And, I’m still teaching the course without a textbook, but there are readings galore (one from a textbook!) and they can always use this free textbook as a resource if they’d like: https://explorations.americananthro.org/index.php/pdf-chapters/.
In case it helps anyone, I'm sharing a bit about the course and all but the very last prompt (aka assignments) they have to address in their Book of Origins (moleskine) in preparation for each class. There are 37. If you’d like to try something like this, let me know and I’ll share my detailed instructions for students regarding the Book of Origins. I’ve seen it all go sideways every which way possible, so the instructions are now bullet-proof. The one thing I'll make clear here is that students have to fill at least one page to complete each assignment and they may do so by writing or drawing, but if they draw they must write an explanation for their drawing (as in, they must write enough to make it clear why the drawing is there on the page.)
APG 201 Human Origins and Evolution
Description
This
is a course about how you evolved. This is your natural history. To write it,
we will learn from biological and evolutionary anthropologists who study human
and nonhuman primate biology, behavior, diversity, adaptation, and evolution to
better understand the human species and explain how we arrived at our current
condition: Incessantly chattering, tailless, furless, culturally dependent,
big-brained, bipedal creatures who are diverse in appearance and culture and
inhabit nearly all types of habitats on Earth. Along our journey we will ask
ourselves how we know what we know. We will also address, head-on why so much
of this material is culturally controversial. The science of human evolution
and its dissemination into the popular imagination has a long history of racism
and sexism. In this course we will address that history by identifying outdated
and mistaken evolutionary thinking. A long tradition of making Homo sapiens the hero of human origins
and evolution is one major cause of this problem, which is why we take a
biographical approach to our natural history, running through the human
lifespan, instead of marching progressively up through the sandstones of time
towards a destined triumph (as the story often, unscientifically, goes). Here,
we take back our evolutionary history, scrubbing the story from the facts and
evidence, making it fit for all humankind. And, who knows? Maybe we’ll find
that the truth is lovelier than fiction.
Required Materials
1. Moleskine*
Classic Collection, hardcover book, any color, 5 x 8 1/4 inch (these page dimensions are required)
and must have at least 96 pages (though the ones with 240 pages seem easiest to
purchase), ruled/dotted/unruled/ etc is your choice. You will be writing and
drawing in this book so lined or dotted pages are recommended over completely
blank ones. *You may purchase a different brand other than Moleskine,
but the page size is required and so is a book-ish spine (not a spiral wire).
2. A
Most Interesting Problem: What Darwin’s Descent
of Man Got Right and Wrong about Human Evolution by (editor) Jeremy DeSilva. Buy/rent/borrow this
anywhere you wish. Feel free to read the digital, Kindle, or audio versions. I put a copy of this book on reserve at the library.
ASSESSMENT
Exam 1 15%
Exam 2 15%
Book of Origins 50%
(due on the last day of class and graded once, then)
Final Exam 20%
Total 100%
Exams take place in the classroom and will consist of true-false, multiple choice, and questions that ask for short written answers, maybe fill-in-the blank, maybe a paragraph or two. Practice questions will emerge in class throughout the semester. The first exam is on the material since the start of the course. The second exam is based on the material since the first exam. The final exam is cumulative, so based on the entire course, but you will be able to use your Book of Origins for reference during the Final Exam.
Prompt 1. Consider these questions and (without fear) write your responses in your notebook or directly into your Book of Origins. Address all 10 questions. Who’s your audience? You right now and your future self.
4. Is human evolution, in general, something positive, negative, or neutral to you?
10. And, finally, on the next page jot down something separate from all of the above (but it can be related/redundant, that’s fine): What’s one thing you’re taking away from class today that matters to you? And see if you can explain (as brief as you’d like) why it matters to you.
Prompt
2. The Scientific Process! To do this assignment,
you must choose one of the well-known and established observations listed below
(A, B, or C):
A) In most humans, the right humerus (upper arm bone) is
larger than the left one.
B) Chimpanzees living in zoos tend to weigh more than their
relatives living in the wild.
C) Among infant chimps, females ride on their mothers for
longer than males, who start walking independently more frequently at a younger
age than females.
