Course Syllabus

Our Inner Primate

“Monkeys are superior to men in this: when a monkey looks into a mirror, he sees a monkey” Malcolm De Chazal

Autumn 2018

Kane Hall 210

Tues and Thurs 2:30- 4:20

Instructor: Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel 

Email: For course related questions:

   1) First check to see if the answer is in the syllabus or on our Canvas course website

    2) Use the course Discussion Forum to ask general questions so the rest of the class can benefit

    3) Only use email for personal questions you don’t want others to see or which would not be of interest             to other students (ljengel@uw.edu)

     4)Be sure to use good email etiquette (refer to the end of this syllabus)

Office Hours: Tues and Thursday 1-2pm and by appointment in Denny Hall 128 

 

I. RATIONALE:

Welcome to the inaugural "Our Inner Primate" course. This course is designed for incoming Freshman and/or students who are not familiar with Anthropology/Primatology. Nonhuman primates are our closest living relatives. Throughout the quarter we will explore how across the globe (and even into outer space), nonhuman primates have influenced how we think about culture, art, music, religion, language, biomedical research, conservation and the way the we perceive ourselves. Each lecture will be about a specific nonhuman primate-- e.g.  Flo, the adult female chimpanzee that helped Jane Goodall understand the intense relationship between primate mothers and offspring. Along the way you will be introduced to a suite of skills that hopefully will help you be more successful throughout your academic career---including how to navigate Canvas, how to use UW’s Library system to identify and appropriately use literature and media resources to create a weekly annotated bibliography and blog, workshops on peer-review and how to effectively work in small groups; and more. This this is a brand-new course you should expect that the content and assignments may be revised as we progress through the quarter.

II. Course Outcomes (or “what I expect you to walk out of this course with”)

 By the end of this course, students will have:

1. An appreciation for how nonhuman primates’ human-like qualities have fostered deep cultural, economic, religious, artistic and scientific connections between us and our closest relatives.
2. The capacity to create, using scholarly, reference and popular literature, an annotated bibliography.
3. The ability to work in small groups where you will develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills.
4. Created and maintained a blog designed to inform the general public about our long and complex history and relationships with primates.

III. Format and Procedures: 

Note that this will be a large lecture format course and I do not intend to post lectures on Canvas. We will be covering a lot of compelling material and it is important that you commit to attending all the lectures.

EACH WEEK YOU WILL...

1. Come to each of the lectures on Tues and Thursday.
2. Complete the lecture comprehension quizzes.
3. Complete your Annotated Bibliography assignment using the resources in the course Library Guide and submit them every Friday by 5pm to your Peer Review Group.
4. Complete peer-review online by Monday at 5pm.
5. Add content to your blog and read and comment on the blogs being created by your group members.

IV. ACCOUNTABILITY TO HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS: Please know that in all the courses that I teach, whether face-to-face or online, I hold you and myself to the highest academic standard because I care about you and your education. Honest, ethical conduct are integral components of the academic process. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for self and others and a civil community. Academic integrity includes a commitment to not engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception.  Such acts of dishonesty include cheating or copying, plagiarizing, submitting another persons’ work as one’s own, using Internet sources without citation, taking or having another student take your exam or working together with other students on your exam, tampering with the work of another student, facilitating other students’ acts of academic dishonesty, etc.

Unless I specify otherwise, all assignments and examinations are to be completed by the student alone, without inappropriate assistance of any kind.

Students who are found to be dishonest will receive academic sanctions, such as an “F” grade on the assignment, exam, and/or in the course.  They will also be reported to the University of Washington’s Community Standards and Student Conduct. for possible further disciplinary action. 

V. ACCOMMODATIONS: Please let me know as early as possible how I can best support your learning style.

VI. ASSIGNMENTS:

Annotated Bibliography:  Each week you will complete 3 entries for your annotated bibliography. These entries will undergo peer review prior to their submission for credit.

Quizzes: Reading and comprehension quizzes are a component of each of the Modules.

Midterm and Final Assignments:  During Weeks 4, 7 & 11 you will be required to create blog posts for a general audience based on the concepts that we have discussed throughout the quarter.     

 

VII. GRADING PROCEDURES:

Grades will be assigned based on grade-point equivalent of your overall score.

 

GPA	Percent
4.0	100-99
3.9	98-97
3.8	96-95
3.7	94-93
3.6	92-91
3.5	90-89
3.4	88-87
3.3	86-85
3.2	84-83
3.1	82-81
3.0	80
2.9	79
2.8	78
2.7	77
2.6	76
2.5	75
2.4	74

 

VIII.  Inclusivity Statement

We understand that our members represent a rich variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The University of Washington’s Anthropology program/department is committed to providing an atmosphere for learning that respects diversity. While working together to build this community we ask all members to:

• share their unique experiences, values and beliefs
• be open to the views of others

• honor the uniqueness of their colleagues
• appreciate the opportunity that we have to learn from each other in this community
• value each other’s opinions and communicate in a respectful manner
• keep confidential discussions that the community has of a personal (or professional) nature
• use this opportunity together to discuss ways in which we can create an inclusive environment in this course and across the University of Washington community