ANTH 396: Issues in Anthropology: Social Sciences

ANTH 396-002: Food and Human Evolution
(Spring 2015)

01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW

Section Information for Spring 2015

What did you eat today?  Yesterday?  When you were five?  When you choose foods, you are negotiating a complicated web of culture and biology. In this class, we're going to explore the relationship between food and how humans evolved. Although many claim to know what the "ideal" human diet is, we'll see why there isn't one perfect diet.  Because humans evolved from other primates, and because we are very closely related genetically but live an almost all the geographic niches on the planet, our main dietary adaptation is flexibility. We'll consider questions including: What have humans evolved to eat? To not eat? How has our diet shaped our evolution? What does it mean to “cook”? How have humans changed the adaptations of the plants and animals that we eat? Is the modern human diet "healthy'? What is the relationship between gender, status, and diet?

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Topic of contemporary interest in anthropology, focusing on social science topics of interest. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Mason Core: Social/Behavioral Sciences
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies, Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lec/Sem #1, Lec/Sem #2, Lec/Sem #3, Lec/Sem #4, Lec/Sem #5, Lec/Sem #6, Lec/Sem #7, Lec/Sem #8, Lec/Sem #9, Lecture, Sem/Lec #10, Sem/Lec #11, Sem/Lec #12, Sem/Lec #13, Sem/Lec #14, Sem/Lec #15, Sem/Lec #16, Sem/Lec #17, Sem/Lec #18
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.