Next,
without using anything but your own mind…
1.
If you
had to choose one of
those observations
to study (try to explain) in real life, which would it be and why?
2.
Represent that observation with an illustration or a graphic
(i.e. what’s called a “figure” in a scientific paper) as if you had data (which
you do not, so numbers are unnecessary, or you may make some up).
3.
How would you verify the observation? Offer up a way to verify it.
That is, describe the steps you would take to establish that it is a correct
observation (and lend credence to its factuality). In other words, how would
you go about making this observation for yourself, seeing it for yourself?
While scientists and scholars look to the scientific literature (articles and
books) or to published datasets, those are not options for your answer today.
What would you do "in the field" (either with human skeletons or with
live chimpanzees) to see for yourself (a.k.a. verify) either a, b or c?
4.
Now, go ahead and accept your observation (a,b,or c) as fact
(because it is) and explain that one
observation. Come up with at least two hypotheses/explanations for that
observation. This is brainstorming, and is part of the scientific
process. Again, like with #1, do not google around; use nothing but your
own mind if at all possible. Have no fear. This is a playground!
a. Need a refresher or a
foundation on the scientific process and what “hypotheses” are? Go to here: https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/howscienceworks_01 (pages 1-21 are awesome).
5.
Briefly describe how you would test at least one of these
hypotheses/explanations for a, b, or c. Include discussion of the methods
and variables/types of data, and the kinds of evidence that you would need to
find to both refute and to support each hypothesis.
6.
What might be some limitations and obstacles to explaining the
observation?
7.
What is the value in studying this?
Prompt
3. Read the Preface (by Jeremy DeSilva) and Introduction (by Janet Browne) in A
Most Interesting Problem, then write and/or draw what you found to be meaningful,
significant, or noteworthy in the readings. If struggling to identify that
information, then pull out what you have questions about, what you’d like to
learn more about, what you’re uncertain about, what surprised you, what relates
to other material we have already covered in the course, or what may relate to
what you anticipate we will cover down the road. (Remember to title the page or
do something to make this page make sense to future you.)
Prompt 4. Know Your Apes: For all seven of these critters--gibbons,
siamangs, orangutans, gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans--use at
least one page per ape to answer the following questions. Complete sentences
are not necessary, as long as the info is there. Get your
information from these excellent websites listed below (and more
information will come in class, soon). The only snafu you may encounter is
researching humans and if that's the case, just do your best with what you know
about humans, as a human.
·
Explorations (open access
textbook): http://explorations.americananthro.org/index.php/chapters/
·
Animal Diversity Web: https://animaldiversity.org/
·
Primate Factsheets: http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/
·
Hominoid fact sheets: https://ielc.libguides.com/srch.php?q=ape&t=0
·
Encyclopedia of Life: https://eol.org/
·
Time Tree: http://timetree.org/
·
What is a bonobo? https://evolutionaryanthropology.duke.edu/research/3chimps/chimps-bonobos
1. [printout/paste, draw, or trace (your
choice) a picture of the ape]
2. What is the species? (for some apes, there
are multiple species, so choose only one)
3. Where does it live on Earth?
4. Describe its habitat.
5. Is your primate nocturnal, diurnal, or crepuscular?
6. What does it eat?
7. How does it move about?
8. How does it socialize? (i.e. solitary? groups?...)
9. How does it raise offspring? (i.e. solitary? groups?...)
10. Body size? (report pounds or lbs; to convert from kg type “convert x kg to
lbs” into google)
11. Are male and female different in body size?
12. What does it look like? Color? Fur?
13. What are its threats to survival?
14. At what point in the past ("MYA" = millions of years ago) did it
share a most recent (aka “last”) common ancestor with humans? (go to http://timetree.org/ to
find out; type the ape and human into the two different fields and then allow
timetree.org to provide the estimate for how many millions of years ago our
lineage parted ways with this ape’s)
Prompt 5. Based on lecture/discussion/handout, answer the following questions. (Remember to either include the question or answer in a way that the reader understands without knowing the question.):
·
What's
the relevance of Linnaeus to our course?
·
What's
an example of a homologous trait among vertebrates, link it to your body.
·
Why
are you a primate?
