This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Postgraduate Handbook 2007-2008 (archived)
Module ANTH40015: Advanced Evolutionary Medicine: Reproduction and Infant Health
Department: Anthropology
ANTH40015: Advanced Evolutionary Medicine: Reproduction and Infant Health
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 4 | 15 | Available in 2007/2008 | Durham |
Pre-requisites
- None
Corequisites
- None
Excluded Combinations
- None.
Aims
- This module encourages students to explore the perspectives of evolutionary medicine and to encourage the critical appraisal of western biomedicine in the light of evolutionary theory.
Content
- Evolutionary medicine takes the view that many contemporary health issues are related to and incompatibility between the lifestyles and environments in which humans currently live and the conditions under which human biology evolved. This module explores the ways in which questions about reproductive and infant health and disease can be reframed using an evolutionary perspective. Areas to be covered include reproductive health (e.g. fertility, pregnancy loss, menopause) and infant health (e.g. colic, jaundice, SIDS, infant sleep, breastfeeding).
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- Understand and explain the application of evolutionary perspectives to a variety of contemporary reproductive and infant health issues
- Understand the value of a cross-cultural perspective in informing evolutionary medicine
Subject-specific Skills
- Be able to evaluate evolutionary explanations of health issues and be able to articulate how these might be tested
- Synthesise evolutionary theory with contemporary understandings of reproductive and infant health
Key Skills
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Seminars will introduce a different health issue each session and require students to apply evolutionary interpretations. Students will be required to prepare by reading recommended texts. There will be an emphasis on the reading and critical appraisal of primary research literature at this advanced level of the module.
- Tutorials will use a problem solving approach in which students will present the results of their own in-depth reading to explore topics of 'received medical wisdom' using evolutionary perspectives and themes. Students at the advanced stage level will attend tutorials singly or in pairs to allow for in-depth discussion.
- Formative essays will be used to consolidate students' ability to explain and articulate evolutionary perspectives on reproductive and infant health issues, and to link underlying themes, in preparation for the exam.
- The summative exam will be used to assess students' ability to explain and synthesize their understanding of this topic.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorials | 6 | 2 per term | 1 hour | 6 | |
| Seminars | 20 | weekly during first 20 teaching weeks | 1 hour | 20 | |
| Preparation and Reading | 124 | ||||
| Total | 150 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 100% | Examination | 3 hours | 100% |
Formative Assessment
One 2000 word essay in Michaelmas term. One 2000 word essay in Epiphany term.
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.