Syllabus L IFE OF P RIMATES Anthropology 212 Spring 2020
Instructor: Dr. Ryne A. Palombit Office: BIO (Biological Sciences Bldg.) Room 209A (Douglass Campus) Phone: (848) 932-9275; [email protected] Office Hours: Monday, 3:30 - 5:30 pm or by appointment Teaching Asssistant: Anissa Speakman Office: BIO 310 [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00 - 11:00 am, Thursday 3:00 - 4:00 pm, or by appointment
Sakai Course Website: This site (THE LIFE OF PRIMATES S20) will have lecture outlines, readings, announcements, video clips and movies, etc. You must use the Sakai site (not email) to submit questions about course material, schedule, etc. Post your question in the “Forums” area in the section of the area of the Sakai site (see below). You’ll also submit assignments on Sakai.
Meeting Time & Place: Monday, Thursday, 12:35 - 1:55 pm, Loree 020 Prerequisites: None Required Textbooks: Falk, D. 2000. Primate Diversity. W.W. Norton, New York. Goodall, J. 1971. In the Shadow of Man. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Core Curriculum Learning Goals ü Understand and apply basic principles and concepts in the physical or biological sciences. ü Explain and be able to assess the relationship among assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and theory in scientific analysis. Course Description & Objectives: A primary goal is to understand and apply basic principles and concepts in the biological sciences. Students will learn how to explain and assess the relationship among assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and theory in scientific analysis. We will achieve these aims through a question-oriented survey of the world’s living primates in which students will: (1) acquire a broad knowledge of the biology of primates, i.e., their diverse anatomy, behavior, ecology, and mental worlds; (2) gain appreciation of the fact that so many features of living humans—from our bodies to our social behavior to our thinking—cannot be fully understood without comparative reference to nonhuman primates; (3) discover some of the many unanswered questions currently challenging the people who study primates; and (4) develop some
understanding for how we go about answering the Gary Larson, The Far Side many questions about why the myriad primate patterns we see exist as they do.
Anthropology 212 Syllabus, Spring 2020 Page 2 of 7 This 3-credit course is a pre- or co-requisite for upper division courses in primatology, e.g., Primate Behavioral Ecology (Anthro 348) and Primatology and Human Evolution (Anthro 350).
Course Requirements 1. Exam 1 (25%), February 24 2. Exam 2 (30%), April 6 3. Paper: In the Shadow of Man (10%), April 26, by 11:55 pm 4. Exam 3 (35%) (not cumulative), Friday, May 7, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am
Attendance of Lectures Coming to the lectures is crucial for success in the course.
Exams and the Online Pre-Exam Question & Answer (Q&A) Sessions You must take your exam in the room (either Loree or Wright Lab) where you are enrolled. Each exam comprises several types of questions: term definition, short answer, multiple choice, and essay. Ask questions in lecture! That’s the best approach to learning. Other than that, please do NOT email me or the Teaching Assistant any questions about course material. Instead, please post ALL questions about course material in “Forums” area of the course Sakai site. This way, all students (including you) can benefit from the question-answer exchange.† NOTE: in fairness to students who have early morning classes, I won’t answer questions posted in Forum on the morning of the exam. The Teaching Assistant will do a Q&A session in the Sakai Chat Room several days before each exam. Come to the Chat Room, ask questions, and watch the Q&A exchanges. NOTE: the point of this Q&A session is to answer questions about the material in the lectures and readings, not to answer questions about the exam, such as questions that begin with “Do we need to know…?” or “Will there be questions about…?”, etc. The Teaching Assistant won’t answer those questions, partly because we usually have not made the exam at the time of the Q&A session. If there is something I discuss in lecture that won’t be on the exam, I will tell you at the time I mention it. So, again, the Q&A session is your opportunity to ask questions about things in the lectures or readings (though questions about related things you may have come across outside of class are OK to some extent).
