Course Syllabus
ANTH 1 | Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Spring 2022 | Sections 40634/41006/41523
Student hours: M 2-3 pm & W 6-7 pm & by appointment in my Zoom room
dklein@gavilan.edu | debbieklein.org
Online Details
This course is completely online. Our required texts are Biological Anthropology (7th ed.) by Michael Park and Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa (2nd ed.) by Katherine Dettwyler. I have posted all required reading within our course site. These texts are also available for purchase or rent at the Gavilan Bookstore and various online sites. For information about online classes, tips for success, and our orientation schedule, please see Gavilan's Distance Education webpage.
Course Description
What does it mean to be human? How did we become human? We will explore these questions through our introduction to physical anthropology, a branch of anthropology that seeks to understand, from a biological point of view, what it means to be a human being. More specifically, biological anthropology examines these questions:
- What biological characteristics define the human species?
- How do our genes code for these characteristics?
- What role does the environment play in shaping our traits?
- How does evolution work and how does it apply to us?
- What is the physical record of our evolution?
- How does the biological variation we see in our species today evolve and what do the variable traits mean?
- What can we learn about ourselves by studying the genes, bodies, and behavior of our closest living relatives, the nonhuman primates?
- How can our understanding of evolution help us to address issues surrounding the unequal treatment of people based on assumptions about biological difference?
As we read an ethnography about malnutrition in West Africa, we will discuss the challenges of conducting research in another culture and explore how such challenges become part of anthropological methodology and knowledge. We will conclude our course with a series of debates around the biological, cultural, and ethical implications of genetic engineering.
Community Agreement
I will do my best to facilitate an exciting and meaningful experience for all of us. As a class, we’ll come up with our community agreement to help us create an inspirational and productive learning environment.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy recognizes all students as knowledgeable learners. You bring your own skills, knowledge, and life experience to our course. What you bring is relevant and important to our learning community. I will encourage you to develop your own interpretations of our course texts in conversation with yourself, me, and our classmates. I see my role as a guide who has a broader perspective due to my career-long experience as a practicing and teaching anthropologist; I do not see my perspective as the “right” or only one. I'm looking forward to learning alongside each of you. My objective is to support your learning and growth over the course of the semester.
Course Summary:
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