Download ASM 275 Forensic Anthropology

Spring 2017
Glendale Community College presents
ASM 275 Forensic Anthropology
Section 14630
TTH 8:30-10:50 am
Location: HU-101
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Lillian Spencer
Office: 5-106
Phone: 623-845-3276
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: M 11-12 am; by appt.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Forensic anthropology is an applied subfield of
biological anthropology that seeks to recover, identify, and evaluate human
skeletal remains within a medico-legal context. This course provides a broad
overview of forensic anthropology. Students will learn: to identify bones and
teeth of the human skeleton; recovery techniques and initial treatment of forensic
material; the techniques used by forensic anthropologists to determine such
factors as age, sex, ancestry, and stature from the skeleton; how pathological
and occupational markers can help identify skeletal remains; how to estimate
time since death; and how forensic anthropologists interpret skeletal information
to determine cause of death. Students will also become familiar with the
application of forensic anthropology to issues of human rights, mass disasters,
and military identifications, and how forensic anthropology regimens are applied
to non-contemporary cases.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Dead Men Do Tell Tales by William R. Maples, PhD.
COURSE POLICIES
ATTENDANCE POLICY: The best way to know what material is covered in
class is to attend class. I will take roll each class and I will be paying attention to
who attends class and this could be important for your grade. Please make
every effort to be ready to pay attention when class starts.
Coming in late is distracting for everyone!
REQUIREMENTS and GRADING: Each student is responsible for the material
covered in the readings, lectures, and labs.
This course is a lab course. Most weeks a portion of class time will be
devoted to a lab activity. Labs are a way to reinforce some of the material from
lecture and can also be a source of new material. You will gain hands-on
experience and one-on-one instruction that will be very useful to you for the
exams. The completed labs will form a significant portion of your final grade and
CANNOT BE DONE OUTSIDE OF CLASS.
Videos are considered important sources of information and will be
covered on the exams. In some cases, there will be video worksheets to fill out
while watching the video. These cannot be made up. There will be one reading
assignment, in which students will read an article OUTSIDE of class, and then
answer questions about the article. This assignment will be posted on the
Canvas class website. Other reading assignments will be posted on Canvas as
extra credit assignments.
The ‘textbook’ assigned for this course is Dead Men Do Tell Tales by
William R. Maples, PhD. He is a renowned forensic anthropologist, and this book
is sort of an autobiography. It covers many of the important principles of forensic
anthropology through a description of some of his interesting cases. The book is
meant to provide additional information on the subject, rather than be a direct
supplement to the material covered in class. However, you will be responsible
for the information in the book, and you will be tested on it, according to the
following schedule:
Exam 1- Chapters 1-4
Exam 2- Chapters 5-8
Exam 3- Chapters 9-12
Exam 4- Chapters 13-16
Canvas. Course materials will be available on Canvas, including articles to
read, labs, and lecture slides. Announcements relevant to the course will be
made here as well.
Grades. Grades will be assigned on the basis of 4 exams, a lab grade averaged
from the labs, and another combined score for the remaining assignments. No
exams are cumulative, except concerning material that is relevant throughout the
course (such as human osteology!). Exams are a combination of multiple choice
questions, identification/labelling, and short essays. There will be questions from
the Maples book and from videos watched in class on the exams. The four
exams are worth 40% of your final grade, the labs are worth 55% of your final
2
grade, and all of the other assignments will be combined together for one score
for the final 5% of your grade. A standard formula for determining final grades is
used: A: 90-100%; B: 80-89%;C: 70-79%; D: 60-69%; F: below 60%.
Regarding Missed Exams: Few excuses are acceptable for missing an exam,
and permission must be obtained from me prior to the listed exam date to
be considered for taking a make-up exam.
This syllabus may be modified during the course of the semester to fit the
particular circumstances of this class.
*IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you are absent once during the first week of class you
may be DROPPED from the class. Also, if you are absent more than once during
the first two weeks of class you may be DROPPED from the class. Finally, if you
are absent more than four times at any point in the semester you may be
DROPPED from the class. If you are dropped, you are responsible for your class
standing. If you simply stop attending or do not complete all three exams and
appear on my final roster, you will be withdrawn and receive a “W” for the course
grade.
Conduct in course: I take issues related to academic honesty very seriously. Acts of academic
dishonesty on the part of any student will result in failure of the course. Such acts are defined in
the current catalog, and include plagiarism, cheating, fabrication and falsification, multiple
submission and misuse of academic materials. Make sure you understand and avoid these
behaviors. I also expect that you will conduct yourself with courtesy: no talking during lecture, no
use of cell phones during class, and exhibiting respect toward me and your classmates at all
times.
Student Responsibilities: Please be advised that your continued enrollment and participation in
this class implies that you have read and accepted the terms and conditions of this syllabus. Also
please be advised that you are responsible for being aware of and in compliance with the college
policies included in the college catalog and the student handbook.
Disabilities: I will make any reasonable accommodations for limitations due to disabilities,
including learning disabilities. Please see me personally before or after class or during my office
hours to discuss any special needs you might have. If you have a documented disability and
require specific accommodations, you will need to contact the Disability Resources and Services
Office at 623-845-3080.
COURSE COMPETENCIES
1. Define the process involved in a scientific investigation and cite the steps of the scientific
method
2. Describe data scales, summary measures, and the difference between accuracy and
precision
3. Collect data with scientific instruments used by forensic anthropologists
4. Explain the role a forensic anthropologist plays in the medicolegal system
5. Identify the stages of a forensic investigation
6. Describe how human osteology can help identify the life history of an individual
7. Learn the major types of trauma and how each may be recognized from skeletal remains,
and how taphonomic knowledge is used in forensic investigations
8. Describe how forensic knowledge can be used in special cases, such as mass disasters,
historical mysteries, etc.
3
Date
ASM 275 - FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
SCHEDULE - SPRING 2017
Lecture Topic
T JAN 17 Introduction
TH JAN 19 What is Science? Forensic Anthropology?
T
JAN 24 Data Collection and Lab 1: Scientific Methods
TH JAN 26 History of Forensic Anthropology
T JAN 31 Osteology 1 and Lab 2: Skull and Teeth
TH FEB 2
Osteology 2 and Lab 3: Skeleton
T FEB 7
TH FEB 9
CSI Glendale-Forensic Context and Lab 4: Forensic Context
CSI Glendale- Recovery Scene Methods and The Body Farm
T
FEB 14 CSI Glendale- PMI, Decomposition, and Back to the Lab
TH FEB 16 Review and Lab 5: Crime Scene
T FEB 21 EXAM 1
TH FEB 23 Skeletal Analysis: Ancestry and Lab 6: Ancestry
T FEB 28 Skeletal Analysis: Sex and Lab 7: Sex
TH MAR 2 Skeletal Analysis: Age and Lab 8: Age
T MAR 7 Skeletal Analysis: Stature and Lab 9: Stature
TH MAR 9
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EXAM 2
SPRING BREAK
MAR 21 Positive Identification: Video - Desert Bones
TH MAR 23 Positive Identification and Lab 10: Positive ID
T MAR 28 NO CLASS
TH MAR 30 NO CLASS
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APR 4
APR 6
APR 11
APR 13
APR 18
APR 20
APR 25
APR 27
MAY 2
MAY 4
MAY 9
Cause of Death part 1 and Lab 11: Trauma Basics and Projectile Trauma
Cause of Death part 2 and Lab 12: Blunt and Sharp Force Trauma
Postmortem Changes to Bone and Lab 13: Taphonomy
EXAM 3
Applied Forensic Anthropology part 1
Applied Forensic Anthropology part 2
Forensic Anthropology in Prehistory and Written in Bone
Forensic Anthropology in History *READING ASSIGNMENT DUE*
Legal Considerations and Popular Culture
EXAM 4
OPEN CLASSROOM