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Earth, Body, and Mind: Changes in Scientific Thought
| Course Home Page | Purposes & Overview of Course | Course Schedule & Readings | Course Procedures | Course Related Web Links | Academic Skills Center |
Class Schedule and Readings: Spring 2017
Textbook: The Hunter-Gatherer Within: Health and the Natural Human Diet, Brock & Diggs, 2013.
Topic |
Reading |
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| UNIT I: INTRODUCTION, PLATE TECTONICS, MASS EXTINCTION | |||
| Jan | 30 | Introduction to Class; Does Science Matter? Science as a Way of Knowing; Science as a Candle in the Dark (Lecture) | Purposes & Overview; Naturalism |
| Feb | 1 | Plate Tectonics (Lecture) | Alfred Wegener; Geology: Plate Tectonics; Major Tectonic Plates of the World |
| 3 | Plate Tectonics continued (Lecture & HWC video) | This Dynamic Earth | |
| 6 | Plate Tectonics continued (Kiluhea Video & Discussion) | Tsunami Graphics; Tsunami Information | |
| 8 | Mass Extinction; K-T Impact (Lecture) | K-T (or K-Pg) Event; Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event; Article on Permian Extinction; 2nd Permian Extinction Article, 3rd Permian Extinction Article, Ancient Crash, Epic Wave |
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| 10 | Unit 1 Exam | Example Exam for Unit 1 | |
| UNIT II: THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION | |||
| 13 | Pre-Darwinian Paradigms & The Darwinian Revolution: Evolution of a Paradigm Shift (Lecture) | Biology Before the Beagle (Gavin De Beer)---Moodle The Origin of Species (Introduction) (Charles Darwin); Principles of Geology (Charles Lyell)---Moodle | |
| 15 | The Darwinian Revolution (Continued) (Lecture & Discussion) | Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution; Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution | |
| 17 | Primate and Human Evolution | ||
| 20 | Primate and Human Evolution | Textbook Chapter 2 | |
| 22 | Human Evolution continued (Video) | Hobbit-Like Ancestor Found in Asia; The Hadza | |
| 24 | Changes in Worldview; Sociobiology (Lecture) | The Boy Raised as a Girl; On Becoming Human---Moodle; The Brains of Gay Men---Moodle | |
| 27 | Creationism (Lecture, Video, Discussion) | Seven Short Creationism Readings---Total of 11 pages (Farewell to Newton, Einstein, and Darwin; Creationism and the Age of the Earth; Does Evolution Conflict with Religious Belief?; Challenging Evolution Does Not Make Creationism Science; Creationists versus Evolution: The Issues; Evidence for Scientific Creationism?; Putting Darwin Back in the Dock)---Moodle; The Texas Debate Over Teaching Evolution; Sadly, An Honest Creationist | |
| Mar | 1 | Creationism cont. (Church video & discussion) | Intelligent Design? (an 8 page article including essays by both Intelligent Design proponents and Scientists)---Moodle; Five Major Misconceptions about Evolution |
| 3 | Evolutionary Medicine; Intelligent Design?; Benevolent Design? (Lecture) | Textbook Chapters 1, 2 (you read this earlier), & 3; If Humans Were Built to Last---Moodle | |
| 6 | Molecular Evolution; The Irony of Knowledge; Evolution Summary (Lecture & Discussion) | ||
| 8 | Food: What's In It (Part 1) | Textbook Chapter 4 & 5 | |
| 10 | Unit 2 Exam | ||
| 13 - 17 | Spring Break | ||
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| UNIT III: THE ENVIRNOMENT: a) Body & b) World | |||
| 20 | Food: What's In It (Part 2) | Textbook Chapters 6 & 7 | |
| 22 | Food and How Science Goes Wrong | Textbook Chapter 8 & Appendix 1 | |
| 24 | Food Toxins: Plants Fight Back | Textbook Chapter 10 & Appendix 3 | |
| 27 | Food: How the Body Works | Textbook Appendix 2 & Chapter 9 | |
| 29 | Diet, Health, & the College Student | Textbook Chapters 11, 13 & 14 | |
| 31 | The Environment – An Overview (Lecture) | Endrocrine Disrupters, Tragedy of the Commons, 1602: Tragedy of the Commons, What are Ecosystem Services | |
| Apr | 3 | Ozone Depletion and Global Climate Change (Lecture) | Good News on the Ozone Hole; Global Warming Effects Around the World; 2014 Breaks Heat Record; 2015 is Hottest Year; How 2016 Became Earth's Hottest Year on Record |
| 5 | Biodiversity and the Extinction Crisis (Lecture & Discussion) | Earth May Be in Early Days of 6th Mass Extinction; The Real Biodiversity Crisis | |
| 7 | Population-the Ultimate Environmental Problem (Lecture) | ||
| 10 | Unit 3 Exam | ||
| UNIT IV: COGNITIVE SCIENCE | All readings for this unit will be posted on Moodle | ||
| 12 | Introduction, Philosophical Concerns, and Artificial Intelligence (Lecture) | ||
| 14 | Introduction to the Brain, and Damaged Brains Part 1 (Lecture) | ||
| 17 | Free Will (Lecture and Discussion) | ||
| 19 | Damaged Brains Part 2 (Lecture) | ||
| 21 | Sleep and the Brain (Lecture) | ||
| 24 | Sex and the Brain Part 1(Lecture) | ||
| 26 | Sex and the Brain Part 2 (Lecture and Discussion) | ||
| 28 | Videos | ||
| May | 1 | Animal Consciousness | |
| 3 | Unit 4 Exam | ||
| 5 | No Class on last Friday of semester | ||
| 12 | FINAL EXAM (OPTIONAL) Friday, 12–2 pm |
All material on this page copyright 2017, George M. Diggs, Jr. & Kerry G. Brock
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