Course overview
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of how humans evolved to become the most influential organism on the planet, changing landscapes and climate. Human evolution, the advent of technology and agriculture, building of societies, changes to human nutrition, demographics and disease. Impacts of humans on the planet, focussing on biological systems.
Course learning outcomes
- Describe the evolution of humans in relation to other primates and the changing evolutionary theories.
- Analyse human societial changes and the impact on built environments and global resource use.
- Describe how changes to human societies impacted nutrition, and lifespan.
- Describe how humans have impacted global climate systems.
- Explain how changes to human ecology have in turn impacted lifespan, demographics, and disease, and to make predictions of future impacts.
- Analyse human global impacts to current biological settings, including those influencing human health and consider governance policy implications