HMS-334 Questioning the Story of Our Origins

3 Credits

A cross-disciplinary course that examines how we come to understand who we are as a species by considering who we might have been in the distant past. How has our history come to be written? Who are our ancestor species? And what criteria do anthropologists and archeologists use to determine what the essential characteristics are that make a species Human? Our topics include Paleolithic art, social organization in prehistoric times, human migration, and genetics as contributors to the emergence of a human consciousness. Central to our investigations are discussions of race, gender, Indigeneity, and the rise of patriarchy. Students are introduced to old and emerging theories in anthropology and archeology as well as contributions made by Indigenous scientists who bring community-based methodologies to concepts of prehistory and origin. Students will conduct research, respond to ideas that emerge from the material, and create works related to course topics in the three presentations assigned during the semester.