ANTH 270: Human Biological Variation
Fall 2004/Minnesota State University Moorhead
T, H, 2:00 - 3:15 PM, LO 098
Instructor: Dr. Bruce Roberts
Office: LO 102F; Telephone: 477-2043
Office hours: M, W 10AM-2PM; T, H 3:30-4:30 PM, and by appointment.
E mail: robertsb@mnstate.edu
Class web site: http://www.mnstate.edu/robertsb/270

Official Course Description: This course examines from an evolutionary perspective, the biological and physiological variation of modern humans. Principles of evolutionary biology and population genetics are used to explain the incidence and distribution of various human traits. Prerequisite: ANTH 120

My course description

This class is about the realities of human biological similarities and differences. I’m a cultural anthropologist, not a biological/physical anthropologist, and that fact is clearly going to affect the way this course is taught. Depending upon your perspective that could be either good or bad news. I will not pummel you with complex genetics and population biology. Nonetheless, we will examine the topics in this course from an evolutionary perspective. If you have a problem with the theory of evolution then perhaps you should re-think your decision to take this course. I will not spend the semester defending what most biologists (and virtually all other natural scientists) consider to be a well-supported explanation of how change occurs over time. Also I am out to debunk old stereotypes about the biological reality of “races” – including the new iterations of eugenics as represented by Herrnstein and Murray’s The Bell Curve or Rushton’s Race, Evolution and Behavior.

I freely admit that I have an agenda and that is why I am teaching a course that is somewhat out of my normal range of expertise. My primary objective is to convince you that, in spite of the biological variation that unquestionably exists, both at the visible and invisible level, human beings are all cut from the same cloth. Biological traits that are normally associated with the concept of “race” are very complex and determined by multiple genes as well as environmental and developmental factors. It follows that they are not inherited in any kind of neatly defined package such as “Black”, “Caucasian”, “Asian”, etc. Moreover, since variation is the stuff on which the forces of natural selection act (i.e., intra-species variation is highly desirable from a Darwinian perspective), we find that the amount of variation that exists within any of these so-called human “races” is as great or greater than any variation that exists between them. This is not liberal politics on my part; rather, it is the scientific method at work that has effectively nullified assumed biological bases for immutable human “races.”    

Graves, Joseph L.

2001 The Emperor's New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. 0-8135-2847-X

Lewontin, Richard
1995 Human Diversity. New York: Scientific American Library. ISBN: 0-7167-6013-4

Additionally, you'll have some on-line readings to look at. They are listed below and linked on the on-line syllabus. 

Exams – There will be a midterm exam (100 points) and a cumulative final (150 points). They will be comprised of objective questions (multiple choice, true-false), and short essays. You’ll need a very good excuse if you expect to take a make-up, which will be all essay and given only at my discretion if you present me with a verifiable excuse or proof of extenuating circumstance (e.g., a death in the family or major vehicular problems) and you contacted me within 48 hours of the exam. Failure to do either results in automatic forfeiture of the exam grade.

Book review – For Joseph Graves’ book, The Emperor’s New Clothes, you will submit a 5-10 page critical, thoughtful review at the end of the semester. I will distribute guidelines shortly. This assignment will be worth 50 points.

Pop quizzes – There will be 5 unannounced pop quizzes, each worth 20 points. Collectively they will be worth the weight of the midterm. These quizzes will probably be short answer format and administered at my discretion. No make up quizzes will be given.  

Attendance and discussion: Attendance is at your discretion. However, if you blow off class and miss the quizzes it will hurt you badly. Then there are the videos you’ll also miss. Videos are not something that you can just borrow, like class notes. I will not lend them to you and you cannot check them out of the library. Finally, at the end of the semester I’ll remember not only your attendance as well as your participation in class discussions. I’ll use this information as an intangible yet possibly critical element in my grading scheme.

Extra credit – No. Clear enough? Just do what is asked of you the first time.

Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477‑2652 (phone) or 477‑2047 (TTY), CMU 222 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Miscellaneous – I reserve the right to slightly modify the point ranges listed below (upward, but not downward) to benefit people who put forth exemplary effort.

Course outline*