Anthropology of Biology
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this anthropology seminar on how biology is understood and practiced in the era of genomics, synthetic biology, and biotechnology. The syllabus covers biodiversity conservation, pharmaceutical bioprospecting, cloning, genetic modification, and bioterrorism as social and cultural concerns, using primary sources from biology, science studies, literature, and film. Students examine artifacts like cell lines, biodiversity databases, and artificial life models, returning throughout to Erwin Schrodinger's 1944 question, What Is Life?, and asking how it might be answered differently today. Materials include the full reading list, weekly topics, and writing assignments as posted by MIT. There are no videos or lectures, just the course structure and readings, and no certificate is offered, consistent with MIT OpenCourseWare's format. The course suits students interested in how anthropology can interrogate the assumptions and practices of modern life science.