JanTerm 2004 Home Page

Plants & Civilization — Class Schedule — JanTerm 2008
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Day	Date	Class Topic	Reading Assignment

Mon	7	Class Introduction (Schedule; Preparing for Lab; Research Paper; Plant Impacts on Civilization—Overview); Science as a way of knowing	The Nature of Science; Evolution & the Nature of Science
Tues	8	Evolution as an organizing principle; Natural Selection; Evidence for Evolution; What are plants?	The Perimeter of Ignorance; World Record Pumpkin
Wed	9	What are plants?, cont. Angiosperms; Flowers and Fruits; Coevolution—Pollination and Dispersal; Field Lab—Fossils—Duck Creek; Austin Chalk; Waterloo Lake (FIEID TRIPS ARE DEPENDENT ON WEATHER)	Text Chapter 1; Introduction to Plants; Introduction to Angiosperms; Coevolution and Pollination
Thur	10	Origins of Agriculture, Evolution of Crop Plants & Impacts of Plants on Civilization; Field Lab—Major Plant Groups—Buckner Biological Preserve	Text Chapter 2
Fri	11	Origins of Agriculture, Evolution of Crop Plants & Impacts of Plants on Civilization, cont.	The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race

Mon	14	Impacts of Plants on Civilization & the Columbian Exchange	Only the Beginning (B. McKibben) (also titled Katrina Havoc Reflects the New America); The Arrow of Disease
Tue	15	Plant Defense—The Eternal War With Animals; Exam 1	Text Chapters 11 & 12; Girl Declare Brain-Dead; Poisonous Plants
Wed	16	Major food plants; Special Guest Speaker---afternoon session: Poisonous Plants (finished by 3:30 pm)	Text Chapters 4, 5, & 6; Text pages 180--191; Major Food Plants
Thu	17	All Day Field Trip to Dallas World Aquarium
Fri	18	Spices; Field Lab—Plant Defense Lab	Text Chapter 8; History of Spices; Short History of Spice Trading

Mon	21	Medical, drug, and poisonous plants; DRUG PLANT WRITE-UP DUE; Inside Lab—Economic Botany	Text Chapters 11, 12, & 13
Tue	22	Forensic Botany (including video); Inside Lab—Forensic Botany Lab	Forensic Botany
Wed	23	Tropical Rain Forests	Tropical Rain Forest. The Real Biodiversity Crisis
Thu	24	All Day Field Trip to BRIT & Botanical Garden; RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Fri	25	Chocolate	Chocolate article, Second Chocolate article

Mon	28	Plant Conservation—Ways to Make a Difference; STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Tue	29	EXAM 2; STUDENT PRESENTATIONS