tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post776551941029137958..comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00Comments on The Mermaid's Tale: A first run at a textbook-free 'Introduction to Biological Anthropology'Anne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-47976862595374333702014-11-05T14:20:56.680-05:002014-11-05T14:20:56.680-05:00This is a great resource! I am currently teaching ...This is a great resource! I am currently teaching an intro course at Oregon State University and have found your course source materials to be so helpful. Would it be possible to get copies of the worksheets that you have developed? I would love to use them in the classroom as a teaching tool. I will, of course, give full credit to you!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07760602389661721116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-841995041261000072014-07-22T05:51:54.886-04:002014-07-22T05:51:54.886-04:00Hi Maura, So glad you think this is useful! The jo...Hi Maura, So glad you think this is useful! The journal assignments are mainly the questions I've got posted there but, yeah, there are lots of worksheets too. If you email me, I'll gladly send you the complete syllabus (worksheets and all): holly_dunsworth@mail.uri.eduHolly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-68828441754915378192014-07-21T15:46:10.837-04:002014-07-21T15:46:10.837-04:00Holly this is amazing! I am a Cultural Anthropolog...Holly this is amazing! I am a Cultural Anthropologist at a small LAC and will be teaching Human Evolution in the fall (not my area AT ALL! I am so grateful for your generosity. Is there a place I can find your journal assignment worksheets? I'm curious about how you design them. I really like weekly writing assignments. Thanks again, and I will obviously give you credit.Maura Finkelsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06285691121231615523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-22428183587506054162014-06-16T09:03:25.371-04:002014-06-16T09:03:25.371-04:00A common reaction to my course is "I don'...A common reaction to my course is "I don't understand why I haven't learned this already before now," which is interesting given how much they already know (didn't say it was complete or correct) coming into the course! Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-13527864479502417212014-06-16T08:56:19.498-04:002014-06-16T08:56:19.498-04:00Yes, and the really difficult problem is that when...Yes, and the really difficult problem is that when something applies to us, as humans, we are challenged to distance ourselves from it and too ready to fit it into our various predilections, which are affected by so many social, cultural, individual aspects of life, including our vested interests, views of ourselves and others, and so on. That is one reason evolution is difficult to grasp, especially because how we got here is a tale of things happening so slowly they usually cannot be directly observed, so it's too easy to make superficial inferences that suit what we want to believe. It's very subtle and elusive.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-81654703552189413452014-06-16T08:52:15.929-04:002014-06-16T08:52:15.929-04:00...And I think that more than ever now that I'......And I think that more than ever now that I've seen what evolutionary misthinking/misappropriation/flat-out wrong thinking goes along with the reactions to our posts about race and human variation. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-78448555318122470022014-06-16T08:46:53.184-04:002014-06-16T08:46:53.184-04:00And I think that a sound understanding of what evo...And I think that a sound understanding of what evolution is, and what it isn't, and how it works and the role of genes etc. is more important for students at this level to learn than some other areas of bioanthropology.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-27462483192340030802014-06-16T08:44:47.156-04:002014-06-16T08:44:47.156-04:00Also, in case it needs to be said, much more about...Also, in case it needs to be said, much more about bioanth is elaborated on in the smaller higher level courses that I teach. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-30503497546954510872014-06-16T08:11:30.215-04:002014-06-16T08:11:30.215-04:00I'm thrilled it's useful at all!
I wante...I'm thrilled it's useful at all! <br /><br />I wanted to note... I was asked why I don't cover all the fields within Biological Anthropology. The answer's got a few parts. I rely on what I do/know from my own research experience. I am the only biological anthropologist at URI, we have no grad program and most majors who take this course as a requirement aren't even going into graduate programs. All those things together, plus the fact that the time is just so limited in 3 credits, mean that I don't see this course as an overview of the entire field of bioanth. Most students who take it are not going into anthropology so cramming (which it would be like for me) all of bioanth into one introductory semester isn't an ideal pedagogy as I see it. Instead, because for most who take the course ( as a Gen Ed in the natural sciences), it's their only biology or anthropology at URI, I think that really giving them a good foundation in evolution and really conveying why that's important are the most powerful things I can do with this course, for nonmajors and majors alike (because the majors need it just as badly). Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-88343260402762176802014-06-15T07:06:33.537-04:002014-06-15T07:06:33.537-04:00This is fantastic Holly. I will definitely borrow ...This is fantastic Holly. I will definitely borrow parts of it for a human evolution class I am designing. Thanks!Jason Hodgsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13760911130118410282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-75798491485892687232014-06-13T15:39:16.636-04:002014-06-13T15:39:16.636-04:00I just discovered this site today and came across ...I just discovered this site today and came across your course outline - it looks great! I teach anthropology at a junior college in Quebec and every semester, I agonize over my choice of a textbook and/or the readings for a coursepack. The links you have provided here will be immensely helpful to me. I will, of course, give credit where it is due! Mango https://www.blogger.com/profile/07761107182992233089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-15198165801559326422014-06-12T06:09:01.927-04:002014-06-12T06:09:01.927-04:00Not the review, but the book: yes. Not the review, but the book: yes. