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To .............. Senate 

Subject ....

New Course ? 

Qp.l.:BIS 

Biology and the Human Species 

From...

Senate 

I.

Committee on 

.

Undergraduate 

Studies 

Date .....

Qçt9b•r18, 

191.7 

Action taken by SCUS at its meeting of 27th September 

1977 gives rise to the following motion: 

MOTION 

"That the new course proposal for BISC 105-3, 

Biology and the Human Species, as set forth 

in S. 77-130, be approved and recommended to 

the Board for approval." 

Note - BISC 105 is proposed to provide a general intro- 

duction to concepts of Biology using the human species as 

the major focus. 

?

One major reason for development of this 

course is to provide an additional alternative to BISC 101 

and BISC 102 for those Faculty of Arts students wishing 

to meet group requirements. 

?

Unlike the latter two courses, 

BISC 105 will not be a laboratory course and its offering is 

urgently required to relieve enrollment problems in those 

courses. 

D. R. Birch 

DRB/cg 

SOS

77-24

As amended 

by SCUS 

Sept.'27, 

1977

SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

.ET)

/pe 1 

End. 

H.M. Evans 

.0........................................................................................................................ 

Registrar 

Subject

................New Course Proposal - BISC 105-3 

"Biology and the Human Species" 

From ?

J.M. Webster 

Dean of Science 

Date ?

September 13, 1977 

Attached please find a new course proposal form and supporting 

documentation for BISC 105-3, "Biology and the Human Species". This 

course was approved by the Faculty of Science at its meeting of 

July 28, 1977, and is herewith forwarded to the Senate Committee on 

Undergraduate Studies for furtherconsideration. 

-0

SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES 

NEW COURSE PROPOSAL FORM 

?

is

1.

Calendar Information 

?

Department: BioSciences 

Abbreviation Code: BISC 

?

Course Number: 105 

?

Credit Hours: 3 Vector: 3-2-0? 

Title of Course: Biology and The Human Species 

Calendar Description of Course: 

Principles and processes of general biology with emphasis on 

implications for the human species of: evolutionary processes; reproduction 

and inheritance; physiological and behavioural integration and control systems; 

ecology. 

Nature of Course: Three lectures and two-hour tutorial demonstration (no labora- 

tories). 

Prerequisites (or special instructions): Open to all students. 

What course (courses), if any, is being dropped from the calendar if this course is 

approved: None. The frequency of offering of BISC 003-3 will be reduced. 

2.

Scheduling 

How frequently will the course be offered? 1 time/year. 

Semester in which the course will first be offered? Spring 1978 

Which of your present faculty would be available to make the proposed offering 

possible? F.J.F. Fisher 

3.

Objectives of the Course 

The new course will deliberately focus upon human biology at every point. The 

course will therefore meet currently unsatisfied needs in the Biology 

curriculum. The course may be of particular value to non-Biology majors, 

who are interested in important biological principles but who lack a formal 

background in plant or animal science. 

4.

Budgetary and Space Requirements (for information only) 

What additional resources will be required in the following areas: 

Faculty: None 

Staff: Occasional use of technical staff to set up demonstrations. 

Library: Present holdings sufficient. 

Audio Visual: Normal course requirements. 

Space: University facilities adequate. 

Equipment: Current departmental resources sufficient. 

5.

Approval 

Date: duL 

,ri7

__ ?

"(11

Depatment plairman 

airman, SCUS 

thiA form. for instructions seemorandum SCUS 73-34a. 

NEW COURSE PROPOSAL 

Dept. of Biological Sciences 

?

F.J.F. Fisher 

Biology and the Human Species 

Biological Sciences 105 

Description 

A comprehensive overview of basic principles and processes of 

biology using the human species wherever possible as the starting point for 

each focus of interest:- Evolutionary Processes - origins to present day; 

Chemistry & Physiology,- mechanisms underlying development, structure, 

metabolism, and behavior in animals and plants; Inheritance and Reproduction 

- cellular basis of variation and development; Systems and Control - integrating 

mechanisms of physiology and behavior; Ecology - habitats, communities and 

population interactions with special reference to human resources, pollution 

and values. Text: Robert A. Wallace Biology: The World of Life 

Goodyear Publishing Co., California 1975. 

