Introduction to Forensic Anthropology Anthropology 231

Transcription

1 Professor: Gretchen R. Dabbs, PhD Office Phone: Class meets: TR 9:35-12:05, 306 Wham Office Hours: by appointment Office Location: 3539 Faner Hall Teaching Assistant: Jessi Spencer Office Location: 3534 Faner Hall Office Hours: Introduction to Forensic Anthropology Anthropology 231 Required Text Hard Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology, second edition, editor Dawnie Wolfe Steadman Recommended Text Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, third edition, by Steven N. Byers Course Description Forensic Anthropology is the application of the theoretical and practical techniques of physical anthropology to human remains of medico-legal significance. This course will focus on the teaching of theory and method appropriate to allow the creation of a biological profile for an unknown individual. Topics will include human osteology, techniques for estimating the age and sex of an individual from skeletal remains, analysis of trauma, skeletal recovery, and the evolving role of forensic anthropology in the medico-legal system. Learning Objectives By the end of this course, students will have learned 1.) the history of forensic anthropology as a discipline 2.) basic human osteology, and the biological structures used in forensic anthropology 3.) the processes used by forensic anthropologists to estimate age, sex, stature, and ancestry from skeletal remains 4.) how trauma (gunshot wounds, blunt force trauma, etc) affects the skeletal system Final Grades Exams (best 3 of 4) 70% Reading Summaries 15% Video Summaries 15% A % B % C % D % F 59.99% Exams: Each student will sit for four multiple-choice examinations. There will be three in-class exams covering the material of the current section. The fourth exam will be a comprehensive final. The three highest exam grades will be used to calculate the final course grade, and each will hold equal weight (23.33%). Since each student is able to drop his/her lowest exam score, no make-up exams will be administered. There are no exceptions to this rule. 1

2 Reading Summaries: Students will submit summaries of ten chapters from the text (Steadman). Students will have the option to choose which chapters of the text they summarize (all assigned chapters should be read!). These reading summaries will be due twice during the semester and they will be graded on a completion/incompletion basis. Students must demonstrate that they read the chapter at the very least. Reading summaries are due at 9:35am on the date listed and must be submitted via D2L. I do not accept late work. Thursday, February 4 th -4 summaries due (choose among chapters 1, 11, 12, 16, or 21) Tuesday, March 1 st -6 summaries due (choose among chapters 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 23, or 24) Video Summaries: We will watch three videos in class pertaining to particular topics. Each student will submit short summaries and discussions of each video shown in class. I will post assignment guidelines to the course D2L website to guide your video summary discussion. Be forewarned: While this is not an English class, I expect that by this stage in your academic career you are capable of writing a single page of text without major grammatical errors. As such, if your one page summary contains more than one major error (examples include sentence fragments, improper verb usage, incorrect word usage, misspellings, comma errors that change the meaning of the sentence, etc.) you will not receive credit for the assignment. I encourage all of you to visit the writing center. These assignments are due at 9:35am on March 3 rd. I do not accept late work. These must be submitted via the course D2L page. Written Assignments All written assignments must be submitted via D2L in the appropriately labeled dropbox (example: Reading Summary #1 must be submitted to the Reading Summary #1 dropbox) by 9:35am on the due date. Assignments submitted to the wrong dropbox or after the due date/time will not be graded. Assignments ed to either Jessi or I will not be graded except in exceptional circumstances involving D2L complications. If you cannot submit via D2L due to a D2L malfunction, send me an immediately and attach your assignment. As long as it arrives before the due date, it will be graded. If it is sent after 9:35am on the due date, it will not be graded. All documents must be in either.docx or.pdf format. In the past, I have had difficulty opening other formats in D2L and any document not in one of the specified formats that cannot be readily opened will not be graded. Students will receive a 0 for that assignment. Attendance Students are expected to attend class on a regular basis. Attendance will be monitored using sign-in sheets, which will serve as the official record for class attendance. It is each student s responsibility to ensure he/she signs the attendance sheet when he/she attends class. If a dispute arises as to whether or not a student attended class on a particular day, the sign in sheet will be the deciding vote. No alternate documentation will be accepted (i.e. showing me your notes for that day or having a friend vouch for your attendance is not sufficient). Any student missing more than one class will have his/her final grade reduced by ½ letter grade (2.5%) for each unexcused absence over one. For example, if you earned a 91.2% average on the course assignments and missed three classes, your final grade would be reduced to 81.2%, a B. Excused absences require documentation, which will not be accepted more than one week after the last absence. If you have an excused absence, please see Dr. Dabbs. Exam Procedures Administering examinations in large lecture classes is difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a clear set of rules outlined from the beginning of class. a.) Students MUST provide some form of picture identification (student ID, driver s license, passport NOT high school student ID!) in order to submit their exam. If you do not have an ID at the time 2

