Revised 5/2020

SOC 212 - Principles of Anthropology II (3 CR.)

Course Description

Inquires into the origins, development, and diversification of human biology and human cultures. Includes fossil records, physical origins of human development, human population genetics, linguistics, cultures' origins and variation, and historical and contemporary analysis of human societies. Part II of II. Lecture 3 hours per week. (Part II can be taken before Part I)

General Course Purpose

To provide the student with an introduction to the variability of human culture and to acquaint them with the interconnections and interdependence of aspects of the human experience.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

None.

Course Objectives

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

  • Understand the holistic nature of anthropology, particularly as it relates to physical anthropology and archaeology.
  • Describe the discipline of anthropology and make connections between each of its four fields.
  • Recognize and implement the scientific method, and recognize in what circumstances the scientific method is an appropriate approach.
  • Distinguish the place of humans in the biological world and in an evolutionary perspective.
  • Apply the anthropological imagination, especially holism, to contemporary issues. Locate physical anthropology within the fields of science, and the sub disciplines of anthropology.
  • Identify evolutionary forces, especially natural selection, to human heredity. Synthesize genetics and cellular biology, with human origins and variation.
  • Identify the varieties of human biological and cultural adaptations.
  • Interpret information about past civilizations and extinct societies.
  • Explain how objects, architecture, ecofacts and context are able to assist with interpreting historical populations.
  • Correlate the taxonomy of primates with their morphology and ethnology.
  • Apply theories of human variation to developing cultural competence.
  • Discuss continuing evolutionary impacts on contemporary human populations in areas such as disease, population genetics, nutrition, and environmental biodiversity.

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Theories and Methods of Physical Anthropology
  • Development of Evolutionary Thought
  • Natural Selection
  • Human Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Heredity
  • Primates and Primate Behavior
  • Paleoanthropology
  • Variations and Adaptations of Humans
  • Civilizations

Optional Topics

  • Biodiversity
  • Current anthropological research and studies
  • Specific case studies by modern archeologists