Message from the Director
 Human Biology is a place within our Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) intellectual community where disciplinary perspectives are heralded, respected, and called upon to address the complex and truly multidisciplinary problems facing humanity in the 21 st century, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity, mental illness, and the scarcity of environmental resources.
Human Biology is a community of learning and inquiry that transcends the structural and functional boundaries of the disciplines and the institution to engage in the science of humanity.
Indiana University Bloomington is an intellectual community that is structurally and functionally organized by disciplines, for example, we have outstanding departments of Biology, Chemistry, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, Gender Studies, Criminal Justice, History and Philosophy of Science, Fine Arts, Telecommunications, and Comparative Literature within our College of Arts and Sciences. These departments represent disciplinary areas of study and are home to faculty conducting research within specialized areas of the discipline. In addition to departments there are schools and centers of advanced study that share common disciplinary expertise such as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics , the Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, the Institute for Social Research, the Biocomplexity Institute, the IU School of Medicine, the School for Public and Environmental Affairs, and the School of Optometry . Each of these departments, institutes, centers, and schools within the life science, social science, arts and humanities employs a precise disciplinary language and brings a unique perspective to the questions it poses, the hypotheses it formulates, and the methodology it uses. They are all engaged in creative activity and IUB is home to an inquisitive and distinguished faculty who are supported in their research by strong communities with a critical mass of discipline specific faculty. These faculty share their disciplinary ways of knowing and habits of mind with students in their courses and with those working with them in their research and laboratories.
Human Biology is a multidisciplinary, integrative, and collaborative learning community that seeks creative ways of thinking, investigating, and acting to address the complex problems facing us today while at the same time preparing for the uncertainty of the future. Students in Human Biology can expect to develop the ability to think critically, analytically, and independently. Students work collaboratively with faculty and their peers in a learning environment that recognizes that human beings socially construct knowledge and work with others to solve complex problems. Students and faculty in the Human Biology Program work together to provide leadership and direction for the program. The program provides students with the opportunity to be proactive about their education and for faculty from diverse disciplines to share their enthusiasm for learning and the discovery of new knowledge with students and their colleagues.
Human Biology is an intellectual playground that aims to be intentional and reflective in the pursuit of excellence in undergraduate education. Through the building and support of community the program hopes to facilitate interdisciplinary lines of inquiry by teams of faculty and students.
The development of the program in Human Biology has used a scholarly approach and has been informed by faculty, students, and staff. It has been purposeful in employing a developmental model that is generative and inclusive with the result being a program that is exciting, unique, and capable of easily responding to change. On behalf of all the Human Biology Community I welcome you and hope that you will explore our program and consider the many different ways that Human Biology connects with your aspirations to be an agent of change.
Whitney M. Schlegel
Director, Human Biology |
