Courses
Fall
ANTH 364 Natural History of our Closest Relatives
ANTH and PSYCH 470/570 Primate Behavior
ANTH595D Graduate Seminar
ANTH696D Graduate Student Professional Development Seminar
Spring
ANTH, PSYCH, ECOL, FCSC 431/531 Primate Sexuality
ANTH 368 Methods in Biological Anthropology
ANTH 492 Directed Research (taught as the second semester of Community Beginnings: Collaborating with Birthing Center Partners and Training the Next Generation of Engaged Researchers. Not offered in 2022)
ANTH 495D/595D Special Topics in Biological Anthropology (Socioendocrinology, not offered Spring 2023)
ANTH 364 Natural History of our Closest Relatives
ANTH and PSYCH 470/570 Primate Behavior
ANTH595D Graduate Seminar
ANTH696D Graduate Student Professional Development Seminar
Spring
ANTH, PSYCH, ECOL, FCSC 431/531 Primate Sexuality
ANTH 368 Methods in Biological Anthropology
ANTH 492 Directed Research (taught as the second semester of Community Beginnings: Collaborating with Birthing Center Partners and Training the Next Generation of Engaged Researchers. Not offered in 2022)
ANTH 495D/595D Special Topics in Biological Anthropology (Socioendocrinology, not offered Spring 2023)
Natural History of our Closest Relatives
This course introduces students to the extensive diversity of the living primates, including aspects of their behavior and ecology, with emphasis on natural history and adaptation to the environment. We begin with an introduction to the primates, their evolution, classification, and adaptations. We discuss primate locomotor and sensory systems, primate ecology, and social interactions in detail. We discuss how social and ecological factors yield the various societies and strategies we see among primates in nature, including communication and tool use. We end with a discussion of conservation issues and strategies. We will also consider how our studying of living primates can help us gain insight into human adaptation and behavior.
Primate Behavior Seminar
This is an advanced undergraduate/graduate course in which we examine the ecology and behavior of nonhuman primates. Using mainly primary research articles, we will explore several themes in primate behavioral ecology through lectures and discussion. Students will take an active role in moderating discussions. Topics include evolutionary theory, reproductive strategies, natural and sexual selection, cooperation and conflict, behavioral and ecological endocrinology, and allomaternal care. This class has three objectives: (1) to provide an overview of some of the foundational and recent research areas in primate behavior, (2) to help advanced undergraduates progress to a graduate level in their reading, understanding, and writing of primate-related research, and (3) to help graduate students develop research ideas and expand their understanding of primatology within an anthropological and evolutionary framework.
Primate Sexuality
Research on primate sexuality not only enhances our understanding of non-human primate biology and behavior, but also provides a comparative context for understanding human sexuality and its relationship to human biology, behavior, and evolution. This course will review primate socio-sexual behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Following a broad survey of mating patterns in the primate order, specific topics will be discussed, including the effects of sex hormones on the brain and behavior, male and female mating strategies, mate choice, sperm competition, and male and female investment in offspring. Taxonomic groups of focus will include prosimians, monkeys, apes and humans. Class will consist of a combination of lectures and discussions.
Methods in Biological Anthropology
2010-2013: Conduct research at the zoo! This course takes the student through the steps of designing, conducting, and reporting a scientific study in primate behavior. Topics covered include research design, sampling protocols, basic methods for data analysis, and writing a scientific paper. Students will learn through a combination of lectures, one‐on‐one workshops, and hands‐on research conducted at the Reid Park Zoo. Throughout the course, each student will design their own research study, collect data on one of three primate species at the zoo, analyze and interpret their own data, and report their findings in a research paper and to their peers in a conference at the end of the semester. Course enrollment limited to 15 students.
2014, 2019: We will have a series of guest lectures on topics ranging from social network analysis, plant phenology, communication, ethics, and censusing. Students will learn several different methods used by Primatologists and Biological Anthropologists. There will be several hands-on activities, such as collecting phenological data on the plants in the UA arboretum, collecting behavioral data at the zoo on the new lemurs, and analyzing hormone samples in the lab.
2016: Students involved in 'Community Beginnings: Collaborating with Birthing Center Partners and Training the Next Generation of Engaged Researchers' with Dr. Pike and Dr. Tecot will be involved in building a community-driven research project with the Birth and Women’s Health Center and El Rio Clinics Community Health Outreach, and Teenage Outreach Pregnancy Services (TOPS). Students will also learn endocrinology techniques in the Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates.
2014, 2019: We will have a series of guest lectures on topics ranging from social network analysis, plant phenology, communication, ethics, and censusing. Students will learn several different methods used by Primatologists and Biological Anthropologists. There will be several hands-on activities, such as collecting phenological data on the plants in the UA arboretum, collecting behavioral data at the zoo on the new lemurs, and analyzing hormone samples in the lab.
2016: Students involved in 'Community Beginnings: Collaborating with Birthing Center Partners and Training the Next Generation of Engaged Researchers' with Dr. Pike and Dr. Tecot will be involved in building a community-driven research project with the Birth and Women’s Health Center and El Rio Clinics Community Health Outreach, and Teenage Outreach Pregnancy Services (TOPS). Students will also learn endocrinology techniques in the Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates.
Socioendocrinology
This course provides students with the opportunity to learn research methods during hands-on laboratory sessions. It prepares students to conduct research that employs endocrinology and other biomarkers to understand hormone-behavior relationships in human and non-human primates. Students will perform a series of skill building exercises that will help train them in laboratory safety and basic lab methods, and they will analyze biomarkers in different sample media. Throughout the semester we will complete a salivary cortisol assay and analyze the results. Lab work will be linked with field methods and broader research questions to ultimately prepare students to design and conduct novel research.
Human Evolutionary Biology Seminar
This course provides a broad introduction to biological anthropology at the graduate level. Students will learn core theoretical concepts and how to integrate and apply them to human and non-human primate evolutionary biology. Topics covered will include evolutionary theory; production of biological variation (genetics, epigenetics, plasticity, and adaptation); life history theory; cognitive, behavioral, and biocultural evolution; ecology of physiology and reproduction; and implications of the fossil record for contemporary human and non-human primate biology and physiology.
Professional Development Graduate Seminar
The aim of the class is to begin the process of becoming a professional Anthropologist and learn the skills required to navigate your way through the degree program efficiently and successfully. The topics range from developing strong mentoring networks to creating semester plans that can guide your focus through the academic year. We will also spend some time considering anthropology-specific pedagogy that should be useful in the classroom and beyond. Because graduate school can be stressful, we also cover some practical resources for creating healthy, satisfying work and life habits. This course is appropriate for incoming, first year MA, Applied MA, and PhD students in the School of Anthropology.