3 of the exam, you will not be able to turn it in for grading, and it will be scored as a zero your freebie exam. b.) The exam format will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, and matching type questions. Proper completion of the scantron form requires a #2 pencil. If you fail to bring a pencil on exam day and cannot convince one of your peers to lend you one alas!, I fear you will have learned a very hard lesson about preparedness. You will be unable to complete the exam and thus it will count as your freebie. c.) I reserve the right to change seating arrangements for exam periods. Refusal to sit in your assigned seat will forfeit your freebie exam, because you will not be allowed to take the exam. d.) No students will be allowed to leave and return to the exam. Therefore, I suggest you use the restroom, get a drink, and do anything else necessary before the exam begins. e.) Once the first student has handed in his/her exam and left the examination, no one entering the hall will be allowed to begin taking the exam. So, do not be late on exam day!! To do so risks missing your opportunity to show me how much you learned (i.e. take the exam)! f.) All forms of electronic device (including, but not limited to, cell phones, pagers, ipads, Kindles, and calculators) are BANNED from the examination. If I even see such a device, your exam will be collected immediately and it will cost you your freebie exam. g.) Cheating of any form will result in your immediate and irrevocable failure of this course. Additionally, I will submit the matter to Student Judicial Affairs to be included in the student s university-wide record, which could results in further penalties. Disruptive Behavior If you are more interested in talking about your Friday night plans, texting, surfing the web, doing the daily crossword, etc. than learning about Forensic Anthropology, please don t come! Seriously, don t come if you are going to be a distraction to other students. Some examples of disruptive behavior include, but are not limited to 1.) Being Late 2.) Ringing cell phones/pagers 3.) Excessive chatting with your neighbor 4.) Doing Sudoku/crosswords 5.) Texting 6.) Web surfing 7.) Making out seriously, this has happened before, and it is extremely distracting! Any and all of these activities are distracting, both to me and to your peers. Please refrain from these activities during class. If you cannot, I reserve the right to ask you leave the room until you can cease being a distraction to me and your peers. Reading the syllabus is an important part of being an informed student and good academic citizen. I congratulate you for reading this far. Send Dr. Dabbs an indicating you saw this in the syllabus text by five in the afternoon on Friday, January 22. There is a small reward for doing this. Incomplete Policy The following text is taken from the Undergraduate Catalog , page 34. An INC is assigned when, for reasons beyond their control, students engaged in passing work are unable to complete all class assignments. An INC must be changed to a completed grade within a time period designated by the instructor, but not to exceed one year from the close of the term in which the course was taken, or graduation, whichever occurs first. Should the student fail to complete the course within the time period designated, not to exceed one year, or graduation, whichever comes first, the incomplete will be converted to a grade of F and the grade will be computed in the student s grade point average. Students should not re-register for course in which an INC has been assigned with the intent of changing the INC grade. Re-registration will not prevent the INC from being changed to an F. 3

4 Weather Policy The university may cancel classes if inclement weather makes it unsafe for students to attend classes. Please check the university website ( for weather related announcements. If the university has not cancelled classes, but there is inclement weather, class will still be held. This includes examinations, should they fall on snowy days. Students may choose to skip the exam on a snowy day, at the cost of their freebie exam. Supplementary Assistance With the cooperation of SIUC s Disability Support Services (DSS), each student who qualifies for reasonable supplementary assistance has the right to receive it. Students requesting supplementary assistance must first register with DSS in Woody Hall B-150, , or Online Desire 2 Learn (D2L) This course will utilize the online course management software Desire 2 Learn (D2L). In order to access the software you will need your network ID (siu8xxxxxxxx) and password. You can access the site via In addition to submitting all assignments through D2L interesting information and links can and will also be posted to the page. Jessi will also be available on line for virtual office hours during her assigned office hour time. Please feel free to post and browse the course page. Other Misc. Information: The University has published a document of useful information on many policies. I have posted this document on the course D2L page. Schedule Below is a tentative schedule for the course. Please complete the assigned readings before each lecture. Readings from the required course text (Steadman) are listed in normal typeface. Readings from the recommended course text (Byers) are listed in italics. Where no readings are listed, none are required!! January 19 th Course Introduction Steadman Chapter 1 Historical Development Byers Chapter 1 January 21 st Bone Structure and Development Steadman pgs Byers pgs Osteology Steadman Chapter 16 Byers pgs January 26 th Odontology Byers pgs LAB DAY! 4

5 January 28 th Establishing the Forensic Context Steadman Chapter 21 Byers Chapter 3 Forensic Archaeology & Crime Scene Recovery Steadman pgs ; Chapters 11 & 12 Byers Chapter 4 February 2 nd EXAM I Lab Methods Byers Chapter 6 February 4 th Reading Summaries Batch #1 Due at 9:35am (via D2L) Sex Estimation & LAB DAY! Byers Chapter 8 February 9 th Age Estimation & LAB DAY! Steadman Chapter 4 Byers pgs February 11 th Ancestry Byers Chapter 7 Stature & LAB DAY! Byers Chapter 10 February 16 th Introduction to Trauma Steadman Chapter 10, 15, & 17 Byers Chapter 11, 12, 13, & 14 February 18 th EXAM II 5

6 February 23 rd and 25 th Dr. Dabbs and Jessi will be in Las Vegas attending the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meetings. There is no class. HOWEVER, you must log onto D2L and watch two videos during this week. These videos will not be available after 5pm on Feb. 26. You must watch them before this time. Failure to watch them will make it impossible for you to complete your video assignments. Human Rights Violations Steadman Chapters 23 & 24 Historical Cases without Forensic Significance Steadman Chapters 5 & 8 Forensic Anthropology in the Media March 1 st Reading Summaries Batch #2 Due at 9:35am (via D2L) Taphonomy Byers Chapter 16 Estimating the Postmortem Interval Steadman 13 & 14 Byers Chapter 5 March 3 rd All Video Summaries Due at 9:35am (via D2L) Antemortem Conditions and Positive Identification Steadman Chapter 6 Byers Chapter 15 & 18 March 8 th EXAM III March 10 th FINAL EXAM! Lab Day: These are workshops where you will have the chance to examine skeletal materials, see what things feel, smell, look and taste like. 6