Anthropology I: Uncovering Human Mysteries

About This Course

The aim of anthropology is to use a broad approach to gain an understanding of our past, present, future and address the problems humans face in biological, social and cultural life. This course will explore the evolution, similarity and diversity of humankind through time. It will look at how we have evolved from a biologically and culturally weak species to one that has the ability to cause catastrophic change. Exciting online video journeys to different areas of the world will also be presented in the course. Prerequisites:  None

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...

• Describe the development of the field of anthropology
• Explain the significance of anthropology in contemporary society
• Articulate the relationship between anthropology and sociology
• Identify leading anthropologists and sociologists
• Consider career interests in the field of anthropology
• State how and why evolution occurs
• Identify different types of evidence for evolution
• Outline the events of early primate evolution
• Identify early species of Homo sapiens, including their traits and distribution
• Describe where and when Homo sapiens evolved
• Identify the research methods anthropologists use
• Differentiate types of societies, including hunter-gatherer, agrarian, industrial and post-industrial
• Give examples of subcultures and what makes them unique
• Assess the impact of technology on society
• Trace socialization as a life-long process
• Define culture, and list cultural universals
• Give examples of material, social, and ideological culture
• Explain why art is an important part of culture
• List traits of human language
• Outline the origin of human language
• Interpret population growth and other demographic data
• Explain and critique theories of population growth
• Discuss the Six Essential Elements of geography
• Identify human and geographical characteristics of regions
• Define race, ethnicity, and characteristics of minority groups
• Define archaeology and the archaeological record
• Identify the types of material remains that people leave behind
• Outline how archaeologists find and excavate sites
• Explain how archaeologists analyze and interpret what they discover
• Describe the earliest evidence of culture that was left behind by human ancestors
• State how anthropologists define religion
• List purposes that religion serves in society
• Name examples of world and folk religions
• Describe elements that are common to many religions
• Explain how and why religions change
• Identify types of marriage rules and forms of marriage
• Explain how residence patterns are related to household makeup
• Describe different ways to trace relationships and name kin
• Analyze trends in American society regarding family life
• Evaluate the importance of civic participation
• Evaluate the role of history in shaping national character
• Describe the changing role of the media in politics
• Analyze various types of communication for bias, factual accuracy, etc.
• Discuss changing ideas about citizenship and the participation of different groups
• Detail the differences between the developing and developed worlds
• Describe the causes and effects of nationalist conflicts
• Determine cultural, historic, and economic factors that lead to genocide
• Explain how the world’s nations are governed differently
• Assess human rights in the U.S. and other countries
• Compare indications of democratization in other countries

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Studying Humans: What Anthropologists Do?

Unit 2: Human Evolution: How We Got Here

Unit 3: Looking at Culture in Context

Unit 4: Culture & Language: Why Humans Are Special

Unit 5: All Environment and Culture

Unit 6: Material Culture: How Humans are Handy

Unit 7: Religion: What We Believe

Unit 8: Family Ties & Social Bonds: What Keeps Us Together

Unit 9: Information and Enculturation

Unit 10: Anthropology in Current Cultures

Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.

Additional Costs: None

Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.

Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.

Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.

Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/

Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at CustomerCare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.

Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at customercare@michiganvirtual.org or by phone at (888) 889-2840.

Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.

Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:

• Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• Download and install software
• Use a messaging service similar to email
• Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• Open attachments shared in messages
• Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
• Save a file as a .pdf
• Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• Insert images or links into a file or html editor
• Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• Use presentation and graphics programs
• Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• Create and maintain usernames and passwords

Additional Information: None