twice a week, labs every other week beginning in week 2, reading assigned readings, finding and reading material for your research proposal and paper, writing and editing your proposal and research paper and preparing for quizzes, a lab practical test and a final exam.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

There is no required textbook for this course. Rather, there are assigned readings which you can access online for free or through the University Library. The textbook from ANTHRO 102 is recommended as a reference and source for review:
Fuentes, A. (2012) Biological Anthropology: Concepts and Connections. 2nd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Available from the University Bookshop.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

We take student comments seriously and welcome them during the semester. We have found that discussions with students are more effective than student surveys at the end of the semester.  As mentioned above, course delivery has been modified over the past two years in response to students’ requests for more time for labs. Last year we tried shifting the 3 hours of contact time per week to one hour of lecture and two hours of lab every week but found that this provided insufficient time for lecture material delivery. This year we will have two hours of lecture every week and two hours of lab every other week. 

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 20/12/2019 05:37 p.m.