Forensic Anthropology
Succeeding Human Osteology, this course is a requisite for the specialisation in biological anthropology. Topics covered include identifying and analysing human skeletal remains, taphonomic processes, and legalities and ethics surrounding human remain analysis. The course is split into classroom learning and lab work. Assessments include lab work completion, a taphonomy assignment, a midterm, a group assignment, and a final lab test.
As I previously mentioned, I grew up with an interest in forensics. This course would give me a peak at the preliminary education for such a field. I like having the opportunity to learn with hands-on experiences, and I was looking forward to doing that in this course. Although the class size was fairly large, lab times were split into smaller groups. This made it easier to focus on the tasks at hand during lab work.
Enjoying how Dr. Newton organises her courses, I was looking forward to forensic anthropology. Her passion about the skeletal anatomy brings a positive atmosphere to the classroom. I had a great time conducting my own experiment with the taphonomy assignment. The textbook was graphic at times, but was very educational on the topics at hand. Dr. Newton did an excellent job at providing students with lab work that directly related to assigned readings, which was followed up by classroom learning about the same topics. Having three separate methods of learning about the material had a largely positive impact on my ability to retain information. Dr. Newton creates a learning environment for students, which not all educators do.
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Coursework