Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona is offering free online course on Why Biology Matters: Basic Concepts. It provides a basic introduction to the biology behind these ideas, using lessons and interviews with experts so that you can understand the implications of them for the fields of the social sciences and humanities.
In this three week course, applicants will improve your understanding of the complex biology behind social issues that affect each of us and society. This course will start on November 20, 2017.
Course At Glance
Length: 3 weeks
Effort: 3 hours/week
Subject: Why Biology Matters: Basic Concepts
Institution: Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona and Future learn
Languages: English
Price: Free
Certificate Available: Yes
Session: Course starts on November 20, 2017
Providers’ Details
Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) is a modern public university, conveniently located in the centre of Barcelona (Spain) and founded in 1990 with the aim of providing top quality education and standing out as a research-based university.
About This Course
University often read news stories based on biology that we don’t understand well enough to form an opinion about.
To be able to interpret complex biological concepts – genetic determinism, cloning, genetic engineering, the fight against ageing, eugenics, artificial selection or intelligence inheritance – we need knowledge that we may not have.
Why Take This Course?
This online course can help. It provides a basic introduction to the biology behind these ideas, – using lessons and interviews with experts – so that you can understand the implications of them for the fields of the social sciences and humanities.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to…
- Apply scientific knowledge to the human being.
- Explain the implications of the fact that we are a biological species.
- Critically evaluate information that reaches us through the media.
- Develop a scientifically based criterion of aspects with a biological basis, avoiding misleading, unfounded opinions.
Requirements
This online course is aimed at:
- People who wish to pursue their scientific curiosity
- Students and professionals in the social sciences and humanities, who want to learn more about the scientific basis of humanity
- People with a general interest in biology or the social sciences and humanities.
Instructors
Jaume Bertranpetit
Professor of Biology at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona). Group leader in the Evolutionary Biology and Complex Systems Program in the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (CEXS).
How To Join This Course
- Go to the course website link
- Sign Up At FutureLearn
- Select a course and Join
- Once a course has started, applicant will be able to access the course material
- After the start date, students will be able to access the course by following the Go To Course link on My Courses page.
- Applicants can buy, to show that they have completed a FutureLearn course.
- On some FutureLearn courses, learners will be able to pay to take an exam to qualify for a Statement of Attainment. (These are university-branded, printed certificates that provide proof oflearning on the course topic(s)).