Evolution of Human Culture Is New Course
at USM/L-A
July 2005
A new course that examines the origins of humankind from
biological and cultural perspectives will be offered this
fall at USM's Lewiston-Auburn College.
This course titled "Evolution of Human Culture,"
focuses on three dimensions: first, the biological changes
that preceded and followed the emergence of humankind; second,
the cultural innovations that followed the biological evolution
of humans and later triggered rapid social changes as well
as changes of nature; third, the environmental factors that
might have contributed to human adaptation and are now under
siege of human influences. The course takes a chronological
framework, and topics include the primates, the split between
humans and primates from their common ancestor, the evolutionary
tree of diverse hormonid species, and the emergence of the
modern human.
The instructors for the course are David Harris, Ph.D., associate
professor of natural and applied sciences, and Hsin-yi Lu,
Ph.D., assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences.
"This course explores the question of how humans became
human," notes David Harris. "It combines anthropology
and biology to examine the physical and cultural changes that
occurred during human evolution, and discusses the contribution
of environmental factors to these changes." Dr. Harris
also noted that the course includes discussion of lessons
from human evolution that pertain to current social issues.
This three-credit course (SCI 399) will meet Monday evenings,
7:00-9:30 p.m., beginning September 12. The course requires
good writing skills but does not assume previous background
in either biology or anthology. It is open to all interested
students. Registration for this and other fall semester courses
is open through the first week of classes. The complete fall
semester course listing is available on-line at www.usm.maine.edu/lac/schedules.
Please call 753-6500 for more information, or advising assistance.
