This class covers human physical and cultural evolution.

In the first week of this four-week class, students will begin with an overview of the things that make us human, from the physiological to the cultural, from our opposable thumbs and bipedalism to tools, language, art, and culture. We'll discuss which of those features are shared by other species -- some closely-related to us, and others only distantly related. And we'll learn that we owe some of our signature characteristics to ancestors that lived 55 million years in the past.

In our second class, we'll dive into the australopithecines, their unique characteristics, and what environmental forces may have caused them to develop traits distinct from chimps and other apes, such as bipedalism. Students will learn how a changing African landscape and climate, along with predation, left indelible marks on our species.

In our third class, we'll move on to the Homo line, including our early modern ancestors and their close relatives, Homo erectus and the Neanderthals. Students will learn about and discuss what separated us from our closest, extinct relatives -- and ways in which we weren't separate from them at all.

Finally, in the fourth class, we will briefly discuss (and speculate about) where, perhaps, evolution will take us. Students will learn that natural selection -- the main driver of evolution -- has a diminished role in our lives today, and we will discuss what that means. Then I will turn the floor over to the students who will each have five points they have chosen to discuss that week -- perhaps a question to be answered, a piece of news to share, or simply a thought.

By the end of this class, students will have more understanding and appreciation of how our ancestors shaped who were are and what we can do today.

Topics covered: genes, mutations, and heritability; natural selection; geologic time; human physiology; and human cultural development.

Note: Students taking this class will benefit from a strong understanding of the processes of evolution by natural selection. For students who do not already have a substantial understanding of these concepts, I recommend taking my class Evolution 101: How Does Natural Selection Make New Species. If you have any questions, please let me know!