Course Form (One form per course, lab, or recitation)
NORTHEAST Integrated Curriculum Committee

Date: 9/20/2022
1.

Contact person: Conrad Quintyn
Phone:

2.

570-389-5379

Email: cquintyn@bloomu.edu

Department: Anthropology
Program: Anthropology, Criminal Justice & Sociology

3.

Tracking # (For Provost office use only)

4.

CIP# (For Provost office use only)

5.

Select which actions you are requesting for _X_ Undergraduate __ Graduate
☒ Course Modified for Integration

6.

☐ Course Not Previously Offered at any campus

Click modalities that the course may be offered (80% +)
☒Face-to-Face/In person ☐ Online (100%) ☐ Interactive TV x☐ Multi-modal

New University
Course Prefix

New University
Course Number

New University
Course Title

ANTH

221

Forensic Anthropology GE

Current University
Course Prefix

Current University
Course Number

Current University
Course Title

*Only list Current Courses that are equivalent to the New Course

BU: ANTHRO

221

Forensic Anthropology

LHU:
MU:
1

New Course for Integrated University
7. Will the course be seeking General Education approval?
☐ No ☒ Yes (if yes, go to next section General Education Approval- click on this link)
8. Resources at Each Campus: List any resources, including faculty, facilities, technology, equipment,
or library resources necessary at each campus listed above.
The course will be offered within load of current faculty and will be available to all three campuses. For
face to face offering there are no additional resources needed beyond current classroom technology. For
multi-modal offering classroom will need to be equipped with proper technology to facilitate synchronous
communications with faculty member and students in-person and those students that are accessing the
class remotely.
Identify on which campuses the course is intended to be offered in the integrated university
(for administration use only):
☒ BU

X☐ LHU

X☐ MU

9. Identify Departments/Programs/Courses impacted by changes on this form (Identify any
programs/departments/courses that may be impacted by course changes. Contact programs,
departments to obtain support if you are offering a course that will impact their program:
No other departments, courses, programs, campuses are impacted.
10. Indicate Semester and Year Course will be implemented: Fall semester 2023
11. Provide a rationale for how this course relates to the mission and goals of the related program:
A B.A. in Anthropology provides students with skills needed to understand social and cultural
systems, and helps them develop critical thinking, analytical, problem-solving, and presentation
skills necessary for professional success. The goals of the Anthropology program are to have
students be able to: 1. Identify diverse worldviews, 2. Describe anthropological theories, 3. Apply
ethical principles in research, 4. Conduct research, 5. Demonstrate effective communication skills,
and 6) Evaluate the viability of potential solutions
Forensic anthropology is the examination of human skeletal remains for law enforcement
agencies to help with the recovery of human remains, determine the identity of unidentified
human remains, interpret trauma, and estimate time since death. As a scientific, applied
component of biological anthropology the scientific method is used and data is critically evaluated
to answer questions which will impact real world events (i.e., criminal cases and bringing closure
for families) and promote informed decision-making and action.
12. Abbreviated Title (for Master Schedule, Maximum 20 spaces): FORENSIC ANT

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13. Course Description for Catalog (Maximum 75 words -start with an action verb.):

Explores the methods of biological anthropology and archaeology in the analysis of
human skeletal remains resulting from unexplained deaths. Students will learn how
race, sex, age, stature, and trauma are determined from the human skeleton. Special
attention will be paid to the cause and manner of death in fleshed bodies so that
students will take away a general knowledge of forensic pathology. Open to all
students; taught by lecture and discussion; offered each semester.
14. Credit(s): 3
Clock Hours: 3