·
Which
nonhuman ape is the best ape? (Make a case for one ape being the best ape.) Suggest a possible reason why your professor asked you this
question.
Prompt 6. Read Chapter 1 by Alice Roberts in A
Most Interesting Problem, then write and/or draw what you found
to be meaningful, significant, or noteworthy in the readings. If struggling to
identify that information, then pull out what you have questions about, what
you’d like to learn more about, what you’re uncertain about, what surprised
you, what relates to other material we have already covered in the course, or
what may relate to what you anticipate we will cover down the road. (Remember
to title the page or do something to make this page make sense to future you.)
Prompt 7. Read Chapter 6 by John Hawks in A
Most Interesting Problem, then write and/or draw what you found
to be meaningful, significant, or noteworthy in the readings. If struggling to
identify that information, then pull out what you have questions about, what
you’d like to learn more about, what you’re uncertain about, what surprised
you, what relates to other material we have already covered in the course, or
what may relate to what you anticipate we will cover down the road. (Remember
to title the page or do something to make this page make sense to future you.)
Prompt 8. Observe like an evolutionary
biologist
·
Go to http://www.eskeletons.org/
·
Based
on what you see at that resourceful website, draw the os
coxa (half of the pelvis) of a chimpanzee and a human, in at least one
page. (Do not worry about your artistic skill, but try your best. Drawing is an
effective technique, used by scientists, for understanding anatomy.)
o
Describe
the similarities and differences in anatomy between chimp and human
pelves/pelvises. (Do not worry about applying technical jargon.)
o
Question: What
kinds of behavioral differences might correlate with the anatomical differences
in the pelvis and why?
·
Next, draw the
skull (including teeth) of a chimpanzee and a human, in at least one page.
o
Describe
the similarities and differences in anatomy between chimp and human skulls and
teeth.
o
Question: What
kinds of behavioral differences might correlate with the anatomical differences
in skulls and teeth and why?
Prompt
9. Hominin Hall of Fame. Make 7 separate informational, fact-filled
baseball-like, Pokémon-like, etc cards or hall of fame plaques. Put each one on
a separate page of your book.
·
“Ardi"
·
“Lucy” (A.L. 288-1)
·
(choose one) The “Taung Child” or the “Dikika child”
(a.k.a. Selam)
·
The “Nariokotome Boy” aka the “Turkana Boy” (KNM-WT 15000)
·
Shanidar 1
·
Liang Bua 1 (LB 1) nicknamed “The Hobbit”
·
one for any individual (dead or alive) you wish for “Homo
sapiens”
In addition to course materials, especially Hailie-Selassie’s chapter in A Most Interesting Problem, you may want to look to the Smithsonian’s Human Origins page: https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils. Google is fine too, but beware! That Google brings the Smithsonian up for me, first (or nearly first), for all those hominins up there warms my heart. Wikipedia is fine too. But be sure to check your book and the Smithsonian first.
This response is complete as long as there are seven pages, but you do not literally need to fill the page with facts. You can fill each page with an image and include very few meaningful facts, if you wish.
The
more facts the merrier, though! And as you make your pages, ask yourself... Why do
these individuals and species matter? What is interesting? What do we know?
What don’t we know? How do they relate to you? How do you relate to them?
[Aside from the very last
prompt, all the responses from now on are only 1 page. Whew!]
Prompt
10. Watch Lice
and Human Evolution (PBS NOVA, 10 min) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/lice-and-human-evolution/ . Write and/or draw what you found to be
meaningful, significant, or noteworthy in the readings. If struggling to
identify that information, then pull out what you have questions about, what
you’d like to learn more about, what you’re uncertain about, what surprised
you, what relates to other material we have already covered in the course, or
what may relate to what you anticipate we will cover down the road.
Prompt
11.
Monkeys all the way down? This is a two-part prompt.
a. Read “Monkeys all the way down” by Dunsworth (https://www.sapiens.org/column/origins/monkeys-all-the-way-down/ ) then answer this question: Did we evolve from monkeys
and apes? Explain.
b. Calmly and kindly respond to a hypothetical, but agitated
friend or family member who says, “If
we evolved from apes, then why are there still apes?” Write and/or draw your
response to them in one page, minimum. And don’t forget to title it so that
future you knows what’s happening on this page.
