Critical thinking courses address matters of controversy within a given field of study or in the society at large. Critical thinking courses emphasize some combination of the methodology of acquiring knowledge in a specific discipline, key arguments in the discipline, and problems of interpreting original literature and data. In addition, they may subject arguments within the discipline to scrutiny from competing cultural, social, or methodological perspectives. These are topics that are constantly debated by anthropologists and areas of a great deal of ongoing research.
Anthropology is a discipline that studies the biology and behavior of humankind.
It is nearly unique in considering these topics in light of natural history and in-depth comparative studies. In this course we will discuss debates about recent human evolution. Here we will consider both current data and the importance of historical context in debate and discussion. I anticipate that this portion of the course will provide each of us with a richer understanding of the biology and behavior of our ancestors and cousins of 40,000 to 150,000 years ago. We will also consider how modern humans respond to disease.