Lecture: hours

Recitation: hours Lab: hours

Contract Hours: 3 Lecture: hours

Recitation: hours Lab: hours

15. Prerequisites (Courses completed prior to taking this course):
None
16. Co-requisites (Courses which must be taken simultaneously with other courses):
None
17. Enrollment Restrictions (e.g., limited to majors in program XXX, restricted from majors in program
XXX, etc.):
None
18. Repeatable: Can this course be repeated for credit as a multi-topic class, not just for a grade
change?
☒ No ☐ Yes: How many times is the course repeatable?
19. Dual-Level or Cross-Listed: Is this course dual-level? ☐Yes ☒No.
20. Estimated Frequency of Offering: Course will be offered every semester.
21. Recommended class size for student success: Provide the recommended class size number and a
clear rationale based on accreditation guidelines, discipline standards, or pedagogical limitations.
The recommended class size for student success is 25. This course is writing, presentation, and
discussion intensive. The course involves in-depth examination of limited skeletal collections
necessitating a smaller class size. The recommended class size is to meet the needs of students by
allowing for meaningful classroom discussions, more personal communication, inclusion of all
students in assessment of performance in formal and informal presentation settings, and working
with students on a one-on-one basis, and it is based on review of students' performance.

Submit a Master Course Syllabus – (see attached)

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General_Education_Approval
Locate the required Curricular Theme, Program Goal, and Learning Objectives and Desired Outcomes for
your selected area of this program in the General Education Plan (click on this link).
GE-1: Select the Curricular Theme and Program Goal you are applying from the drop down below (click
on the words Choose an item, then click on the arrow and select one option):

Natural World & Technologies: Nat. World

GE-2: How does your course fit into the General Education Curricular Theme and Program Goal to which
you are applying (be sure to address all of the required areas of the selected Program Goal)?
ANTH 221 will benefit the university by providing a multifaceted course that applies to a key university goal
(N) that will create an educated student body prepared to work within a global world. Scientific principles
will be applied in order for students to assess race, sex, age, stature, and trauma on unidentified human
skeletons recovered in suspicious circumstances. With the growth of interest in forensic sciences it is
anticipated that the course will provide vital training for our students.
GE-3: List the Course Specific SLOs that correspond to the General Education SLOs of the relevant
Curricular Theme and Program Goal and explain how your course will meet each one of these Course
Objectives. Please be specific and use examples to align in column two and to demonstrate how this will be
implemented in column three.
Course Specific Student Learning
Objectives (SLOs)

General Education Student
Learning Objectives (SLOs)

How do the methods and
structure of the course provide
students with the opportunity
to meet each aligned pair of
General Education and Course
Specific SLOs?

Students will identify the principle
foundational concepts of the field
of forensic sciences.

Scientific Principles
The student demonstrates a
broad understanding of scientific
principles and theories specific
to the discipline and can explain
their origins.

Lectures, discussions, and
assigned readings will give
students a basic knowledge
of the foundation concepts.
Formative assessment:
Pre-test (not-graded)
Practice tests (non-graded)
Quizzes
Discussion
Summative assessment:

4

Exams (multiple choice/TF),
short answers, essay)
Cumulative final exam focus on
all goals reinforced in lectures
and discussions
Students will identify and
categorize key biological aspects
of the human skeleton

Data and Problem-Solving
The student critically evaluates
scientific information and/or
solves problems using scientific
data.

Lectures will give student an
overall view of the key
aspects of the human
skeleton. Practical scenarios
(in the forensic context)
involving injury on bones in
which students have to
identify and state cause
Formative assessment:
Practical quizzes (lab)
Discussion
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF)
Cumulative final exam focus on
all goals reinforced in lectures
and discussions

Students will recognize & identify
the identification features of
death and trauma & their
characteristic pattern on soft
tissue & bone.

Data and Problem-Solving
The student critically evaluates
scientific information and/or
solves problems using scientific
data.

Lectures will give student an
overall view of the key
aspects of the human
skeleton. Practical scenarios
(in the forensic context)
involving trauma on human
bone or tissue in which
students have to distinguish
between blunt force,
projectile, or sharp force
trauma and state manner of
death
Formative assessment:
Practical quizzes (lab)
Discussion
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF)

5

Cumulative final exam focus on
all goals reinforced in lectures
and discussions
Students will recognize &
discriminate the assessment of
race, sex, age, stature, physique,
& trauma on the human skeleton.