Prompt
12.
Are we apes? Provide both a yes and no answer with reasoning to
back each. While doing so, reveal
whether you side with yes, no, or neither, and explain why that is. Here
are some entertaining resources that may help you form either or both of your
answers. If we have time, we will discuss this question in class.
·
The side of no, we aren't:
o You Are Not an Ape! Jon
Marks at TEDxEast (17 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLfdKk9JEp8
·
The side of yes, we are apes:
o Wrongheaded anthropologist
claims that humans aren’t apes: https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2015/11/02/wrongheaded-anthropologist-claims-that-humans-arent-apes/
Prompt
13. Scenario-building or storytelling?
Without
looking anything up (except to find and observe pictures of the primates or to
look up terminology, like in that open access/free textbook I posted on
Brightspace, or in the online Merriam Webster dictionary, etc etc), write an
answer for each of the questions below. It is crucial that you DO NOT
GOOGLE THESE QUESTIONS or type them into AI chat thingies or anything at all. I
forbid you from asking anyone or any algorithm the questions, below, because
thinking them through is the point of the exercise. Exercise your freedom to
think and imagine based on where you are now. To complete this response you
need to provide 5 answers, one for each question below. It's totally possible
to do all five answers in total within that one page minimum. If you're not
feeling brief, then, as always, feel free to go over the one page minimum. Your
answer to each question, below, is a hypothesis (a good guess) to explain the
evolution of each of the five phenomena. These are evolutionary scenarios that
you are writing. This is brainstorming only, so have no fear of
being wrong, but be clear.
1.
How did the mandrill (monkey) get that colorful face? What about the rear
(which looks like the face)?
2. How did the black and white colobus monkey (a leaf-eater or folivore) get a
long, specialized gut?
3. How did gorillas become the largest primate?
4. How did silverback gorillas become twice as big as females?
5. How did humans become “naked”? (i.e. how did we come to be less furry than
the other primates)?
Prompt
14. Go here and read this article by
evolutionary biologist John H. Macdonald: https://udel.edu/~mcdonald/mythintro.html
When
you get to the part that says “Summary for worried parents” read through
those points and choose at least one to dig into more deeply by clicking on the
trait and learning more. Write up
and/or draw what you learned, what it means to you, and what you’re left
wondering.
For
each of those human traits (in that list of bullet-points in the article),
there is a myth that one form is recessive. (It’s based in the larger
myth that all genes have a dominant and a recessive allele.) If that were true,
then two parents with the recessive trait could not have a child with the
dominant trait. And, if that were the case, then it would be possible to look
at these traits in a person and know something about their biological
paternity. We cannot.
Prompt
15.
Read “Things Genes Can’t Do” by Weiss and Buchanan (Aeon)
https://aeon.co/essays/dna-is-the-ruling-metaphor-of-our-age
Then,
just like with the readings you’ve already done, write and/or draw what you
found to be meaningful, significant, or noteworthy in the readings. If
struggling to identify that information, then pull out what you have questions
about, what you’d like to learn more about, what you’re uncertain about, what
surprised you, what relates to other material we have already covered in the
course, or what may relate to what you anticipate we will cover down the road.
(Remember to title the page or do something to make this page make sense to
future you.) But, also, be sure to highlight (by writing about it) what you
believe is the most important point that Weiss and Buchanan make and explain
it.
For
any readings below that lack specific questions for you to answer, this is
the prompt: Write
and/or draw what you found to be meaningful, significant, or noteworthy in the
readings. If struggling to identify that information, then pull out what you
have questions about, what you’d like to learn more about, what you’re
uncertain about, what surprised you, what relates to other material we have
already covered in the course, or what may relate to what you anticipate we
will cover down the road. (Remember to title the page or do something to make
this page make sense to future you.)
Prompt 16. Read “Where did they all go? How Homo sapiens became the last human species left” in The Guardian
Prompt
17. What
are some important things you have learned so far in the course (whether in the
classroom or in responding to prompts)? Be sure to explain why they are
important, in the world or to you, personally.
