Course Syllabus

Introduction to Physical Anthropology

Anthropology 130, Section 9478, Summer 2017

Keith Chan, Ph.D. keith.chan@gcccd.edu

Blackboard Page: The class will be conducted completely online via Blackboard. Log into Blackboard at
http://gcccd.blackboard.com and click on the ANTH 130 link. There are no in-person sessions.

Course Information
Why do we sweat? How different is your DNA compared to your classmates? Learn the science of
physical anthropology, which is the study of the interplay between human biology and culture!

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to do the following:

Employ the synthetic theory of evolution to summarize the major trends and issues in primate and
human evolutionary history.

Explain modern human biological diversity from an evolutionary perspective, including evaluating the
biological significance of the race concept.

Apply anthropologys holistic perspective and bio-cultural approach to diverse human biological and
social phenomena.

Course Overview
The course starts with background information on science, evolution and genetics, which provides the
framework for the rest of the course. In the second third of the course, we will apply this knowledge to
examining the living primates, starting with our own species. We will see human variation from a global
perspective, dispelling common myths we hold regarding race and biology. Then, we will move on to
looking at modern non-human primates, which provides clues to our own origins. In the last third of the
course, we will go back in time with a survey of our hominin ancestors, going through the evolutionary
changes that occurred and the causes of these trends, resulting in the humans we know and love today.

The Online Setting

Online classes have a lot of advantages, but they also ask the student to be self-motivated to a higher
degree than in traditional classes. The class has frequent but regular deadlines for assignments and
exams. On the plus side, you can accomplish the tasks at any time during the week that they are active,

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conforming to your busy work/life schedule. Pacing yourself so that you do a little bit over a few days
instead of everything on Sunday night is highly recommended for both learning the material and achieving
a good grade. To keep the class moving together, course material for the week will not be available on
Blackboard until the day before the week starts.

Required Reading
Online Lectures: My own presentation of the course material with what I consider to be the main points
and further examples of key concepts. They will be presented as illustrated essays on Blackboard.

Textbook: Larsen, Clark Spencer. (2013). Essentials of Physical Anthropology, 2nd edition. W.W. Norton
& Company. ISBN 978-0-393-91938-7.

The textbook is a great tool for learning the most and getting the highest
grade for this class. The course follows the textbooks order or presenting
information, making the book a valuable source of knowledge to support
the lectures.

This course uses the second edition of the textbook, but you can use the
first or third editions if you wish. The third edition is a better book, but is
priced much higher than the improvement warrants. If you use one of the
other versions, you will have to be responsible for finding the right chapters
for each week on your own.

Assigned Reading: Articles necessary for class will be available as PDFs or web links on the course
Blackboard site. They will be used in the assignments and exams.

Grading
Your grade will be based on the following:

Quizzes (200 points)

Multiple choice quizzes are good brain training and are a good way to see if you are understanding the
material. Quizzes will be cumulative and get longer as the weeks progress. The good news: there is no
midterm or final!
Week 1: 20 questions Week 3: 30 questions Week 5: 45 questions

Week 2: 25 questions Week 4: 40 questions Week 6: 50 questions

Article Summaries (60 points total)

Seeing how professionals get their points across will help your writing as well. Summaries hone your

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 sense of what a text is trying to say. They will start as multiple choice and build to short written
paragraphs

Research Simulations (100 points)

Use what you learn in virtual scenarios similar to real life anthropological research! These will range
from single word to short paragraph answers.

Discussions (140 points)

Discussions are a critical part of the online course, since it gives everyone opportunities to learn from
each other and interact as peers. Each of the six weeks will have two prompts, and you can choose
which one to answer (Week 1 will have also have a mandatory self introduction prompt). You should
have their initial post answering the prompt by the end of Wednesday of the week, and at least two
meaningful responses to the posts of your classmates by the end of Sunday.

Extra Credit (Up to 50 points)

Extra credit opportunities will be provided as the course progresses. They will be posted under Extra
Credit in the Blackboard sidebar. There is a maximum cap of 50 points of extra credit (one letter
grade).

Point Allocation: Quizzes 210 points (6 x variable points)

Article Summaries 50 points (5 x 10 points each)

Research Simulations 100 (4 x 25 points each)

Discussions 140 (7 discussions x 20 points each)

Total 500 points (550 with all extra credit)

Grading Scale: A = 90% and over (450+ points)

B = 80 - 89% (400 - 449)

C = 70 - 79% (350 - 399)

D = 60 - 69% (300 - 349)

F = 0 - 60% (299 points and under)

There is no plus or minus grading nor is the grade curved.