Data and Problem-Solving
The student critically evaluates
scientific information and/or
solves problems using scientific
data.

Lectures will give student an
overall view of the key
aspects of the human
skeleton including
assessment of race, sex, age.
Practical scenarios (in the
forensic context) involving
trauma on human bone or
tissue where students have
identify the trauma and
estimate race, sex, age using
the human skeleton.
Formative assessment:
Practical quizzes (lab)
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF)
Cumulative final exam focus on
all goals reinforced in lectures
and discussions

Submit the Master Course Syllabus (including assessment) in addition to this form to be considered for
General Education approval.

6

Signatures
Required
Signatures

Name

Date

Department
Chairperson

David Fazzino

9/20/2022

By typing my name in the box above, I am electronically signing this form. Dean, ICC Chair, and
President/Designee will sign to indicate approval directly in SharePoint.

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MASTER COURSE SYLLABUS
NORTHEAST Integrated Curriculum Committee

1.
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4.
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9.

DATE PREPARED: 7/8/2022
PREPARED BY: Conrad Quintyn
DEPARTMENT: Anthropology, Criminal Justice & Sociology
Program: Anthropology
COURSE PREFIX & NUMBER (without space in-between): ANTH221
COURSE TITLE: Forensic Anthropology GE
CREDIT HOURS: 3
RECOMMENDED CLASS SIZE: 25
PREREQUISITES/CO-REQUISITES: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION FOR CATALOG: Explores the methods of biological
anthropology and archaeology in the analysis of human skeletal remains resulting
from unexplained deaths. Students will learn how race, sex, age, stature, and trauma
are determined from the human skeleton. Special attention will be paid to the cause
and manner of death in fleshed bodies so that students will take away a general
knowledge of forensic pathology. Open to all students; taught by lecture and
discussion; offered each semester.

10. CONTENT DESCRIPTION: The following areas of study will be included:

A.

The Use of Forensic Science in Anthropology
1. Identification of Human Remains
2. Closure for Families
3. Public Service

B.

Forensic Science
1. Definition
2. Science and the Legal System
3. Evidence and Expert Witnesses
4. Chain of Custody
5. Forensic Specialists
6. Coroner versus Medical Examiner
7. Cause and Manner of Death
8. Autopsy

C.

The Process of Decomposition
1. Defining Death
2. Estimating Time of Death and Time Since Death
3. Decomposition
4. Skeletonization
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D.

5. Environmental and Physical Conditions Affecting Decomposition Rate
Forensic Anthropology
1. History of Skeletal Identification
2. The U.S. Army Central Identification LAB
3. The Human Skeleton as Evidence
4. Skeletal Recovery
5. Skeletal Inventory

E.

Assessing the Skeletal Remains
1. Forensic Anthropology Techniques: Non-Metrics versus Metrics
2. Biological Identity
3. Social Identity
4. ‘Race’ (Ancestry) Estimation
5. Sex Estimation
6. Age Estimation
7. Stature Estimation

F.

Evidence of Trauma
1. Antemortem (Premortem)
2. Perimortem
3. Postmortem damage
4. Blunt Force
5. Sharp Force
6. Projectile (Bullets, Arrows, etc.)
7. Miscellaneous

G.

Reconstructing Identity
1. Facial Reconstruction

11. & 12. TABLE: STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND STUDENT ASSESSMENT. Use the
Table below to document the outcomes and assessment for the course. If this is a
General Education course, be sure to complete the second column as well, it if is not a
General Education course, you can leave the 2nd column blank.
If General Education: Select the Curricular Theme and Program Goal you are applying from
the drop down below directly as done on the Course Form above (click on the words Choose
an item, then click on the arrow and select one option):

Natural World & Technologies: Nat. World

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11. Course Specific Student
Learning Objectives (SLOs)

General Education Student
Learning Objectives (Complete
this column for GE courses
only)

Students will identify the
principle foundational concepts
of the field of forensic sciences.