Policy Regarding Missed Exams & Assignments Makeup assignments for missed exams and extensions on due dates for assignments are not provided except under highly unusual circumstances such as illness or family emergency. Having exams or coursework for other courses due on the same day or same week is not a valid reason for a make-up (except with respect to University rules regarding the final exam). If you would like to be considered for a makeup assignment for a missed exam or an extension on the due date, you must fulfill the following two conditions: 1. You must notify the Teaching Assistant or me about the missed exam using the University-wide Absence Reporting System (https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/) within 48 hours of the missed exam. 2. Within one week of the missed exam or assignment due date, you must provide me a valid excuse, documented in writing and signed by an appropriate authority (e.g., physician or your Dean of Students). This document must refer explicitly to the date of the exam. If both conditions are met and if I judge that the excuse was reasonable, then you will be allowed to do a makeup assignment. Note: if you fail to fulfill either condition above, you are ineligible for a makeup assignment. In the case of a missed exam, the makeup assignment will be either: 1) taking a make-up examination (either oral, written, or both); or 2) writing a major term paper on a topic assigned to you.
† Naturally, email me or the Teaching Assistant directly any questions you have about anything concerning you personally in the course (e.g., a grade query). Anthropology 212 Syllabus, Spring 2020 Page 3 of 7 It is your responsibility to note the date and time of all exams, including the final, and to plan accordingly. If you miss the exam, or any part of it, because you thought it was on a different day or at a different time, you can not receive extra time or a make-up exam. So, take note now & mark your calendar, iPod, mobile phone, etc. The dates & times of exams are below, and on the University webpage for Schedule of Final Exams (https://finalexams.rutgers.edu) for the third exam. If you think you have an “exam conflict” situation for the final exam and the final in another course, consult the University Rules about what constitutes “a conflict” at: https://www.sas.rutgers.edu/cms/sasoue/policies-resources/exams/15-policies- resources/policies/65-final-exams-policies. The University has specific rules about this. If your conflict situation fits one of the criteria given, then inform me of this situation well before the exam (not after the exam)
Term Paper Analysis of In the Shadow of Man‡: You will write an essay based upon your reading of Jane Goodall’s classic book, In the Shadow of Man. Goodall’s book in extremely rich in descriptions and anecdotes of chimpanzee behavior. In this essay, you will take episodes of social behavior described in detail by Goodall, and analyze them using the theory for understanding behavioral evolution. This theory is not in Goodall’s original book, but will be presented in class lectures and textbook readings. A handout with details about the Extra Credit Assignment will be posted on the course Sakai site later in the semester,
Extra Credit Assignment Students will be given the opportunity to do an extra credit assignment once during the semester. This assignment will involve either: (1) attending departmental lecture(s) by visiting primate behavioral ecologists (& writing a brief report); or (2) reading and briefly summarizing three scientific papers (of your choice) from primate journals (specified by the Instructor); (3) a combination of #1 and #2 Successful fulfillment of the extra credit assignment will allow you to raise the grade of either Exam 1 or Exam 2 by 10%, i.e., a full letter grade. A handout with details about the Extra Credit Assignment will be posted on the course Sakai site later in the semester.
Classroom Etiquette: Respect Your Fellow Students You have a responsibility to minimize disruptions to their concentration and attention to lectures: • no texting or e-messaging or phone use of any kind during lectures • no packing up to leave before class is dismissed • If you arrive late, sit in one of the two rows in the back, by the door • If you know you’ll need to leave the lecture early, let me or the Teaching Assistant know beforehand and please sit in the back row near the door
Academic Integrity Rutgers has zero tolerance for cheating, plagiarism and other infringements of academic integrity. Consult http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/ and http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/resources-for-students/ to review what constitutes a violation of academic integrity and what sanctions are taken against violators.
‡ Photo: National Geographic Society (H. van Lawick) Anthropology 212 Syllabus, Spring 2020 Page 4 of 7 Students may be assigned randomly to seats prior to the exam. Plagiarism is particularly relevant for the term paper and extra credit. Just as during lectures, cell phones must be turned off and stowed during exams. Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com (directly or via learning management system, i.e. Sakai, Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle) for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Usage Policy posted on the Turnitin.com site. Students who do not agree should contact the course instructor immediately.
