Skagit Valley College

Catalog Course Search Details

 Course Title:   Biological Anthropology

 Title Abbreviation:   BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

 Department:    ANTH&

 Course #:    205

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    450201

 EPC:    n/a

 REV:    2018


 Course Description  

The study of human and non-human primates from a biological perspective, including the evolution of the human species over time and the biological processes involved in human adaptation. The focus is on biological principles involved in evolutionary processes, hereditary differences in human populations, the geological time scale, various forms of primates (from earliest to contemporary), the sequence of development of various fossil forms culminating in modern humans, the significance of humankind's animal heritage, and the strategic aspects in the consideration of what is distinctly human about human nature.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Completed ENGL& 101 with a grade of 2.0 or higher.

Additional Course Details

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0


Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Academic Social Sciences  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Other Institution Equivalencies Table
Institution Course # Remarks
CWU 130
U of W 202
WSU 203
WWU 201

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Appreciate the ongoing development of physical anthropology as a contribution to the study of humankind.
  2. Understand the basic structure and chemical properties of the cell, the mechanisms of cell division (Mitosis and Meiosis), the main concepts of Mendel's laws, and how these fundamental principles of biology contribute to an understanding of the process of evolution.
  3. Appreciate the vastness of geological time.
  4. Comprehend the impact of humankind's animal heritage.
  5. Understand the stages of ongoing development of animals from the earliest forms to primitive primates to modern-day humans.

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

0. Application and Integration

Definition: Applying information from one or more disciplines and/or field experiences in new contexts (Outcome 0.1); developing integrated approaches or responses to personal, academic, professional, and social issues (Outcomes 0.2-0.5).

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
0.1 Apply theories and concepts studied in the classroom to field, clinical, shop, research, or laboratory settings.
0.2 Identify the strengths and limitations of different fields of study.
0.3 Identify and evaluate the relationships among different perspectives within a field of study and among different fields of study.

1. Information Literacy

Definition: Recognizing when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
1.2 Access the needed information effectively, efficiently, ethically, and legally.
1.3 Evaluate information and its sources critically.
1.4 Evaluate issues (for example economic, legal, historic, social) surrounding the use of information.

2. Critical Thinking

Definition: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
2.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and facts related to a specific discipline.
2.2 Analyze issues and develop questions within a discipline.
2.3 Identify, interpret, and evaluate pertinent data and previous experience to reach conclusions.
2.4 Evaluate decisions by analyzing outcomes and the impact of actions.
2.8 Describe how one’s own preconceptions, biases and values affect one’s response to new and ambiguous situations.

3. Communication

Definition: Understanding and producing effective written, spoken, visual, and non-verbal communication.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
3.1 Recognize, read, and comprehend academic and/or professional writing.
3.4 Produce academic and/or professional writing and integrate it into written and spoken projects.

4. Community & Cultural Diversity

Definition: Recognizing the value of human communities and cultures from multiple perspectives through a critical understanding of their similarities and differences.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
4.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and issues associated with the diverse perspectives of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and culture.
4.2 Understand, value and respect human differences and commonalities as they relate to issues of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and culture.
4.3 Understand the historically and socially constructed nature of—and the meanings attributed to—human differences.
4.5 Adapt to and function effectively in communities and cultures different from one's own.
4.6 Utilize ethical practice in relation to diverse communities and cultures for the promotion of equity and social justice.

5. Global & Local Awareness & Responsibility

Definition: Understanding the complexity and interdependence of, and stewardship responsibilities to, local and global communities and environments.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
5.1 Understand the impact of their own and other’s actions on local/global communities and environments and how those communities/environments affect them in turn.

5.5 Demonstrate ethical practices as part of stewardship to local/global communities and environments.

6. Individual Awareness & Responsibility

Definition: Understanding, managing, and taking responsibility for one’s learning and behavior in varied and changing environments.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
6.1 Identify ethical and healthy choices and apply these personally, socially, academically, and professionally.
6.3 Apply successful organizational strategies of planning, goal setting, prioritizing, resolving conflict, and managing time to specific goals and/or projects.
6.4 Use self-reflection to recognize and define a sense of self-identity in personal, social/gender, and/or cultural/global terms and in relationship to others.

7. Aesthetics & Creativity

Definition: Interpreting human experience through engagement with creative processes and aesthetic principles.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
7.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the creative process.

8. Mathematical Reasoning

Definition: Understanding and applying concepts of mathematics and logical reasoning in a variety of contexts, both academic and non-academic.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
8.3 Interpret information and reasoning expressed mathematically (for example in spreadsheets, diagrams, charts, formulas, etc.).

9. Scientific Literacy

Definition: Understanding scientific principles, and analyzing and applying scientific information in a variety of contexts.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
9.1 Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental scientific concepts.
9.2 Demonstrate their understanding of the principles of scientific methods, analysis, and reasoning.
9.4 Use scientific concepts and principles to understand the natural world, human behavior and culture, and relationships between humans and the rest of the natural world.

10. Technology

Definition: Understanding the role of technology in society and using technology appropriately and effectively.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
10.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of technology in one’s personal and professional life.

Course Contents

  1. The growth of evolutionary science: divine purposes vs. natural selection.
  2. Small Pox, Tay-Sach Disease, and Emerging Viruses: What they tell us about the link between genetics and natural selection.
  3. Biological principles: the nature of the cell, its structure, chemical properties, cell division, Mitosis, and Meiosis.
  4. Linnaeus' system of taxonomy by which plant and animal worlds are meaningfully divided into interrelated categories.
  5. Biology and Genetics: Key ideas of Gregor Mendel on basic principles of genetic transmission and inheritance of physical features.
  6. Ideas of Charles Darwin and others who contributed to the idea tha tall living forms have progressively developed from simple, primitive origins.
  7. Social Relationships in the non-human primate world and how they mirror human society.
  8. The Hominid Transition: the enigma of human evolution from the ape.
  9. The fossil evidence and late hominid evolution: the sequences of humanity's development.
  10. The search for Eve: evolution and mitochondrial DNA.
  11. Living with the past: how genetic heritage impacts on our present and future.
  12. Is there Danger in being too smart? How intelligence as an adaptive specialty may contribute to our extinction as well as our success as a species.