Scientific Principles

Students will identify and
categorize key biological aspects
of the human skeleton

Data and Problem-Solving
The student critically evaluates
scientific information and/or
solves problems using scientific
data.

The student demonstrates a
broad understanding of
scientific principles and
theories specific to the
discipline and can explain their
origins.

12. Student Assessment
Include assessment(s) and whether they
are suggested or mandated (e.g., to
comply with accreditation or as a
minimum standard)

Lectures, discussions, and
assigned readings will give
students a basic knowledge of
the foundation concepts.
Formative assessment:
Pre-test (not-graded)
Practice tests (non-graded)
Quizzes
Discussion
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF),
short answers, essay)
Cumulative final exam focus
on all goals reinforced in
lectures and discussions

Lectures will give student an
overall view of the key aspects
of the human skeleton.
Practical scenarios (in the
forensic context) involving
injury on bones in which
students have to identify and
state cause
Formative assessment:
Practical quizzes (lab)
Discussion
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF)
Cumulative final exam focus
on all goals reinforced in
lectures and discussions

10

Students will recognize &
identify the identification
features of death and trauma &
their characteristic pattern on
soft tissue & bone.

Data and Problem-Solving
The student critically evaluates
scientific information and/or
solves problems using scientific
data.

Lectures will give student an
overall view of the key
aspects of the human
skeleton. Practical scenarios
(in the forensic context)
involving trauma on human
bone or tissue in which
students have to distinguish
between blunt force,
projectile, or sharp force
trauma and state manner of
death.
Formative assessment:
Practical quizzes (lab)
Discussion
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF)
Cumulative final exam focus
on all goals reinforced in
lectures and discussions

Students will recognize &
discriminate the assessment of
race, sex, age, stature, physique,
& trauma on the human
skeleton.

Data and Problem-Solving
The student critically evaluates
scientific information and/or
solves problems using scientific
data.

Lectures will give student an
overall view of the key
aspects of the human
skeleton. Practical scenarios
(in the forensic context)
involving trauma on human
bone or tissue in which
students have to distinguish
between blunt force,
projectile, or sharp force
trauma and state manner of
death.
Formative assessment:
Practical quizzes (lab)
Discussion
Summative assessment:
Exams (multiple choice/TF)

11

Cumulative final exam focus
on all goals reinforced in
lectures and discussions

*Note- Rows can be added

13. METHODS:
This course is offered as a lecture/discussion course, using other materials and techniques such
as films, videos, and Power Point slides, and fossil skull casts as appropriate. To facilitate
discussion the proposed class size is 25 students. The course is offered every fall and spring
semester.
Distance Education Setting: This course may be taught online using synchronous methods
based on the instructor. Techniques may include using D2L (BOLT) combined with Zoom (i.e.,
whiteboard, chat, polling, yahoots, breakout rooms, YouTube videos, etc.). Discussions and
homework exercises will be posted via D2L. A computer (desktop, laptop, tablet, etc.), personal
smart phone, Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access) and reliable Internet are
required. Exams will be given via D2L.
14. COURSE ASSESSMENT:
The department collects departmental-developed rubrics and/or results on exam items
across all sections of the course, both distance and in-class learning each semester. The
Department will utilize a bank of questions that will serve to assess student learning
objectives through the strategy of embedded questions on exams (test blueprinting). The
question bank will be developed from contributions by department faculty members and will
be large enough for faculty to select questions that vary from individual to individual and
semester to semester, but at the same time test each of the four objectives in a reasonably
consistent measurable manner. Each student learning objective will have its own set of
questions. For each of the objectives, three to five embedded questions will be utilized on
exams throughout the semester to test overall knowledge acquisition. Embedded question
data is reported to the department outcomes assessment committee within 30 days of the
final day of the semester. The data for all sections will be statistically analyzed and
summarized into one data set for assessment purposes. The assessment data assists in
identifying changes needed to the course to ensure greater student attainment of the
Student Learning Objectives.

