BIOL 334 - Humans and the Living Planet

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UDB; Sustainability
An overview of biological principles through the lens of human impacts on the biosphere, with a focus on issues of emerging concern, such as climate change, genetically modified organisms, and loss of biodiversity.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Areas B1-B3.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Credit Restrictions: Not for Biology major credit.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground, or Entirely Online, or Hybrid.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UDB- Upper Division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning, Overlay - Sustainability
Course Typically Offered: Variable Intermittently

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Explain foundational biological principles such as biodiversity, genetics, physiology, ecology, and global biogeochemical cycles;
Describe ways in which human activities are affecting the biosphere, and how, in turn, these changes may affect humans themselves;
Apply biological principles to explain current ‘hot-topic’ issues, such as climate change, genetically modified organisms, and endocrine disruptors;
Critically evaluate the merit of scientific research findings as presented in the popular media, including whether or not results are based on peer-reviewed research or pseudoscience.

UD-B. Upper-division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcomes

demonstrate advanced and/or focused science or quantitative content knowledge in a specific scientific field, using appropriate vocabulary and referencing appropriate concepts (such as models, uncertainties, hypotheses, theories, and technologies);
apply advanced quantitative skills (such as statistics, algebraic solutions, interpretation of graphical data) to scientific problems and evaluate scientific claims;
demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and the experimental and empirical methodologies used in science to investigate a scientific question or issue; and
apply science content knowledge to contemporary scientific issues (e.g., global warming) and technologies (e.g., cloning), where appropriate.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

identify the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, either in general or in relation to a specific problem;
analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems;
describe key threats to environmental sustainability; and
explain how individual and societal choices affect prospects for sustainability at the local, regional, and/or global levels.