BIL 375 - Seminar in Biology

BIL 375 - Seminar in Biology - Biology and Gender
Instructor: Dr. Dana Krempels
Office: SA 110B
Contact: via email at dana@miami.edu

Requirements for Class
All students must have copies of the required textbooks:

Sexual Strategies: How Females Choose Their Mates" by Mary Batten
Available from:
The Red Queen by Matt Ridley

(The links above take you right to Amazon.com, but these books are also available from other locations, such as eBay, Alibris, and other used book outlets.)

A list of readings can be found below, arranged by date. All students are responsible for all readings, and must complete this Topic Form to be turned in at the beginning of seminar each week.

Attendance is mandatory, and is monitored by the topic sheets. If you don't turn in a topic sheet, you'll be considered absent. One half a grade is lost for every absence, but you are allowed ONE excused absence.

Each student will select one week's readings from the list below, and be the moderator/presenter for that week. This will be presented (as PowerPoint) to the class as an introduction to the topic on the assigned date.

Week of	Topic	Readings	Presented by
1/26	Overview	Ridley: Chapter 1	Dana Krempels
2/2	Why Sex?	Ridley: Chapters 2 & 3	Leonard Desir Rachael Sanders
2/9	Parasites Genetic Mutiny	Ridley: Chapters 3 & 4	Monique Cortenay Moshe Yatzkan
2/16	The Peacock's Tale	Ridley, Chapters 5	Luiz de Souza
2/23	Polygamy and Monogamy	Ridley: Chapters 6 & 7	Carmen Johnson Elishia McKay
3/2	Mind Games and the Biology of Beauty	Ridley: Chapters 8 and 9	Jessica Luu Brittany Tran
3/9	The Intellectual Chess Game	Ridley: Chapters 10 and 11	Eling Tsai Adam Rhodes
3/16	Spring Break	No class this week
3/23	What Do Females Want?	Batten: Chapters 1 and 2	Jessica Chee Giselle Fonseca
3/30	Female Choice in Homo sapiens Sexual Differences in Psychology	Batten: Chapters 3 and 4	Amanda Darbouze Kristen John
4/6	Subverting Female Choice Monogamy, Pair-bonding and Love	Batten: Chapters 5 and 6	Monika Freises Natalia Uribe
4/13	Love: The Romance and Chemistry of Reproduction	Batten: Chapters 7	Kelley Norcini Jaleesa Robinson
4/20	Matriarchy by Choice and Default	Batten: Chapters 8	Angela Astorini Gizelle Robinson Matthew Phillips
4/27	Beyond The Prime Directive	Batten: Chapter 10	Dana Krempels

The presenter(s) for each week are responsible for leading the discussion on the week's topic, and keeping everyone involved.

Every student must turn in a completed topic form for each week's seminar at the beginning of class. No late topic forms will be accepted.

Class participation:

All students taking BIL 375 with Dr. Krempels are expected to participate in discussion of the paper topic every week. Attendance is mandatory, and an unexcused absence will result in loss of one half a grade.

For Writing Credit (optional):

If you would like to receive writing credit for this course, you must request this no later than the second class meeting.

In order to receive writing credit, you must not only write a 400-word paper about the chapters you cover in your seminar, but find at least TWO ADDITIONAL REFERENCES on the same or related topic from a refereed journal, and include those in your paper.

An outline of your paper is due no later than the fifth week of the semester, and should be sent to Dr. Krempels, in MS Word format, SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA EMAIL ATTACHMENT.

Once the outline is approved, the student may begin writing the paper itself. A first draft is due (in electronic format via email) in Dr. Krempels' email box no later than Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at midnight.

Dr. Krempels will read and edit the paper and return it to the student with comments included in color.

Deadline for the revised paper is Wednesday, April 23, SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA EMAIL ATTACHMENT in MS Word format.

Preparing for the paper:

Select your topic and note due dates for the various stages of the paper on your calendar!

Use textbooks and library resources to find at least two additional recent publication (preferably since 2000) on your topic from refereed journals or textbooks

Internet resources are acceptable ONLY if they are from a refereed journal web site, or from a reputable .edu or .gov site that is officially dedicated to the topic you have chosen. No .com, .org or .net sites are acceptable as references.

Format for the paper:

Your paper should consist of a comprehensive review of the papers you have used to elucidate your topic. This may be in the form of a literature review, and should include your own impressions and analysis of the research on the topic, its repeatability, rigorousness, etc.

The paper should include

For writing credit, the paper must be at least 4000 words (approximately 15 pages, 12 point font, double-spaced).

The paper should be organized in logical sections that follow the outline you devise before you write it.

All cited sources must be listed in a Literature Cited section at the end of the paper.