Minor Overview
- About this minor
- As the world becomes increasingly globalised, the importance of understanding and respecting cultural and physical differences between individuals becomes critical. The Biological Anthropology Minor will provide students with the theoretical framework to understand how biological and cultural variation occurs, what forces shape this variation between and within populations, and how can we use this information to inform us of our evolutionary history. These critical concepts are explored in this Minor via a sequence of units that examines the biology of 'being human' in today's world with an emphasis on how biology and behaviour of humans are influenced by genetic, developmental, ecological and cultural factors. The Minor is delivered using a mixed format including lectures that present the basic concepts of Biological Anthropology, tutorials and workshops to discuss these concepts and evaluate and apply learnt knowledge to real-world scenarios. Students who undertake this Minor will also develop the skills for effective communication and engagement with community, government and industry groups involved in social and public health policies. For students taking a minor which shares units with their other unit sets (majors or minors): in order for minors to be recognised on academic and graduation documents, students may only have a maximum of one unit overlapping between their unit sets.
- Outcomes
- Students are able to (1) understand the evolutionary processes that determine human differences within and between populations; (2) understand and clearly define questions about human evolutionary and behavioural biology and ecology, particularly in relation to the processes by which humans adapt to their natural environments; (3) acquire techniques for seeking out information or designing experiments to answer such questions; (4) critically assimilate, analyse and discuss information acquired; and (5) develop an awareness of how the principles of human evolutionary biology can inform the study of human biology, social, and public health policy.
- Incompatibility
MJD-HSNEM Human Science and Neuroscience;
MJD-HSDEM Human Sciences and Data Analytics
Units
Key to availability of units:
- S1
- Semester 1
- S2
- Semester 2
- N/A
- not available in 2025 – may be available in 2026 or 2027
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | ANHB1102 | Human Biology II: Being Human | None |
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | ANHB2215 | Biological Anthropology: Human Adaptation and Variation | None |
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | ANHB3321 | Biological Anthropology: Genes and Society | None |
Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | Unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | ANHB3315 | Human Evolutionary Ecology |
|
| N/A | ANHB3322 | Human/Primate Social Organisation |
|