Bill Gates Ate My Homework Computer glitches (such as computers that die, hard disks that crash, flash drives that freeze, etc.) will not be accepted as excuses for failure to do assignments on time, to study for exams, etc. It is your responsibility to ensure that everything you do on a computer is properly & frequently backed up so that failure of a computer or drive has no effect on your academic performance.
S CHEDULE OF L ECTURES & E XAMS
Reading Assignments: You are expected to do the assigned reading before the relevant lecture.
Sakai Online Stuff: The following docs will be posted at the course Sakai site: 1. Outlines for each lecture: these will be posted in a folder entitled “Lecture Outlines” in the “Resources” folder of the Sakai site. The outline will appear on Sakai one lecture period before the relevant lecture. Look over the outline beforehand & bring a print-out of it to lecture. 2. Non-textbook Additional Readings: will be posted in the folder “Readings” in the “Resources” folder one week before the lecture for which they are assigned.
IMPORTANT: You should download all the readings and lecture outlines onto your personal computer as they become available during the semester. Why? Because it is not at all uncommon for Sakai to get so much traffic during finals week that it slows way down, and is practically useless at times! That means you may not have consistent/reliable access to Sakai when you need to prepare for the third exam. Thus, inability to access Sakai during finals week will not be an acceptable reason to request taking the third exam at another time.
DATE TOPIC Assigned Reading Jan. 23 Why Primates? None pp. 18-19, 43-44, 116-117 Natural Selection & Jan. 27 Weiner, Jonathan. 2005. Evolution in action. Natural History, November, 47- Evolution 51. pp. 1-13, 27 (Neural Note 1), 39-40 (tree shrews) Palombit, Ryne A. 2008. Primates. In: International Encyclopedia of the Jan. 30 What is a primate? Social Sciences, 2nd edition, (W.A. Darity, ed.) pp. 459-462. Macmillan Reference, Detroit: read first section (i.e., the stuff prior to “Dietary Habits”) Who are the Primates? Meet the “Primitive” Chapter 3, pp. 63-78* & Chapter 4* Feb. 3 Primates: Lemurs, Handout (Sakai): A Taxonomy of Living Primates Lorises & Bushbabies Anthropology 212 Syllabus, Spring 2020 Page 5 of 7 DATE TOPIC Assigned Reading Chapter 3, pp. 79-84*, Chapter 5* & Chapter 6* Who are the Primates? Groves, Colin, P. 2017. Prosimian vs Strepsirrhine vs Haplorrhine. In: The Feb . 6 Meet the Tarsiers & New International Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: World Monkeys 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0043 (pp. 1-2). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Who are the Primates? Feb. 10 Meet the Monkeys & Apes pp. 257-264, 277-289, 299-310, 319-326 of the Old World Movie David Attenborough’s “Life in the Trees” goes online for your viewing. Also posted will be the outline Feb. 11 “Guide to David Attenborough’s “A Life in the Trees” to use while watching this movie. Review relevant material from previous chapters on anatomy & locomotion Moving Bodies Through the Youlatos, Dionisios. 2017. Suspensory posture. In: The International World: Structure & Feb. 13 Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: Function in Primate 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0217 (pp. 1-2). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Locomotion New York. Feb. 17 OPEN pp. 58-59, 123-124, 160-161, 325 (Box 13) Palombit, Ryne A. 2008. Primates. In: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. In particular, section “Dietary Habits” Deluycker, Anneke M. 2017. Insectivory. In: The International Encyclopedia of Feb. 20 Primate Diets & Feeding Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0062 (pp. 1-3). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Lambert, Joanna. 2017. Frugivory. In: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0092 (pp. 1-2). