3 credits
Spring 2026 Lecture Upper Division
Covers topics in biological anthropology, applying to both living and extinct humans and to non-human primates. Topics include: evolutionary theory; genetics; human variation and the race concept; intersections of biology and culture; fossils and paleoanthropology; ecology and speciation, primate behavior, and theories on the social behavior of early and contemporary humans.
Learning Outcomes1Meet the Graduate School learning objectives of knowledge, communication, critical thinking, and ethical research through the goals listed here.
2Learn about contemporary theory in biological anthropology from 1980s to the present.
3Understand when and how various theoretical positions and logics of interpretation have emerged.
4Review several genres of anthropological writing to understand biological anthropology, and review representation of human and non-human primates and their ecology and evolutionary history.
5Analyze a series of case studies that illustrate dominant positions and fissures in biological anthropological thought and practices.
6Gain an understanding of how theory works and how to work with different theories in their own research.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.