Earth is on the brink of the Sixth extinction event, which is predicted to be more devastating than the asteroid impact in Mexico that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Scientific evidence shows that humans are the cause. Anthropology is the discipline that seeks to understand human behavior both in the present and in the evolutionary past. It can uniquely contribute to understanding how we got here and what we need to do.

In the first unit of this course, students will gain a deep understanding of evolutionary biology and how to apply it to human behavior. They will learn the cornerstones of natural selection theory and read articles by evolutionary anthropologists and psychologists who test hypotheses about human behavior. They will be able to answer questions, such as: How do genes and the environment interact to make us who we are?

In the second unit, students will study the global environmental challenges of loss of biodiversity, climate change, scarcity of food and water, population growth, invasive species, and sustainability. The solution to these global challenges will require an evolutionarily informed understanding of human motivation, linking the second unit to the first.  Using the findings of the first unit, students will learn which kinds of approaches and proposed solutions to environmental problems are more likely to be successful.

The third unit will examine the consequences of our evolved biology and our planetary impact for pressing issues in the area of global health. The focus will be on pandemics and non-communicable diseases, as both comprise an increasing share in the global burden of disease. Students will study the novel insights gained from evolutionary approaches to medicine and how inequality in access to resources shapes disparities in health between people and populations.

Course requirements will develop students' abilities as active thinkers and problem-solvers. Students will do evidenced-based scientific writing in the form of three short assignments and a term paper, and they will take multiple choice quizzes each week outside of class. The students of this course, and others like it, are the leaders of tomorrow.

Course Requirements:

Assessment for the lecture component of this course will be through short answer and essay questions as well as a 1500 word term paper. Open book multiple choice quizzes may be used as well as discussion boards, break-out rooms, and annotation of readings in Perussal. Class participation will be expected in weekly discussion sections and in lectures,