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The assessment results will be utilized to assist our program outcomes and general education
goals as well as helping in long-term planning for curriculum and development. Data from
course assessment will be transmitted to the university Office of Planning and Assessment.
15. SUPPORTING MATERIALS- SAMPLE TEXTS (Recommended): Listed below are some of
the materials which might be used in the course development but course materials are not
limited to the following references. The following list includes both historical materials and
more recent references (*holdings available in the Andruss, North Hall, and Stevenson
Libraries).
Adams, D. M. and Pilloud, M. A. (2021). The (mis)appropriation of biological anthropology in race science
and the implications for Forensic Anthropology. Forensic Anthropology, Gainesville 4: 97-118.
Alves-Cardoso, F. and Campanacho, V. (2022). The scientific profiles of documented collections via
publication data: past, present, and future directions in forensic anthropology. Forensic Sciences 2: 37-56.
Austin-Smith, D. and Maples, W.R. (1994). The reliability of skull/photograph superimposition
in individual identification. Journal of Forensic Sciences 39:446-455.
*Baden, M. (1989). Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner. New York: Random
House.
Bass, W.M. (1997). Outdoor decomposition rates in Tennessee. In Forensic Taphonomy,
edited by W. D. Haglund and M.H. Sorg, pp. 181-186. New York: CRC Press.
*Bell, S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Forensic Science. New York: Facts on File.
*Benecke, M. (2005). Murderous Methods: Using forensic Science to Solve Lethal Crimes.
New York: Columbia University Press.
Berryman, H.E. and Symes, S.A. (1998). Recognizing gunshot and blunt cranial trauma
through fracture interpretation. In Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of
Human Remains. 2nd ed. edited by K. 1. Reichs. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Bethard, J. D. and DiGangi, E. A. (2020). Moving Beyond a lost cause: Forensic Anthroplogy and
ancestry estimates in the United States. Journal of Forensic Sciences 65: 1791-1792.

*Binford, L.R. (1981). Bones: Ancient Men and Modern Myths. New York: Academic Press.
*Black, Sue and Eilidh Ferguson (2011). Forensic Anthropology: 2000 to 2010. New York:
Taylor & Francis.

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Bramanti, B. et al. (2020). An investigative strategy for assessment of injuries in forensic
anthropology. Legal Medicine 42: 10-16.

Buikstra, J.E., Gordon, C.C., and St. Hoyme, L. (1984). The case of the severed skull:
Individuation in Forensic Anthropology. In Human Identification: Case Studies in Forensic
Anthropology, edited by TA. Rathbun and J.E. Buikstra, pp.121-135. Springfield, IL: Charles C.
Thomas.
Bums, K.R. (1999). Forensic Anthropology Training Manual. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
*Byers, S.N. (2010). Introduction to Forensic Anthropology. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Curran, B.K. (1990). The application of measures of mid facial projection for racial
classification. In Skeletal Attribution of Race, edited by G.W. Gill and J .S. Rhine, pp. 55-57.
Anthropological Papers 4, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, Albuquerque, NM.
Galera, V., Ubelaker, D.J-I., and Hayek, L.A. (1998). Comparison of macroscopic cranial
methods of age estimation applied to skeletons from the Terry Collection. Journal of Forensic
Sciences 43 :933-939.
Haglund, W.O. (1993). Disappearance of soft tissue and the disarticulation of human remains
from aqueous environments. Journal of Forensic Sciences 38:806-81.
Haglund, W.O. and Sorg, M.I-I. (1997). Forensic Taphonomy: The Postmortem Fate of Human
Remains. New York: CRC Press.
*Huber, P.W. (1991). Galileo 's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom. New York:
BasicBooks.
Iscan, M.Y. and Cotton, TS. (1990). Osteometric assessment of racial affinity from multiple
sites in the postcranial skeleton. In Skeletal Auribution of Races: Methods for Forensic
Anthropology, edited by G.W. Gill and S. Rhine, pp. 83-90. Anthropological Papers No.4.
Albuquerque: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology.
*James, S.H. and Nordby, J.J. (2005). Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and
Investigative Techniques. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.
Jason, D.R. and Taylor, K. (1995). Estimation of stature from the length of the cervical,
thoracic, and lumbar segments of the spine in American whites and blacks. Journal of
Forensic Sciences 40:59-62.
*Kirby, L.T. (1990). DNA Fingerprinting: An Introduction. New York: Stockton Press.
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Klales, A. (2020). Sex Estimation of the Human Skeleton: History, Methods, and Emerging Techniques.
Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.

