SYLLABUS

TOPIC SCHEDULE

RETURN TO B301

 B301 Laboratory Methods in Bioanthropology
B301 Syllabus
Fall 2002, Section 0398

Instructor: Leslie Harlacker, lharlack@indiana.edu
Office: Student Building 058, 855-5797
Office Hours and Contact Information: W 10 – 11:30; R 10:30 – 12:00 and by 
           appointment.  Note that I can be reached at this office only during the above hours. 
           You should use e-mail to contact me at any other time; I check e-mail quite 
           frequently and usually am able to respond fairly quickly.
_______________________________________________________________________

Course Description and Objectives
     B301 is a laboratory course intended to introduce students to the techniques commonly used in most areas of bioanthropological research, from identification of research questions through methods and techniques to the writing-up of results.  This will involve lots of hands-on experience as well as readings chosen to acquaint you with the relevant literature.  Some of the subject areas we’ll be exploring are human osteology, forensic anthropology, primatology, human variation, genetics, and human palaeontology (fossil hominids).  The first section of the course will focus on human osteology, while the second section will build upon this knowledge as we delve further into bioanthropological research.

     My overall goal for this course is to provide you with an understanding of how bioanthropologists study both living and archaeological populations, and to help you enhance your own research and writing skills through use of the scientific method applied to bioanthropological questions.  By the end of the semester, you should also be able to handle various bioanthropological problems, such as:

       · Identification of fragmentary human bones to skeletal element
       · Age and sex determination from skeletal remains
       · Identification of dental and skeletal pathology
       · Determination of locomotor behavior of primate species
       · Discussion of osteological differences among fossil hominids and their implications

Texts

1.  Human Osteology by Tim White.  This is the main text; many used copies should be available. Please read assigned sections before the class meeting for which they are assigned.

2.  B301 Laboratory Manual.  This will be handed out in class.  Make sure you bring it to each class meeting!

3.  Additional readings from the primary literature will be placed on reserve in the Geography and Map Library, Student Building 015.  These articles will be related to the theme of the lab and should also be read before the class for which they are assigned.  A list of these readings will be posted soon; check back often, as they are subject to change.

Course Requirements and Expectations
 

  • Laboratory Exercises: Each of the exercises listed in the B301 Laboratory Manual will normally be completed and handed in during class.  You are expected to read each lab and any additional readings before coming to lab; this way, all of our limited lab time can be spent doing the exercises.  These exercises are not meant to be stressful and difficult, and I encourage you to work together as you complete them.  If you have a conflict with a lab, you must contact me BEFORE missing the lab.  As a rule, an unexcused absence means lost points.  The schedule of labs can be found at the end of this syllabus.
  • Quizzes and Exams: There will be a total of four quizzes during the osteology section of the course, which means there will be a quiz on Monday of Weeks 2-5.  These quizzes will be more challenging than the labs and must be done on your own.  Two exams will be given during the semester, the first covering Labs 1-13 and the second covering Labs 14-25.  Exam 1 will be a lab practical exam covering skeletal identification and the techniques we will cover for studying skeletal material.  Exam 2 will cover the second half of the course and will likely be a more traditional exam; it will not be comprehensive (except in the sense that we will be building on the information from the first half of the course).  As with the labs, you must contact me beforehand if you must miss a quiz or exam!
  • Papers: Two papers will be assigned during the semester, a forensic case report and a research paper. Forensic case report: Each student will be assigned an individual from the  Indiana University skeletal collection for forensic analysis.  You will be responsible for a written report of your findings.  Guidelines for this report will be provided well in advance of the due date. Research paper: You will also be responsible for selecting a research topic and writing a research paper, which may cover any topic discussed in this course. For this paper you will be conducting hands-on experience with selected portions of the collections here at IU. This paper will be in lieu of a final exam and will be due during finals week; however, there will be earlier due dates for selected parts of the research process (i.e., topic proposal, annotated bibliography, research hypothesis, etc.).  Detailed instructions will again be supplied.


Grade Determination

Laboratory Exercises   25 @ 20 pts. each   500 pts.
Quizzes                         4 @ 20 pts. each     80 pts.
Exam 1                                                       100 pts.
Exam 2                                                         70 pts.
Forensic Case Report                                 100 pts.
Research Paper  (150 pts. total)
     Proposal                                                  10 pts.
     Annotated Bibliography                            20 pts.
     Abstract, Hypothesis, and Methods          20 pts.
     Final Draft                                              100 pts.
Total Points Possible                                  1000 pts.

Grading Scale:
A+  98-100% (980+ pts.)   D+  67-69.9% (670-699)
A    93-97.9% (930-979)   D    63-66.9% (630-669)
A-  90-92.9% (900-929)   D-   60-62.9% (600-629)
B+ 87-89.9% (870-899)    F     < 60%      (<600)
B   83-86.9% (830-869) 
B-  80-82.9% (800-829)     Up-to-date grade information will be posted through
C+ 77-79.9% (770-799)     Post’Em (link available through course website).  You will
C   73-76.9% (730-769)     need your IU username and password to log in.
C-  70-72.9% (700-729)
 

  • Attendance Policy: This is first and foremost a laboratory class, and half of the points available to be earned come from laboratory exercises.  It is very difficult to reschedule missed labs for a number of reasons, including the time necessary to set up and put away the materials and the limited availability of the classroom.  This makes attendance at each class meeting crucial; you should consider it mandatory.  Lab exercises can only be made up with justification (illness, religious observance, family emergency) and advance notice (at minimum, call or e-mail before the class you will miss): most issues are negotiable beforehand, but there are no guarantees after the fact.  This allows ample time to schedule make-ups or alternative assignments.  Bottom line: I understand that sickness and emergencies happen, and I’m happy to work with you when they do – I don’t want circumstances beyond your control to hurt your grade any more than you do.  However, I will be quite unsympathetic to the student who misses class(es) without notice, then approaches me at the end of the semester wanting to make up missed labs/quizzes/exams. 
  • Academic Policy: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course.  If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, you will fail the project without opportunity to replace the missed points; subsequent offenses are even more serious.  For your own protection, please follow the guidelines presented in the Academic Misconduct section of the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct published by the University (this is linked from the course welcome page).  Plagiarism is not limited to simply copying (or cutting and pasting) someone else’s words and passing them off as your own; it also includes using another person’s ideas without attribution.  If you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism, please check with me.  When in doubt, give credit to the original source!