Prompt 18. Read “Social and Biopolitical Dimensions of Evolutionary Thinking” by Jonathan Marks and Adam Johnson
https://pressbooks.calstate.edu/explorationsbioanth2/chapter/17/
Prompt
19. Read “The Coronavirus is Mutating” (Washington Post) (posted on Brightspace).
·
Note/quote the parts of the text that refer to genetic drift
(even though it is a term which is never uttered in the article).
·
Note/quote the parts of the text that refer to natural
selection (whether it says the term or not).
·
Next, there is a preference (or something like it), in this
article, for natural selection-based explanations? If so, then why do you think
so? If not, then why do you think that Prof. Dunsworth asked about it?
Prompt
20. The
future loss of wisdom teeth in our species? For this assignment, read
this long preamble, and then the short news article pasted there, and then
answer questions A, B, and C.
Remember…
•
Most of us were taught incorrectly or led, wrongly, to believe that 'evolution'
= 'natural selection' which implies that all evolution occurs through natural
selection. This leads us to see every evolutionary scenario, all the way from
fairy tale ones to the most scientifically legitimate ones, as natural
selection. This is, of course, not a correct understanding of evolution.
•
Natural selection can result in new adaptations or in the elimination of bad
traits. The former is "positive" selection, the latter is
"negative" and is always occurring no matter what. Positive selection
does happen but is not easy to test, since natural selection occurs via
differential reproductive success, but "survival of the luckiest"
alleles via genetic drift can look exactly the same by increasing and
decreasing allele frequencies just by chance. The difference between the two
(natural selection and genetic drift) is that, in a selection scenario, the
trait that's evolving is causing the differential reproduction (whether
enhancing or inhibiting, even if ever so slightly affecting it slowly over
time), but in a drift scenario the trait is randomly "drifting" (like
on the surface of the ocean) to lower or higher frequencies over the
generations merely due to chance (unlinked to the trait in question) effects on
differential reproduction and due to chance passing of one allele or the other
to offspring. Like selection, drift can completely fix or completely eliminate
traits! Genetic drift is always occurring, and so is negative selection to some
degree (filtering out mutations that prevent survival and reproduction) and
positive selection to some degree (increasing the prevalence of mutations, new
or old, that enhance survival and reproduction).
Read this short news story:
Wisdom
teeth might be lost as people continue to evolve: Why the modern diet may
make wisdom teeth unnecessary About 25 to 35 per cent of people will never get
their wisdom teeth by Astrid Lange Toronto Star Library, Jun 25 2013
Wisdom
teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late
teens or early 20s. But not everyone does — the American Dental Association
estimates that about 25 to 35 per cent of people will never get their wisdom
teeth. Another 30 per cent will only get 1 to 3 of them. Anthropologists
believe wisdom teeth evolved due to our ancestors' diet of coarse, rough food —
leaves, roots, nuts and meat — which required more chewing power and resulted
in excessive wear of the teeth. Since people are no longer ripping apart meat
with their teeth and the modern diet is made of softer foods, wisdom teeth have
become less useful. In fact, some experts believe we are on an evolutionary
track to losing them altogether.
Now, respond to A, B, and C.
A. Briefly explain the
evolutionary mechanism behind the evolutionary scenario for future wisdom tooth
loss that the author of the news article above alludes to. In other words,
think about what the writer is really hypothesizing for future human evolution and
rephrase their explanation, but scientifically, in terms of all or just some of
the four main mechanisms of evolution that we discussed in class which are
mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and selection. Important! Banned words for
your scenario include: Need(s/ed/ing), want(s/ed/ing), try(s/ed/ing), best,
most and fittest.
B. Write out an alternative
scenario where selection is responsible for the loss of wisdom teeth in our
future selves. If it's not obvious, this will be a significantly different
scenario from what the writer has imagined in the news article and from what you
wrote in response to 'a.' Important! Banned words for your scenario include:
Need(s/ed/ing), want(s/ed/ing), try(s/ed/ing), best, most, and fittest.
C.
