CORE074 Biosocial anthropology: the nature of the human species and its variability

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. RNDr. Miroslav Králík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Paride Bollettin, MSc., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Martin Čuta, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Mikoláš Jurda, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Arwa Kharobi, PhD (lecturer)
RNDr. Robin Pěnička, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Kévin Alexis André Salesse, M.Sc., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. RNDr. Miroslav Králík, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: RNDr. Pavel Lízal, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Anthropology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Thu 17:00–18:50 A,01026
Prerequisites
!TYP_STUDIA(ND) && !FORMA(C) && (!PROGRAM(B-UCB) && !PROGRAM(B-UCC) && !PROGRAM(B-UCF) && !PROGRAM(B-UCM) && !PROGRAM(B-UCZ) && !PROGRAM(B-LGM) && !PROGRAM(B-EMB) && !PROGRAM(B-EKB) && !PROGRAM(B-ANT))
The course has no prerequisites.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 76/100, only registered: 2/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100
Course objectives
Human biosocial interactions have always been controversial, and in the past their misunderstanding or outright misuse for political purposes has had disastrous consequences. Current developments in biological anthropology emphasize the distinctly biosocial nature of our species. However, primary and secondary education does not take into account current anthropological knowledge, and a patchwork of various outdated concepts persists in the general consciousness. The aim of the course is therefore to introduce university students to the current view of biological anthropology on the relationship between the physical, animal nature of man and his social side, realized through culture. The course will introduce the main areas of today's biosocial anthropology in a simple and understandable way and will introduce students to their essence through concrete examples and situations.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, the student will be able to understand the relationship between evolutionary and social (culturally) influenced sources of human biological traits, behaviors, and adaptations. The student will be able to describe the roots of human distinctiveness from other animals and explain the basic nature of our evolutionary adaptive strategies. The student will gain an understanding of the range of different interactions between biological and social processes (events) in human life and be able to make independent inferences about the direction and degree of causality between them. He or she will also be able to assess the extent to which human nature faces challenges in the context of a technological and information civilization.
Syllabus
  • 1) Biological and social aspects of humans: evolution and the present, time and causality (Miroslav Králík, in Czech)
  • 2) Human ontogeny in the environment: natural, social and cultural (Miroslav Králík, in Czech)
  • 3) Biological and cultural variability, inseparable aspects of human existence (Mikoláš Jurda, in Czech)
  • 4) Food for thought: a journey through time and space in human dietary patterns (Kévin Salesse, in English)
  • 5) Perfect imperfection: compromises in human body structures (Martin Čuta, in Czech)
  • 6) "Blood is thicker than water" - Kinship, family, and marriage (Robin Pěnička, in Czech)
  • 7) Roaming horizons: impact of human migrations in shaping societies, then and now (Kévin Salesse, in English)
  • 8) Identities, borders and differences in socio-cultural experiences (Paride Bollettin, in English)
  • 9) War! Anthropology of conflict: aggression, violence, territoriality, and inequality (Robin Pěnička, in Czech)
  • 10) Who to Blame: Paleopathology & Historic and Prehistoric Epidemics (Arwa Kharobi, in English)
  • 11) How we move (or don't) - the good and the bad (Martin Čuta, in Czech)
  • 12) Human populations on the way from industrial revolution towards the stars (Mikoláš Jurda, in Czech)
  • 13) The Human Body Never Truly Disappears: Funerary Practices (Arwa Kharobi, in English)
  • 14) From human “unicity” to multispecies worlds (Paride Bollettin, in English)
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Newson, L., & Richerson, P. (2021). A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution. Oxford University Press.
  • Wengrow, D. (2010). What Makes Civilization?: The Ancient Near East and the Future of the West (1st edition). Oxford University Press.
  • Sahlins, M. (2013). What Kinship Is-And Is Not. The University of Chicago Press.
  • Booth, A., McHale, S. M., & Landale, N. S. (2010). Biosocial Foundations of Family Processes (National Symposium on Family Issues) (2011th edition). Springer.
  • Rychlík, M. (2022). Dějiny lidí. Academia.
  • Gibson, M. A., & Lawson, D. W. (Ed.). (2014). Applied Evolutionary Anthropology: Darwinian Approaches to Contemporary World Issues. Springer New York.
  • Grauer, A. L. (Ed.). (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology. Routledge.
  • Rosa, A., & Valsiner (Ed.). (2018). The Cambridge Handbook of Sociocultural Psychology (2.). Cambridge University Press
  • Graeber, D., & Wengrow, D. (2021). The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (1st edition). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Teaching methods
in-person lectures
Assessment methods
The final assessment is a colloquium, which will take the form of a written test. For each topic, a list of questions/topics covered in the test will be made available in advance. At the same time, a practice test for each week will also be available in the IS. In the final test, the student will answer in written form 15 questions selected from the answer sheets for the entire course.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
The specificity of our course is that part of the lectures is in Czech and part in English. For all lectures there will always be presentations in both Czech and English, as well as bilingual study materials and practice tests. The student will be able to choose Czech or English for the final test. In this setting, the course will be suitable as a general course for foreign students (Erasmus, etc.). The interactive syllabus in the IS will include a teaching presentation for each week, textual study materials, a link to the literature used and extension literature, and practice tests in the IS. Finally, these tests will serve as the basis for the final test that will be generated from these questions.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2023.
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