Forensic Anthropology

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Forensic Anthropology is an interdisciplinary approach which draws on public health, veterinary science, and ecology to addresses critical problems in global health while seeking sustainable solutions. The emerging framework of “One Paleopathology” adapts the One Health approach to integrate human, animal, and environmental health data from premodern contexts, illuminating the evolutionary pathways that shaped present-day health dynamics. The proposed course will introduce students to cross-disciplinary studies applying disease ecology, biological anthropology, veterinary science, epidemiological history, and paleoclimatology in the ancient world. Especially relevant will be the concept of syndemics and the roles that social identity and inequality play in the creation of unequal health burdens. Students will learn to incorporate evolutionary and biocultural theory into discussions of climate change, sustainability, and human health while considering how knowledge from the past, as well as indigenous local knowledge (ILK), can form a critical foundation for prediction and policy-making in the face of future uncertainty. This course will be targeted at students in anthropology as well as public health and environmental science.