Course Syllabus

BIOL 1455 Human Dynamics for Visual Artists and Performers Lab (Formerly BIOL 2155)

Course Description

This course is the laboratory component of BIOL 1450 and gives students the opportunity to study laboratory models, skeletal material, and cadavers. It must be taken concurrently with the lecture, BIOL 1450.

Justification

The lab component of Human Dynamics for Visual Artists and Performers allows for student application of the principles learned in the lecture with an emphasis on investigative and observational learning through the use of various laboratory material including anatomical models, skeletal material, human cadavers, and live human models. It is required to be taken concurrently with the lecture. For the natural sciences, science is the systematic inquiry into natural phenomena, and organizing and condensing those observations into testable models and hypotheses, theories or laws. The success and credibility of science is anchored in the willingness of scientists to: 1) expose their ideas and results to independent testing and replication by other scientists, which requires the complete and open exchange of data, procedures, and materials; 2) abandon or modify accepted conclusions when confronted with more complete or reliable experimental evidence. Adherence to these principles provides a mechanism for self-correction that is the foundation of the credibility of science. (Adapted from a statement by the Panel on Public Affairs of the American Physical Society, which was endorsed by the Executive Board of the American Association of Physics Teachers in 1999.) While properties of matter and energy in the physical sciences are common to the life sciences, the emergent properties resulting from the complexities of life require additional study to amplify and clarify the scientific mechanisms of nature.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. The primary purpose of this course is to give students a strong understanding of human anatomy, its relation to the natural world, and its application in art/performance settings. As students read material from various sources (textbooks, secondary literature, and primary literature), participate in class discussions, and test their knowledge through short-answer and essay questions, problem solving exercises, and standard testing strategies, as well as a comprehensive final exam, they will display a mastery of human anatomy and its applications.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Lab reports and quizzes include both significant reading and writing components where students will demonstrate effective reading, knowledge retrieval, and clear written communication.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. To adequately explore the human form, function, and biology this course explores not only biological science, but social and behavioral sciences as well. With an emphasis on form and function this course also addresses the humanities and art from a unique perspective. The laboratory setting allows students to employ the scientific method to logically address complex problems which can apply inside and out of the course. Students will be assessed through lab reports/activities and quizzes.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Analytical thinking and reasoning are integral with laboratory work. Students will have hands on experience with collecting and analyzing data and directly observing aspects of human biology via microscopes, anatomical models, and human cadavers. Discussions on ethics, personal and social responsibility will be incorporated into the laboratory assignments. Students will be assessed through lab reports/activities and quizzes.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Students will participate in various laboratory activities that include direct experimentation/observation, data collection and interpretation, along with opportunities to study and learn from anatomical models and human cadavers. Students will be assessed through lab reports/activities and quizzes.  Students will participate in various laboratory activities that include direct experimentation/observation, data collection and interpretation, along with opportunities to study and learn from anatomical models and human cadavers. Students will be assessed through lab reports/activities and quizzes.

Course Content

Through lecture, discussion, assessment and practical application, students will study the following topics: Science; Evolution; Ecology; Chemistry of life; Cell structure; Cell function; Human development and reproduction; Body organization; Introduction to the skeletal system; Axial and appendicular skeleton and its contribution to form; Introduction to muscle anatomy and physiology; Muscles of the trunk and extremities and its contributions to form; Facial features, along with other surface features; Reproductive systems and physiology.To accurately represent the varied and dynamic human experience, efforts will be made to include examples from various cultures, histories, and beliefs.