Biology 107: Plants and Civilization

			Links to Coffee, Chocolate, Corn, and More Course Syllabus Send a message to John Horn Back to John Horn's Home Page Back to St. Ambrose University Home Page Last updated August 26, 2004

• Bright Leaves: Tobacco Materials at North Carolina State University.
• tobacco.org, "your source for tobacco news", including history and other links.
• History of Tobacco Regulation

Course Syllabus

Course Description

Course Objectives

1. Have a renewed sense of wonder about the natural world.
2. Describe how plants grow, reproduce, and function.
3. Identify the parts of plants that are commonly eaten.
4. Explain the economic use of plants by humans for food, beverage, medicine, and industry.
5. Describe the use of plants in a different culture.
6. Work with others toward common goals.

Texts

• Levetin, Estelle and Karen McMahon. 2003. Plants and Society. 3d ed. WCB McGraw-Hill, Boston.
• There will also be additional handouts.
  

Attendance Policy

Evaluation

• Multiple-Choice Exam. The first test, on basic botany, will be primarily a multiple-choice questions and one short essay question. I will grade this test. You will receive a sheet listing objectives for this exam.
  
• Essay Exams. Exams two and three will be primarily essay tests. I will grade these also. Objective sheets for these exams will also be provided.
  
• Group Presentations. There will be two of these:
  1. Vegetable Feast Presentations. The content of chapters 16 and 17 will be presented by groups of three/four students. Each group will work up the information in one section of the chapter and present it to the class in a way that they choose. In most cases I will be able to provide edible (or sniffable) materials for demonstration. Presentations should be limited to 15 minutes. The class will evaluate the presentation; all members of the group will receive the same grade (see exception below).
  2. Ethnobotany Project Presentations. Each group will be responsible for carrying out a project in ethnobotany, in which plant use within a particular culture is examined. More details on this will be distributed later. During the last week of the semester, each group will be responsible for presenting their findings to the class. A short (no more than 5 page) paper describing those findings should also be submitted. The class will evaluate the presentations, as before; I will evaluate the paper and the overall project. All members of the group will receive the same grade (see exception below).
  3. Option for Replacing Ethnobotany Presentation with a Paper. If all members of a group agree, the ethnobotany project presentation may be replaced with a longer paper of 10-15 pages which details the methods used and findings of the project, and includes a bibliography. A decision to do this must be conveyed to me by the second progress report, i.e. before Thanksgiving break. In this case, I will be the only one assigning a grade to the project. NOTE: This option is not available for the Vegetable Feast presentation.
     
• Evaluation of Written Material. Papers submitted for grading must be typed or word-processed with normal-sized (10cpi) type and double-spaced. All words and phrases MUST be your own, unless by quotation marks (" ") you indicate you are quoting from a cited source. Papers will be evaluated for clarity of expression, careful addressing of relevant issues, and freedom from typographic and grammatical errors. I will be glad to discuss the paper with you at any point in its development.
  
• Exceptions to a Common Group Grade. In exceptional cases where one team member has contributed little or nothing to the group effort, s/he may receive a lower grade for a presentation or paper than other team members. I will not do this without consulting all team members and attempting to find a better solution.

  Final Grading

  Each component will contribute toward the final grade as follows:
  

  3 exams at 25% each	75%
  Vegetable Feast Presentation	5
  Ethnobotany Project, grade from class	5
  Ethnobotany Project, grade from instructor	5
  Class Participation	10
  Total	100%

  Classroom Schedule

  DATE	TOPIC	READING (pp.)
  30 Aug	Introduction; What is a Plant?	Ch 1 (pp. 2-7)
  1 Sep	Plant Growth
  3	No class
  6	No class (Labor Day)
  8	Stems	Ch 3
  10	Roots and Leaves	Ch3
  13	Flowers	Ch 5 (70-75, 80-85)
  15	Fruits	Ch 6
  17	Supermarket Botany	Ch 6
  20	Naming Plants	Ch 8 (120-130)
  22	EXAM 1 (multiple-choice, one essay question)
  24	Agriculture	Ch 11
  27	Wheat; Planning for Chapter 16/17 presentations	Ch 12
  29	Maize and other Grains	Ch 12
  1 Oct	Legumes	Ch 13
  4	Starches; Presentation planning	Ch 14
  6	More Starches	Ch 14
  8	Feeding the World	Ch 15
  11	Presentations for chapters 16/17
  13	Presentations for chapters 16/17
  15	Presentations for chapters 16/17
  18	Ethnobotany; Introduction of Project	handout
  20	More Ethnobotany	handout
  22	No class (Midterm break)
  25	Cloth and Fibers	Ch 18
  27	Paper & Wood; Ethnobotany topics and methods due	Ch 18
  29	EXAM 2 (essay)
  1 Nov	Medicinal Plants I	Ch 19
  3	Medicinal Plants II	Ch 19
  5	No class
  8	Opium	Ch 20
  10	Progress reports on projects
  12	Marijuana and Tobacco	Ch 20
  15	Cocaine and other psychoactive drugs	Ch 20
  17	Poisonous and Allergy Plants	Ch 21
  19	Agricultural Pests	Ch 23 (401-412)
  22	Progress reports on Projects
  29	Fermentation Basics	Ch 24
  1 Dec	Beer & Ale	Ch 24
  3	Wine and Distilled Spirits	Ch 24
  6	Ethnobotany Project Presentations
  8	Ethnobotany Project Presentations
  10	Ethnobotany Project Presentations
  	EXAM 3 (essay) at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 15

  Return to top of page