ANTH 409: The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

Course Description

This is a course about how early childhood experiences shape our growth and ultimately, our health in adulthood. This course provides an advanced undergraduate introduction to the topic of human growth and shows how human growth can be a reliable measure of the psychological, social, economic and moral conditions of a society. A major theme will be the interplay of biology and culture in shaping the patterns of human growth and, consequently, the health of populations and individuals. In this class we will tackle growth and development from a number of perspectives. First, we will explore the theoretical frameworks and concepts that are used to understand growth and development. This includes explorations of our evolutionary past and introductory concepts of biocultural approaches in biological anthropology. Second, we will review all the major milestones of human growth and development. Finally, we will connect human growth to the social and environmental conditions that shape growth and human health. This course will engage with exciting hypotheses in the biological sciences and in anthropology to help us understand how our life course shapes who we are.
This course is designed to be intriguing to a broad variety of students, but particularly those interested in careers in the health-related fields. . Emphasis will be placed on critical analysis and communication skills that can be useful to students pursuing careers in any field. Required readings will be selected from a mix of older and contemporary literature and will reflect a diversity of ideas from scholars in many fields. The class is intended to be an interactive learning process with an emphasis on discussion and students are required to take a very active part in class. Students will also learn how to critically analyze research in the field. (F, AY).