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Feb. 24 Exam 1 pp. 18-19, 43-44, 54-56. Dawkins, Richard D. 2001. Kin selection and reciprocal altruism. In: The Problem of Altruism: Encyclopedia of Mammals, 2nd ed., (D.W. MacDonald, ed.) p. xxxi. Oxford Kin Selection in Theory University Press, London. (NOTE: today we will do kin selection; next time Feb. 27 & (primate) Practice we will do reciprocity) (Or: why is blood thicker Dugatkin, Lee A. 2017. Inclusive fitness. In: The International Encyclopedia of than water?) Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0008 (pp. 1-2). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Wilkinson, Gerald S. 1990. Food sharing in vampire bats. Scientific American, The Problem of Altruism 76:76-82. Among Non-Kin: Wilkinson, Gerald S. 2001. Blood bat donors. In: Encyclopedia of Mammals, Reciprocity in Theory & Mar. 2 2nd ed., (D.W. MacDonald, ed.) pp. 766-767. Oxford University Press, (primate) Practice London. (Or: why scratch my back if de Waal, Frans B.M. 2005. How animals do business. Scientific American, I scratch yours?) April 2005, pp. 73-79. pp. 43-44, 48, 50-54 The Problem of Sex Zuk, Marlene. 2008. Sexual selection theory. In: International Encyclopedia of Differences: the Social Sciences (W.A. Darity, ed.) pp. 479-480. Macmillan Reference, Mating & Reproduction in Detroit. Mar. 5 Theory & in (primate) Paciulli, Lisa M. 2017. Sexual dimorphism. In: The International Encyclopedia Practice of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: (Or: why do the sexes 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0486 (pp. 1-4). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., differ?) New York.
* For each chapter marked with *: (1) read general introductory material at beginning of the chapter; (2) then, for each of the following sections dealing with a particular primate species, just focus on the first few paragraphs dealing with taxonomy, anatomy, where it’s found, etc.; you can skip material on social behavior. Anthropology 212 Syllabus, Spring 2020 Page 6 of 7 DATE TOPIC Assigned Reading Chapter 4§, pp. 49-50, 285-289 Palombit, Ryne A. 2008. Primates. In: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences: section “Social Systems & Behavior” Primate Societies I: Mar. 9 Isbell, Lynne A. 2017. Grouping patterns. In: The International Encyclopedia of Dispersed Social Systems Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0029 (pp. 1-3). John Wiley & Sons, New York. Maggioncalda, Anne N. & Sapolsky, Robert. 2009. Disturbing behaviors of the orangutan. Scientific American Mind, 20:14-19. Chapter 8†, pp. 51-53, 152-156, 236-237, 246-255 Majolo, Bonaventura. 2017. Dominance. In: The International Encyclopedia of Primate Societies II A: Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0306 Multi-male, Multi-Female Mar. 12 (pp. 1-4). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. (Female-Bonded) Groups: Bergstrom, MacKenzie L. 2017. Dominance in females. In: The International Dominance Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0324. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Mar. 16 Spring Break Mar. 19 Spring Break Smuts, Barbara B. 2001. Friendships between the sexes. In: Encyclopedia of Primate Societies II B: Mammals, 2nd ed., (D.W. MacDonald, ed.) pp. 360-361. Oxford University Multi-male, Multi-Female Press, London. Mar. 23 (Female-Bonded) Palombit, Ryne A. 2017. Friendships. In: The International Encyclopedia of Groups: Male & Female Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0232 Strategies (pp. 1-7). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Goodall, Jane & Pusey, Anne. 2015. Flo family (chimpanzee). In: The Movie: Among the Wild International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality (P. Whelehan & A. Bolin, Chimpanzees goes online eds.), DOI: 10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs159 (pp. 1-3). John Wiley & Mar. 24 for viewing. See support Sons, New York. readings to right. Stanford, Craig B. 2016. Jane Goodall. In: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0066 (pp. 1-2). John Wiley & Sons, New York. Chapter 7†, pp. 166-167, 192-196, 206-207, 217-219, 308-311, 316 Veit, Peter. 