Late Policy
Consider getting things done well ahead of the deadline to account for unforeseen circumstances. If an
emergency keeps you from turning in something on time, email me (keith.chan@gcccd.edu) to arrange

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an extension. An assignment turned in late without an extension will get 10% of the score off for each day
that it is late.

Course Policies
Academic Integrity
It is the responsibility of each student to understand the actions and behaviors that constitute academic
dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, within each class as well as other venues on campus.
Students are encouraged to ask questions of instructors and are expected to read the colleges statement
on Academic Fraud (located in the class schedule). Penalties for actions inconsistent with classroom,
library and College expectations for academic integrity range from a failing grade on an assignment, quiz,
exam, paper, or project (which may lead to a failing grade in the course) to, under certain conditions,
suspension, or expulsion from a class, program, or the college. For more information and/or further
clarification, please consult with your instructor or contact the Student Affairs Office.

For this online class, it is important that you do your own work and present information from the Internet
or other sources in your own writing.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities who may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to notify the
instructor and contact Disabled Student Services & Programs (DSP&S) early in the semester so that
reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. Students may contact DSP&S in
person in room 60-120 or by phone at (619) 644-7112 (voice) or (619) 644-7119 (TTY for deaf) http://
www.grossmont.edu/dsps/.

Tutoring Resources on Campus

There is often a free dedicated anthropology tutor on campus. Details will be posted in the
announcements at: http://www.grossmont.edu/tutoringcenter/tutoringrequest.asp

In addition, students requiring reinforcement of concepts or additional help to achieve the stated learning
outcomes for a course are referred to enroll in IDS 198, Supervised Tutoring. To add these courses,
students must obtain Add Codes from the appropriate staff. Please refer to the Tutoring Section in the
current class schedule for contact information.

IDS-198 Supervised Tutoring ESL

IDS-198 Supervised Tutoring Math
IDS-198 Supervised Tutoring Reading

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 IDS-198 Supervised Tutoring Writing

Students enrolled in Grossmont College courses may receive a maximum of two hours of free tutoring per
week for each course in which they are enrolled; however, they may receive only five total hours of
tutoring per week. Tutors are selected by department chairs and hired by the Tutoring Center. Availability
of tutors varies based on tutor availability and funding. Tutors help students by reviewing with them their
lecture notes, homework, and study guides; they do not help students with take-home tests or quizzes.

Individual or study-group tutoring appointments can be made. Please visit the Tutoring Center for details
on making and canceling appointments. For all English Tutoring, contact the English Writing Center
(EWC) in 70-119 or 619-644-7516.

Contact Information:

Lucy Price
619-644-7387
lucy.Price@gcccd.edu

(Course schedule is on the next page)

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 Course Schedule
Due dates: Your initial discussion posts should be done by the end of Wednesday of each week.
Discussion replies, quizzes, exams, and assignments are all due by the end of Sunday of the assigned
week. Week 6 assignments and the extra credit assignments have a special due date: Thursday, August
3.

Week Dates Readings Topics Tasks

1 June 26 to Textbook Ch. 1-4, What is physical Quiz

July 1 articles, syllabus anthropology? Introductions
What is genetics? Discussion
What are the forces of Article summary
evolution?

2 July 3 to 8 Textbook Ch. 5, How to humans grow and Quiz

articles develop? Discussion
How do humans adapt to the Article summary
environment? Research
Why is race a cultural Simulation 1
construct and not a biological
constant?

3 July 10 to Textbook Ch. 6-7, What makes primates Quiz

15 articles different from other Discussion
mammals? Article summary
What other primates are living Research
today? Simulation 2

4 July 17 to Textbook Ch. 8-10, How do we study the distant Quiz

22 articles past? Discussion
What were prehistoric Article summary
primates like? Research
Simulation 3
5 July 24 to Textbook Ch. 11-13, Who were the earliest Quiz
29 articles humans? Discussion
Where did Homo sapiens Article summary
come from? Research
Simulation 4
6 July 31 to None What did we learn? Quiz
August 3 Discussion
Extra Credit Due

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