*Lee, H. C. (2002). Cracking cases: the science of solving crimes. New York: Prometheus
Books.
*Lee, H.C. and O'Neill, TW. (2004). Cracking More Cases: The Forensic Science of Solving
Crimes. New York: Prometheus Books.
*Lee, H.C., Palmbach, TM., and Miller, M.T. (2001). Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook.
Boston: Academic Press.
*Manhein, M.H. (2005). Trail of Bones: More Cases from the Files of a Forensic
Anthropologist. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
McCrery, N. (2014). Silent Witness: The Often Gruesome but Always Fascinating History of
Forensic Science. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press.
Nafte, M. and Dalrymple, B. (2011). Crime and Measurement: Methods in Forensic
Investigation. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Peterson, B.L. (1991). External beveling of cranial gunshot entrance wounds. Journal of
Forensic Sciences 36:1592-1595.
Pickering, R.B. and Bachman, D.C. (1997). The Use of Forensic Anthropology. Boca Raton, FL:
CRC Press.
Prag, J. and Neave, R. (1997). Making Faces: Using Forensic and Archaeological Evidence.
College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press.
Randall, B. (1991). Body retrieval and morgue operations at the crash of United Flight 232.
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 36:403-409.
Reichs, KJ. (1998). Postmortem dismemberment: recovery, analysis and interpretation. In
Forensic Osteology Advances in the Identification of Human Remains, edited by K.J.Reichs,
pp. 353-387. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
*Robertson, J. (1999). Forensic Examination of Hair. Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.
Ross, AH. (1996). Caliber estimation from cranial entrance defect measurements. Journal of
Forensic Sciences 41:629-633.

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Tallman, S. et al. (2021). Assumed differences; unquestioned typologies: The
oversimplification of race and ancestry in forensic anthropology. Forensic Anthropology;
Gainesville 4: 73-96.
Ubelaker, D. H. and Wu, Yaohan (2020). Fragment analysis in forensic anthropology. Forensic
Sciences Research 5: 260-265.
Ubelaker, D. H. and DeGaglia (2020). The impact of scavenging: perspective from casework in
forensic anthropology. Forensic Sciences Research 5: 32-37.
Ubelaker, D. H. (2021). Research integrity in forensic anthropology. Forensic Sciences Research 6: 285291.

16. Prototype Text: May include, but not be limited to:
Ferlini, R. (2012). Silent Witness: How Forensic Anthropology is Used to Solve the World's
Toughest Crimes. 2nd ed. Buffalo: Firefly Books Inc.
Nafte, M. (2016). Flesh and Bone: An Introduction to Forensic Anthropology. 3rd ed. Durham:
Carolina Academic Press.
Steadman, D.W. (2009). Hard Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology. Upper Saddle
River: Prentice Hall.

Indicate possible recommended texts for the course where appropriate, including author/editor, title, publisher, edition, and
date of publication. The style of entry should consistently follow a manual such as Turabian, MLA, APA, or an accepted guide
in a specific discipline.

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