1982. Gorilla society. Natural History, 91 (3): 48-60. Primate Societies III: Robbins, Martha. 2015. Gorillas. In: The International Encyclopedia of Human Mar. 26 One-male, Multi-female Sexuality (P. Whelehan & A. Bolin, eds.), DOI: Groups 10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs188 (pp. 1-3). John Wiley & Sons, New York. pp. 158-160, 168-170, 264-275 Primate Societies IV: Gibbons, Ann. 1998. Research News: ‘Monogamous’ gibbons really swing. Fission-Fusion Mar. 30 Science, 280:677-678. Communities, Palombit, Ryne A. 2008. Primates. In: International Encyclopedia of the Social Monogamous Pairs Sciences: section “Social Systems & Behavior” Apr. 2 OPEN Apr. 6 Exam 2 pp. 51, 192-196. Hrdy, Sarah B. 1984. When the bough breaks. The Sciences, 24:44-50. Palombit, Ryne A. 2001. Why primates kill their young. In: Encyclopedia of Infanticide: Mammals, 2nd ed., (D.W. MacDonald, ed.) pp. 392-393. Oxford Apr. 9 Male Strategy & Female University Press, London. Counterstrategies Robbins, Martha M. 2005. Infanticide in gorillas. In: World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation (J. Caldecott & L. Miles, eds.), pp. 138. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.
§ Now go back to the Chapter and for each of the sections on an individual primate species, read the material that deals with social behavior & social organization (e.g., mating, social relationships, parenting, aggression) Anthropology 212 Syllabus, Spring 2020 Page 7 of 7 DATE TOPIC Assigned Reading pp. 27 (Neural Note 1), 57 (Neural Note 2), 289-296, 311-315, 335-338 Byrne, Richard W. & Bates, Lucy A. 2006. Why are animals cognitive? Current Biology, 16:R445-R448. Apr. 13 Primate Politics? Dunbar, Robin. 2001. Why primates have big brains. In: Encyclopedia of Mammals, 2nd ed., (D.W. MacDonald, ed.) p. 302. Oxford University Press, London. Apr. 16 OPEN Social Minds: Primate pp. 57, 242, 290 (Neural Note 11) Apr. 20 Facebook? Palombit, Ryne A. Rhesus monkey social cognition. Apr. 23 OPEN Apr. 26 Paper on Jane Goodall’s In the Shadow of Man due on Sakai by 11:55 pm pp. 335-337 Apr. 27 Language: Primate Roots? Seyfarth, Robert M. & Cheney, Dorothy L. 1992. Meaning and mind in monkeys. Scientific American, 267:122-128. pp. 243-246, 319-321, 326-328, 335-337. McGrew, William C. 2017. Grooming hand clasp. In: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0108 (pp. 1-3). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Apr. 30 Cultural Primatology New York. Tomasello, Michael. 1997. Human see, human do. Natural History, 106 (8): 45-47. Gross, Michael. 2016. Chimpanzees, our cultured cousins. Current Biology, 26:R83-R85. pp. 332-333 de Waal, Frans B.M. 1995. Bonobo sex and society. Scientific American, 272:82-88. Hohmann, Gottfried. 2015. Bonobos. In: The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality, 1st ed. (P. Whelehan & A. Bolin, eds.), DOI: Our Closest Relatives: 10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs0666. John Wiley & Sons, New York. Emery Thompson, Melissa, & Machanda, Zarin P. 2015. Chimpanzees. In: The May 4 Chimpanzees are from International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality, 1st ed. (P. Whelehan & A. Mars, Bonobos are Bolin, eds.), DOI: 10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs088. John Wiley & Sons, from Venus? New York. Stumpf, Rebecca M. 2017. Chimpanzee and bonobo. In: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology (A. Fuentes, ed.), DOI: 10.1002/9781119179313.wbprim0147 (pp. 1-3). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Radio interview of Frans de Waal May 5 Last day to submit optional Extra Credit Assignment on Sakai by 11:55 pm May 7 Exam 3 (non-cumulative final): 8 am - 11 am
NOTE: Although I will try to keep this schedule, the dates on which particular topics are covered may change.