Having 0-3 (instead of all 4) wisdom teeth develop is a fairly common phenotype
out there just like the previous article said, and it probably includes people
in APG 201.There's a story out there in science and in pop culture that,
because we evolved to have smaller jaws in the last six million years of
hominin evolution, natural selection is currently favoring people who don't
form wisdom teeth at all. That is, people think that there are people who don't
develop all four wisdom teeth because it's adaptive not to,
because our jaws are so small and it's a health risk to fit all those teeth in
a small jaw. They explain this pattern of human variation with natural
selection (the way we legitimately do with skin pigmentation variation) and it
helps justify third molar extraction. Now, knowing (1) that there's all kinds
of dental variation in humans, deviating from what's typical, in terms of which
teeth they do or do not develop and that's also true for apes who have large,
roomy jaws, and live in the wild, and (2) a bit (from skimming) the
mind-blowing information in this brief article "The Prophylactic
Extraction of Third Molars: A Public Health Hazard" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1963310/ .... WHAT'S
YOUR TAKE on that just-so story about humans who naturally don't develop wisdom
teeth because it is adaptive no to? As far as evolutionary scenarios go, is
that story good, bad, neutral, or otherwise? And, does that evolutionary
thinking justify us getting our wisdom teeth routinely, prophylactically
removed?
Prompt
21. Deciphering
and polishing your evolutionary scenarios. Look back at the answers to the
following that you wrote in an earlier prompt several days ago….
1. How did the mandrill get that colorful face? What about the rear (which
looks like the face)?
2. How did the colobus monkey (a leaf-eater or folivore) get a long,
specialized gut?
3. How did gorillas become the largest primate?
4. How did silverback gorillas become twice as big as females?
5. How did humans become “naked”? (i.e. how did we come to be less furry than
the other primates)?
For
each of those evolutionary scenarios that you wrote in an earlier
response/chapter in your book, label (consider using a different color ink than
what you used to write, originally) which evolutionary mechanisms (mutation,
drift, selection, gene flow)) that you hypothesized were at work in each of
your scenarios. Back then, you probably didn’t use all the terms and ideas we
covered in class more recently, but you may have been getting at some of them
in other words.
Next, on this page for this response, rewrite a scientifically improved version
of each of the four explanations you wrote earlier. Make them more scientifically accurate by
using the four main mechanisms of evolution and using their terms as you write:
mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and natural selection. You may need to just
change a few words or you may need to completely revise the entire answer, it
depends on what you originally wrote. Brief can be excellent! Important! Banned words
include: Need(s/ed/ing), want(s/ed/ing), try(s/ed/ing), best, most, and
fittest.
Prompt 22. Read Chapter 2 by Suzana Herculano-Houzel in A Most Interesting Problem
Prompt
23. Read “When Did Sex Become Fun?” by Dunsworth (Sapiens)
https://www.sapiens.org/column/origins/sexual-evolution-pleasure/
Prompt
24. Read Chapter 8 by Mike Ryan in A Most Interesting Problem
Prompt
25. Choose one and read it: “Do Animals Know that Sex Makes Babies?” by
Dunsworth (posted on Brightspace) or “Sex Makes Babies” by Dunsworth and
Buchanan:
https://aeon.co/essays/i-think-i-know-where-babies-come-from-therefore-i-am-human
Prompt
26. Read (or thoughtfully skim!) the
article "There is no 'obstetrical dilemma: Towards a braver medicine with
fewer childbirth interventions" by Dunsworth. (posted on Brightspace) And
then answer the following questions as you write and/or draw your one-page
response:
·
What is the obstetrical dilemma hypothesis?
·
Is it familiar to you at all, even if you never heard what
it's called?
·
What is at least one criticisms of, or problem with, the
obstetrical dilemma hypothesis?
Not
required: For those who are especially interested in this topic, check out (and
feel free to incorporate as a resource) "Childbirth, Explained" which
is on Netflix as an episode of Sex Explained (2020): https://youtu.be/2BmN8C8IzRw?t=1
Prompt 27 – Cro-Magnon You. This is a two-part assignment, but you need only fill one page. (1) Describe an ancient a-ha moment, or circumstance of any kind, big or small, between 7 million and 10,000 years ago (basically any time in hominin prehistory) that you would have loved to have experienced or witnessed. It could be straight out of your imagination or it could be inspired by a scene from a movie, book, or game. (2) Draw what you would etch, draw, scrawl, or paint on your cave wall today, or anytime in earth's history.
