Biological Anthropology - Open For Antiracism (OFAR)
Overview
The Open for Antiracism (OFAR) Program – co-led by CCCOER and College of the Canyons – emerged as a response to the growing awareness of structural racism in our educational systems and the realization that adoption of open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy could be transformative at institutions seeking to improve. The program is designed to give participants a workshop experience where they can better understand anti-racist teaching and how the use of OER and open pedagogy can empower them to involve students in the co-creation of an anti-racist classroom. The capstone project involves developing an action plan for incorporating OER and open pedagogy into a course being taught in the spring semester. OFAR participants are invited to remix this template to design and share their projects and plans for moving this work forward.
Action Plan
I recommend this free online textbook - Explorations: An open Invitation To Biological Anthropology. The 2nd edition is almost ready. The 2nd edition is going to come out this summer (2023) and it is going to address any accessibility issues that snuck into the 1st edition.
I added reading materials to modules that address racial / ethnic inequality issues. For example, I added online articles on informed consent in genetics research and how this issue has historically been overlooked especially in minority groups. Another example is an article that talks about how genetic illnesses that affect people with African roots have had far less research funding than genetic problems that affect people with European roots. The idea of science being somehow neutral has to be challenged, and reading materials like these can help students understand that.
Course Description
Course Description
CATALOG DESCRIPTION ANTH 2 - Physical Anthropology 3 Unit(s) Transfer Status: CSU/UC 51 hours Lecture
This course introduces the concepts, methods of inquiry, and scientific explanations for biological evolution and their application to the human species. Issues and topics will include, but are not limited to, genetics, evolutionary theory, human variation and biocultural adaptations, comparative primate anatomy and behavior, and the fossil evidence for human evolution. The scientific method serves as foundation of the course. (C-ID ANTH 110).
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe the scientific process as a methodology for understanding the natural world.
- Define the scope of anthropology and discuss the role of biological anthropology within the discipline.
- Identify the main contributors to the development of evolutionary theory.
- Explain the basic principles of Mendelian, molecular and population genetics.
- Evaluate how the forces of evolution produce genetic and phenotypic change over time.
- Demonstrate an understanding of classification, morphology and behavior of living primates.
- Summarize methods used in interpreting the fossil record, including dating techniques.
- Recognize the major groups of hominin fossils and describe alternate phylogenies for human evolution.
- Identify the biological and cultural factors responsible for human variation.
The attached document includes reading assignments and discussion questions, organized by module. These reading assignments and discussion questions can be integrated into existing modules, for instance a module on genetics or human variation.