OVERVIEW

Anthropology is a science that is constantly evolving and has different objectives of investigation.

Alongside the more classic physical anthropology, extremely interesting branches such as philosophical anthropology, cultural anthropology, ethnic anthropology etc etc have developed over the decades.

In relation to the degree course in Sports Sciences, it seemed useful, also in line with the study programs developed at a national level at other universities, to focus attention on physical anthropology by analyzing six main themes such as: The evolution of man, the acquisition of upright posture, morphometry, constitutional, ethnic anatomical variants, biomechanical stress on the bone.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching aims to provide basic knowledge about physical anthropology considering the origin of man, his physical evolution, and the mechanisms of adaptation.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The anthropological approach and physical anthropology in particular, proposed to the study of motor sciences constitutes the educational objective of this teaching module, as a basic premise to the vast world of physical, structural and ergonomic knowledge of the human body that the student must possess at the beginning of his studies.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:

• Know the fields of study of Anthropology, understood as the natural history of man.
• Learn about the transformations of the human body during evolution.
• Learn about the transformations of the human body in the progressive acquisition of an upright posture.
• Know the characteristics of the human body in relation to the different constitutional types
• Know the landmarks to carry out the main measurements on the skeleton and the living body.
• Know the main measurements in anthropometry.
• Know the main anatomical variations of the human body
• Know the somatic characteristics and morphological aspects characterizing individuals and ethnic groups.
• Know the adaptive modifications and musculoskeletal and joint alterations resulting from biomechanical stress.

Communication skills: Be able to use the concepts learned in a critical and conscious way.

Autonomy of judgement: Acquire autonomy of judgment with reference to the issues the discipline deals with, which can also be extended to broader problems and issues.

Learning ability: Learn the disciplinary language and evaluation methodologies of anthropology and learn to use them appropriately in reporting on the subjects covered by the course.

Critical ability: Acquire adequate independent reading skills of anthropological texts.

Expected results

• Having acquired adequate knowledge and an effective ability to understand the concepts expressed during the teaching activities
• Be able to apply the knowledge acquired and understand and solve problems related to anthropology in all its extensions
• Knowing how to use the knowledge acquired both on a conceptual and operational level with independent evaluation ability and ability in different application contexts
• Develop adequate learning skills that allow them to continue to independently explore the main topics of the discipline, especially in the work contexts in which they will find themselves operating.

PREREQUISITES

Nothing.

TEACHING METHODS

Balance between lectures, group work, case analysis.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Definition and fields of study of anthropology

Anthropometry: methods and tools

Main skeletal anthropometric characteristics

Main somatic anthropometric characteristics

Adaptation to the natural and artificial environment

Variability and human adaptation

Populations and cultures, anthropological bases of ethnography 

Evolutionary theories

The evolution of man over the centuries

Acquisition of an upright posture

Ergonometry

Constitutional

Definitions of variants, anomalies and malformations

The somatic characteristics underlying the different ethnic typologies

Concepts of associated malformations and syndromes

Adaptive modifications and bio-mechanical stress

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mezzogiorno V. (1988) - Morfotipologia umana. Piccin Padova.

Chiarelli B., Bigazzi R., Sineo L. (2004) - Lineamenti di antropologia per le Scienze Motorie. Piccin, Padova.

Sineo L., Moggi Cecchi J. (2022) - Manuale di antropologia. Evoluzione e Biodiversità umana. UTET, Torino.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LEONARDO SCAVINO (President)

LARA PICCARDO (President and Coordinator of Integrated Course)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

2nd semester, March.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be Written: multiple choice quiz.

This teaching is part of the integrated course of "Theory and technique of motor activity - History of sport - Anthropology". For this reason, the exam for this teaching module must be taken together with the other 2 courses on the same session date.

The quiz will consist of 3 different closed-ended questionnaires and it will last 45 minutes.

Each teaching will have a quiz with 15 questions; each correct question will be awarded 2 points out of 30 while each incorrect question will correspond to 0 points out of 30.

Each quiz will be considered passed with a score of 18/30.

The exam of the integrated course will be considered passed if all three tests have achieved a score of at least 18/30.

The final grade of the integrated course will derive from the weighted average of the three individual grades.

In case of certification of specific learning disability, disability or other special educational needs, the University legislation and regulations on disability and SLD are applied (https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/studenti-disabilit%C3% A0-normative).

See also the "Other information" section of this syllabus. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exam will verify the acquisition of the basic knowledge of the teaching. The questions will allow to evaluate the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in both theoretical and practical fields. You will have to be able to connect and integrate the knowledge learned during the lessons with the knowledge acquired during individual study. The written exam (multiple choice quiz) will mainly focus on the topics covered during both theoretical and practical lessons and will aim to evaluate not only the achievement of an adequate level of basic knowledge, but also the acquisition of the ability to analyse critically the questions that will be asked during the exam.

FURTHER INFORMATION

In case of certification of specific learning disability, disability or other special educational needs, please contact both the Department contact person, Prof. Nicola Girtler, and the lecturer at the beginning of the lectures to agree on teaching and exam methods which, in compliance of the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory/dispensatory tools recognized by the University SLD Student Service.