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-20593889326902080502014-06-11T19:29:58.396-04:002014-06-11T19:29:58.396-04:00Probably doesn't fit here, but are you familia...Probably doesn't fit here, but are you familiar with this review and/or the book reviewed? <br />"The Function, Mechanism, And Evolution Of Learning: A Review Of Sara J. Shettleworth’s Cognition, Evolution, And Behavior"<br /><br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1284897/Robert Kopechttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05873765000196899526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-72156024268882384912014-06-11T16:04:22.011-04:002014-06-11T16:04:22.011-04:00Nothing in teaching is as gratifying as getting sm...Nothing in teaching is as gratifying as getting smart students interested.....and thinking! You have the 'it' factor to do that, because you think about the issues and have the personality to match.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-87019930429891437382014-06-11T16:01:54.550-04:002014-06-11T16:01:54.550-04:00Yes! Okay, now I really wish I didn't have to ...Yes! Okay, now I really wish I didn't have to wait so long to work through all this with students again! It's so much fun. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-21309086409843653972014-06-11T15:56:20.845-04:002014-06-11T15:56:20.845-04:00There is a nice quote from Lamarck's book, in ...There is a nice quote from Lamarck's book, in 1809, about how the slowness of evolutionary time is so deceptive. Darwin's insistence on gradualism was,in his case, fundamental to his idea that religious creationist explanations were not needed and were incorrect (because any quick change, or saltation, would seem to require a 'watchmaker'). In fact, I agree with what you say, and Darwin's book is mainly about the evidence of slow change from common ancestry. Also, to the extent Darwin was actually right about how slow things are, traits become more complex (because environments change) and drift becomes all the more powerful relative to very weak selection molding many genes simultaneously. So selection is the more challenging thing to actually understand--not just because, as you and we have blogged about numerous times, one can invent all sorts of plausibility stories if you make adaptation seem steady and quick.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-59047704036791819322014-06-11T15:49:50.459-04:002014-06-11T15:49:50.459-04:00Same with deep time and the evidence for it. Just ...Same with deep time and the evidence for it. Just starting out with what's obvious (that doesn't require a microscope, a PCR machine, or equations) is very powerful, I think. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-38012696222660846122014-06-11T15:49:02.384-04:002014-06-11T15:49:02.384-04:00Oh, I'm glad you think so! I think common ance...Oh, I'm glad you think so! I think common ancestry is so powerful and the observations are easy to make because they're everywhere around us. Yet common ancestry gets buried immediately with molecules and mechanisms and theory by most presentations of this material. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-25672923209507749572014-06-11T15:45:19.165-04:002014-06-11T15:45:19.165-04:00The idea of natural selection was a brilliant way ...The idea of natural selection was a brilliant way to see how complex organisms can get here, but I think it is often far less clear how it happens in fact. To me the most profound insight of Darwin's is descent with modification from common ancestry. That took care of creationistic explanations and the like. Selection as a trait-molder of course took care, in Darwin's explicit statement, of the need for an external designer. But I think common ancestry is generally easier to deal with than selection.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-46075143567722638472014-06-11T15:44:49.468-04:002014-06-11T15:44:49.468-04:00There hasn't been in the past, but I'm afr...There hasn't been in the past, but I'm afraid with this new daily journal business, there'll be seats aplenty!Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-56541692065675381432014-06-11T15:40:29.103-04:002014-06-11T15:40:29.103-04:00Sounds great! I'll enroll if there are still ...Sounds great! I'll enroll if there are still empty seats.....Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-35776138205388082482014-06-11T14:59:25.454-04:002014-06-11T14:59:25.454-04:00It might sound crazy, but it's really really e...It might sound crazy, but it's really really easy to avoid saying "adaptation" or "natural selection" for the first 2/3 of the course. By the time I do, they get evolution and mutation, both of which are crucial to getting selection (and getting what's NOT selection). Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-20001106775706310502014-06-11T14:57:10.725-04:002014-06-11T14:57:10.725-04:00Thanks Ken. But that part of the course is selecti...Thanks Ken. But that part of the course is selection- and adaptation-free. It's just simply evolution. The bulk of OOS, yes, which is why I introduce Darwin at this point. Just common ancestry and change over time and Tree of Life stuff at this point. That they'll get a taste of selection from his writings about what led him to think such-and-such will be foreshadowing for Unit 2. Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-29102159431429798622014-06-11T14:16:39.013-04:002014-06-11T14:16:39.013-04:00Looks very good, Holly. I might only suggest that...Looks very good, Holly. I might only suggest that in Section 1.10 you give them a chapter (first? fourth? last, summary?) of Origin, so they would get a direct taste of Darwin's argument. However, I say this not remembering what CD said in the parts you have set from Voyage. My suggestion only relates to the reasoning that he went through to advance the idea of speciation by adaptation and divergence.<br /><br />But I think you're (properly) asking a lot of your students, and in a very logical and meaningful order and so on, and I can see from the outline how you're freed from the constraints of any given book.<br /><br />Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-68383453223440983342014-06-11T13:14:57.092-04:002014-06-11T13:14:57.092-04:00This looks great. I taught a textbook free 4-field...This looks great. I taught a textbook free 4-fields course last semester and, although it definitely needed work, I would do it again. I used Storify to collect resources for each topic.Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00128660565080335958noreply@blogger.com