Rationale 

During the past ten years there has been a dramatic increase in 

public awareness and concern for many questions of a directly biological 

nature that have become manifestly significant for human welfare. Potentially 

threatening changes in the physical environment due to industry, new doubts 

about food quality, burgeoning problems of human demography, and even outbreaks 

of new diseases have produced an array of anxieties concerning life phenomena, 

confusing even to the otherwise fairly well informed. 

Although many of these problems have been approached in various 

courses in the Bioscience curriculum it has generally been one at a time and 

with little coordination. In the present proposal, an attempt has been made 

deliberately to draw together the biological insights which bear upon these 

problems in the form of a General Introductory Course in Biology centered 

particularly upon the Human Species. 

2/

- 2 - ? 

.

Aims 

While this course is intended to provide the same level of 

knowledge with regard to principles and processes as our present introductory 

courses, it will nevertheless differ very strongly in its greatly enhanced 

human perspective and in the kinds of examples and data used to illustrate 

principles. For this reason it may be taken very profitably by biology 

majors without excessive redundancy or overlap. The emphasis will be more 

upon the principles covered in BISC 102 than those in BISC 101. Current lack 

of laboratory space demands extended use of demonstration-experiments rather 

than conventional lab-instruction. 

This course is expected to be of value to students of all faculties 

because of its deliberate focus upon human concerns at every point but it will 

also stand on its own right as a long-needed component of the bioscience 

program. It will thus provide necessary biological insights for beginning 

biology majors as well as appropriate knowledge for many non-science students 

who have sought such opportunities in the past (e.g. from Anthropology, 

Archeology, Communications, Economics, Geography, Kinesiology, Psychology etc.). 

It should therefore be of particular value as an elective for the new Arts 

Faculty science requirements. 

Outline of Weekly Topics 

Nature and origin of life on earth, prokaryotes and eukaryotes. 

(Seminar: Extraterrestrial Life) 

Cell structure and function, mitosis and physiology. 

(Seminar: Cancer and Immunity) 

Metabolism, energy transfer, photosynthesis, and growth. 

(Seminar: Growth and No-Growth) 

Differentiation, Morphogenesis, and development. 

(Seminar: Thalidomide and Measles) 

/3.. 

-3-

Endocrinology, neurophysiology and other integrative processes. 

(Seminar: Coordination and Drugs) 

Heredity, reproduction and variety. 

?

(Seminar: Why Sexuality?) 

Evolution of the primates, early and modern man. 

(Seminar: Intelligent Apes?) 

Biological diversity: selected groups of plants and animals. 

(Seminar: Creation or Natural Selection?) 

Ecological interactions and stability principles. 

(Seminar: Ecocatastrophe) 

Biological universals underlying competition, territoriality, 

and reproductive behaviour. 

(Seminar: Human Aggression) 

Sociobiological mechanisms of group survival. 

(Seminar: Language and Communication) 

World population, resources, environmental quality and prerequisites 

for long-range human survival. 

(Seminar: 1984 and 2001) 

In preparation for forum discussion with a guest speaker each 

week a comprehensive reserve reprint list will be provided in advance. 

SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

MEMORANDUM

Subject!.c...

..............................

From.SiTIel.1.a

... Roberts ........ S.e.c...e.t.ar.y ......... ..................

.Faculty ....

o . f ... Ar.t.. .... Curriculum .... Coinmi.tt

Date

.J1

l e

....1.5 ........

191.7 ............................. .......................... ..............

(

At its meeting of May 12, 1977 the Faculty of Arts Curriculum

Committee considered BISC 105, which had been received for

overlap consideration. The Committee saw no substantive overlap

with the courses offered in the Faculty of Arts, and after

some discussion passed the following motion:

"That the Faculty of Arts Curriculum Committee 

express its appreciation to the Biology Department 

for offering an additional course to facilitate 

Arts students. 

/JL...

S. Roberts

cc. Mr. H.M. Evans