Lecture 1

1. Introduction
   1. Pass out syllabus & sign-in sheet
   2. What class is about
   3. Who I am- show Nat Geo
   4. Mechanics of class- go over syllabus, mention change in grading
2. What is Science?
   1. Method for understanding physical world
      1. Deals with material things- can be measured- nature centered
      2. Tests hypothoses
         1. Idea of how world works
         2. Generates questions- if hyp true, then something else should be true
         3. Tests questions- are corollaries true? trying to disprove them
         4. Accept, reject, or modify hypothesis
         5. Hypothesis must be testable and reproducable
      3. Constantly being refined
      4. Should be objective- true or false
      5. Theories are not "guesses"; are general hyp that have stood up to testing
   2. Religion different from science, not incompatable
      1. Religion deals with supernatural- human's relat to it and to each other
      2. Natural world only in relation to humans
      3. Cannot be tested- cannot prove/disprove existence of God, soul, afterlife
      4. Known though revelation- changes little
   3. Theory of Evolution has been battleground between science and religion
      1. Evolution contradicts literal interp of Genesis
      2. Bible central to Protestant belief system
      3. For this class, not asking you to believe evoln, just know what its about
      4. Reli & Sci deal with different data & use different methods
      5. Belief should be kept to things that cannot be proven/disproven
3. What is Anthropology?
   1. The scientific study of Homo sapiens
   2. 4-field approach
      1. Cultural- human customs, beliefs, and social systems
      2. Linguistic- language as it is used by different cultures
      3. Biological- the human organism plus near relatives, primates
      4. Archaeology- physical remains of past human behaviors
4. Slide show- Tour of GBY

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