Prompt 28 – Read “The mystery of early milk consumption in Europe” in Nature (News) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02041-y?utm_source=naturepod&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=shownotes
Prompt 29 - Taking into account the information you've learned from the course materials, revisit the drawings of the hips of a chimp and a human that you did for an earlier prompt several days ago. Now, explain the similarities and differences in the skeletal anatomy of the chimp and human hips (aka pelves). Feel free to resketch these bones, or not, to accompany your explanations for why they are similar and why they are different.
Prompt
30. Read Chapter 9 by Dunsworth in A Most Interesting Problem
Prompt
31. Choose one of these articles in Scientific American, and read it: “To
follow the real human diet, eat everything” or “Does Humanity Have to Eat
Meat?” (both are posted on Brightspace)
Prompt
32. Read Chapter 3 by Hare in A Most Interesting Problem
Prompt 33. What are some important things you have learned so far in the course (whether in the classroom or in responding to prompts)? Be sure to explain why they are important, in the world or to you, personally.
Prompt
34.
The True Story of Ota Benga. Read and/or listen to the following: From
the Belgian Congo to the Bronx Zoo (NPR): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5787947, then react meaningfully and
make sure to address the following: What is a link between racism and
evolutionary theory and what do you think about it?
Not
required: These are two highly recommended literary contributions to what we're
grappling with, which is why I posted pdfs of each on Brightspace.
1. [Note! This is a fictional
account based on the real history.] A True and Faithful Account of Mr.
Ota Benga the Pygmy, Written by M. Berman, Zookeeper – Mansbach http://adammansbach.com/other/otabenga.html
2. [Note! This is very dark
sarcasm and not to be taken literally.] How to Write About Africa –
Wainaina (Granta): https://granta.com/how-to-write-about-africa/
·
Human Races are not like dog breeds - Norton et al.
(EEO) SEE GLOSSARY OF TERMS AT THE VERY BOTTOM
https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12052-019-0109-y
·
Chapter 15: Ten Facts about human variation – Marks (Human
Evolutionary Biology)
https://webpages.uncc.edu/~jmarks/pubs/tenfacts.pdf (copy and paste that
URL into your browser because just clicking on it may not work)
·
The NFL's Racist 'Race Norming' Is an Afterlife of
Slavery https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-nfls-racist-race-norming-is-an-afterlife-of-slavery/
·
Surprise! Africans are not all the same (or why we need
diversity in science) – Lasisi https://anthrograd.com/2017/10/18/surprise-africans-are-not-all-the-same-or-why-we-need-diversity-in-science/
·
America's Hidden History: The Eugenics Movement: https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444/
·
'National Geographic' Reckons With Its Past: 'For Decades, Our
Coverage Was Racist'
·
There's no such thing as a 'pure' European—or anyone else –
Gibbons (Science)
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/theres-no-such-thing-pure-european-or-anyone-else
·
Frederick Douglass's fight against scientific racism –
Herschthal (NYT)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/opinion/frederick-douglasss-scientific-racism.html
·
The unwelcome revival of race science—Evans (The
Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/02/the-unwelcome-revival-of-race-science
·
Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death
Crisis - Villarosa (The New York Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/magazine/black-mothers-babies-death-maternal-mortality.html
·
Being black in America can be hazardous to your health –
Khazan (The Atlantic) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/being-black-in-america-can-be-hazardous-to-your-health/561740/
Prompt
36.
Sex, Gender, and Human Evolution. Taking into account anything from this
course, and your life, answer these two prompts citing at least one source for
each (still, one page is all you need): (1) Sex is not gender and
gender is not sex: what does that mean? (2) Contemplate how and/or why old/bad
science encouraged people to deem women "inferior.”
·
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/aug/11/women-equal-to-men-science-fact-book-angela-saini
[Prompt
37 is not yet written for this year. It will be a lot like previous years. It will include a letter-to-day-one-self as well as a self-grade, but there are always a few more specific questions about evolution here as well (but no reading,
etc).]
