Core 6 - Humanity in the Universe II

Core 6 Faculty

Dr. Jennifer Barce - Education
Dr. Robert Brodman - Biology
Dr. David Chattin - Psychology
Dr. Anne Gull - Chemistry
Dr. Neal Haskell - Biology
Dr. Roger Olson - Math (Director of Core 6)
Dr. Mark Seely - Psychology
Fr. William Stang, C.PP.S. - Biology
Prof. Lana Zimmer - Education

Guest Lecturers

Martin Nickels
Dr. Robert Schenk - Economics
T. Hayes

Core 6 Required Texts

The Nature of Science - Trefil, James. Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003, ISBN 0-618-31938-7
Global Warming - Time Inc., 2007, ISBN 978-1-933821-23-8
Science, Evolution, and Creationism - National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, 2008, ISBN 978-0-309-10586-6
One additional book is to be chosen by each individual discussion leader. This will facilitate a discussion about possible future texts. Two of these texts are referenced in the schedule as possible readings: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and Deffeyes Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak.

Collegial Agreements

Each Core 6 section will:

require the completion of 10-12 pages of writing.
include assessment of completion of reading assignments as a part of the course grade.
require the completion of the common midterm and final exam for passing the course.
adhere to the lecture attendance policy stated below.

Core 6 Lecture Attendance Policy

Attendance IS REQUIRED at LECTURES *. No questions will be asked about the first three absences, but after 3 absences your grade will be penalized 3% for each subsequent absence. For example, if you miss 4 lectures, your grade will be decreased by 3.0%, and the highest grade you can now get is 97%. Look at your schedule NOW. Athletic or other scheduled events may cause you to miss a lecture. Scheduled events that you could have planned for are included in the first 3 absences. In other words, athletic events, field trips, etc. are NOT excused from this attendance policy. Use your 3 "free" absences to cover your athletic or forensic trips etc. or possible changes in such events. Also, save them up in case you get ill. If you miss three lectures for sleeping in and then try to get an extra absence for an athletic event or illness, your grade will be decreased by 3%. The highest grade you can now get is 97%.

The unexpected can occur. You may be allowed an absence beyond the three "free" ones IF:

You have a VERY important reason like hospitalization or death in your immediate family. You will need to verify this to your instructor through campus ministry.
A DOCTOR keeps you out of classes because of serious illness. Your instructor will want the doctor's verification of this.
There is an unscheduled event you must attend, such as a change in athletic trip time or a new event that was not on your schedule. Your instructor will expect a note from your coach or teacher explaining this AND a note from you.

NOTE: Your instructor may not approve your reason, even if you and your coach think it is important. For example, if you skip two lectures because you slept in and then want to skip two more later using sickness as the reason, your instructor probably will not excuse the absences. If you approach your instructor BEFORE the absence, he or she will let you know BEFORE the absence whether it will be approved or not. You can approach your instructor in person, by email, or by phone.

NOTE ALSO - if you did not talk to your instructor in person, even if you left a message, your instructor may not approve your reason, and thus your absence will be unexcused. Seek to leave messages on your instructor's email or answering machine in time for his or her response. If you receive an approved absence, YOU are responsible for all material covered during your absence.

* Discussion Attendance is not subject to this policy. Your faculty discussion leader will inform you of his or her policy for discussion attendance.

Laboratory Activities

Natural Selection Population Genetics Lab
Evidence of Evolution Lab
Fossil Hominid Lab
Primate-Human Evolution Lab
Molecular Evolution Lab
Primate Evolution Lab
Human Evolution Lab

Lecture and Reading Schedule

Unit I: The Rise of Christianity
Date	Lecture	Required Reading (Trefil)
January 7	Brodman Humanity's Place in Nature	Resistance to Antibiotics (18-19); Coevolution (83); Linnaean System of Classification (244-245)
January 14	Nichols Humanity in the Universe	"Science, Evolution, Creationism"
January 21	Olson Humanity Impacts Nature: Peak Oil and Global Warming	Carbon Cycle (61-62); Greenhouse Effect (189-190); Milankovic Cycles (264-266); Water Cycle (416); "Global Warming", "Peak Oil" by Deffeyes (if applicable)
January 28	Brodman Darwinism	Theory of Evolution (151-157); Molecular Clock (276-277); Antibiotic Resistance (18-19)
January 30	Wistrom Genetics	DNA (125-127); Cloning (81-82); Genetic Code (176); Genetic Drift (177); Human Genome Project (215-216); Mendel's Laws (260-261)
February 4	Brodman Unifying Theory	Coevolution (83); Hardy-Weinberg Law (192); Social Darwinism (368)
February 6	Zimmer Fossil Record	Mass Extinctions (253-254); Law of Superposition (386-387)
February 11	Brodman Extinction and Proliferation	Exponential Growth (158-159); Cope's Law (95); Principle of Competitive Exclusion (85)
February 13	Nickels Intelligent Design: Some Alternate Explanations of Origins	Anthropic Principle (16-17); Vital Force (415); "Science, Evolution, Creationism"
February 18	Stang Primate Ancestors of Humanity	Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny (309)
February 25	Common Midterm Exam
-- Spring Break --
March 11	Stang Crossing the Threshold to Being Human
March 13	Olson Emergence from Africa
March 18	Seely Brain & Cognitive Development	Triune Brain (407-408); Propagation of Nerve Signals (289-290)
March 20	Brodman Evolution of Social Systems	Kinship Selection (232); Animal Territoriality (15); Social Darwinism (268); Principle of Mutuality (285); Mimicry (271)
March 25	Brodman Humans as a Selecting Force	Differential Resource Utilization (121); Ecological Succession (135-136); Green Revolution (188); "Global Warming"
April 1	T Hayes From Silent Spring to Silent Night	Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" (if applicable)
April 3	Stang Towards a Sustainable Earth	"Global Warming"
April 8	Seeley Conservation Psychology	Differential Resource Utilization (121); Gaia Hypothesis (173)
April 15	Schenk Managing Planet Earth
April 22	Olson Resource Management: Case Studies	Maximum Sustainable Yield (255); Acid Rain (6)
April 30	Common Final Exam 10 AM in Shen

Core 6 Internet Sources (links checked 05/09)

Paleontology Links - Recently updated with many links to sites supporting both theories of evolution and creationism. Some of these sites have some interesting graphics.
Fossil Hominids Illustrations - A page with a number of good image files that would be worth checking out.
Evolution and Creationism - A good site from Syracuse University with links to a number of good sites on creationism and evolution. Worth checking out.
The Evolution of the Human - This site has some neat graphics and a timeline of various stages of human evolution.
Dinosaurs Online - This site has several interesting items about dinosaurs, including a picture gallery.
The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc - A cave discovered in France in 1994 with a number of different paintings.
The Cave at Lascaux - An interesting site with some pretty good graphics of cave art paintings.
Pope John Paul II on Evolution - Read the Pope's 1996 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, "Truth Cannot Contradict Truth" on human evolution.
Becoming Human - This is a multimedia site with some interesting information about human origins. Definitely worth checking out.
National Science Education Center - This site has a number of statements for different religious bodies on the compatibility of faith and evolution.

Evolution and Nature of Science - A number of different links of interest on this site.

Core 6 - Humanity in the Universe II

Related Links