 | | Scott Marlowe | Scott Marlowe is an Adjunct Instructor of Cryptozoology and Florida Paleontology at the Florida Keys Community College and the resident cryptozoology and paleontology expert for the Pangea Institute. In these capacities, Marlowe conducts field research expeditions and cryptid investigations in addition to classroom instruction activities.
Marlowe is also a radio co-host for the Magick Mind Paranormal Radio Station in Plantation Florida. The Crypto Tuesday show (broadcast every other Tuesday each month) explores cryptozoology and conservation topics and issues and is co-hosted by MM producer Dr. Ed Craft and Scott Marlowe.
He is a Member of the American Primate Conservation Alliance (APCA) and serves as their Academic Advisor and was a member of the now defunct International Society of Cryptozoologists (ISC) and is now in the process of setting up a cryptozoology interest group in Central Florida.
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| | Cryptozoology Education Standards |
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A number of folks here have asked me to post a blog about the work we are doing to create a cryptozoology degree program. Due to time constraints, I’m going to have to publish material about our thinking, and the recommendations we’re making, regarding establishing an Associate’s degree in cryptozoology science in stages as I complete the write ups.
The best place to start is usually the beginning, so the first section I will outline here has to do with the state required general education requirements here in Florida.
State educators have established a number of required courses for any discipline being taught as a degreed program. These requirements are pretty much the same, regardless of the educational venue, and thus are included as part of all community college or university programs.
General Education Requirements
The idea behind this requirement is that a “common collective knowledge about the world enables us to communicate, to make informed decisions about many aspects of our lives, to understand and to participate fully as informed citizens in local, national and global matters.”
“By attaining competency in composition, the humanities, physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences, we can better understand ourselves, our neighbors, other cultures and times, and the principles governing the natural world and the universe. In general education courses, students gain fresh perspectives, methods and tools for understanding the traditional and the newly discovered.”
In other words, the state realizes that a uniform perspective and common vocabulary is essential to laying the foundation of higher education to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information that has to take place.
So in this vein, the following classes have been recommended as General Education Requirements for the cryptozoology program we are pursuing at the community college where I teach:
Course# Title (Credit Hours are shown in Parentheses)
ENC 1101 English Composition I (3)
MGF 1106 Math for Liberal Arts I (3)
STA 2023 Intro. To Probability & Statistics (Recommended) (3)
MAC 1101 College Algebra (3)
SPC 1040 Intro. To Speech Communication (Recommended) (3)
HUM 2310 Mythology (Recommended) (3)
BSC 1005C Survey of Biological Science (Recommended) (3)
ANT 1100 Intro. To Archaeology (3)
ANT 1511 Intro. To Physical Anthropology (3)
SYG 1000 Intro. To Sociology (3)
LIN 3010 Intro. To Linguistics (3)
The state mandates regarding these courses are thus:
• A grade of C or better is required to earn General Education credit.
• General Education courses cannot be graded in
a “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” format.
• Certain classes are approved to count for multiple General Education
categories; (i.e., the same class may count as in more than one education
category).
So, there you have it; regardless of the focus of any educational program, and except for a few alternative courses that may be accepted as substitutes for those listed above, all students have to take at least five of the foregoing classes in the areas to equal one each of English Composition, Mathematics, Physical Science, Social or Behavioral Science, and Humanities. (You should also note that there is a movement afoot to require a class in Student Success as well as the five general academic areas listed).
Thus, 15 credit hours (potentially 18 credits with the addition of the Student Success class) of general education courses are included as part of our program recommendation.
In the next section, I will discuss the Cryptozoology Core Class program we are recommending.
Core Requirements
The same principle of a common point of view applies to attaining the standing of, and performing as, a cryptozoologist as is the case for framing a general vocabulary to pursue a higher education. In fact, commonality in jargon and perspective is even more essential to professional interactions within any discipline so that work within the field can be properly organized, studied and compared with the work of others in the same line of work.
Thus, we have constructed the following curricula as the core requirements for a cryptozoology degree program:
Basic Requirements
CPZ 0100 Introduction To Cryptozoology (3)
CPZ 0140 Cryptids in Myth, Legend and Folklore (3)
CPZ 0300 Cryptozoology Field Study (3)
CPZ 0150 Survey of Cryptid Animals (3)
CPZ 0120 Cryptids and the Fossil Record (3)
The courses designated with “CPZ” form the foundation for cryptozoology studies and include an “Introduction” to cryptozoology science (commonly called a “101 course”), historical research, overview of cryptid animals, field study practicum and analysis of fauna from the fossil record that correlate with the attribution of a variety of cryptid creatures studied in the Myth and Legend course. Students seeking a degree in cryptozoology would have to take all 5 classes for a total of 15 credit hours.
The “Cryptids in Myth, Legend and Folklore” relies heavily on the text “The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to the Present” by Joseph Nigg, and O’Neill’s ”Mysterious Monsters: Fact or Fiction?” while the “Cryptids and the Fossil Record” explores the convergence of myth and reality as considered in Adrian Mayor’s provocative book “The First Fossil Hunters”.
These tomes are mentioned only to give the reader here an idea of the depth and scope of the specific curricula mentioned.
Obviously, at lease I hope it is, the "Survey" class provides an overview of the various cryptid animals and explores the possible/probable phylogeny of these creatures with known zoological forms. The class delves into the likely behaviors of cryptid animals, and indeed helps the student construct "profiles" of cryptids using zoological and paleontological research as a basis for these profiles in addition to anecdotal information from eyewitness accounts.
The “Cryptozoology Field Study” is designed to give the student practical, applied science experience in conducting research in the field under natural conditions and to provide the student with "real world" hands-on training in the forensic techniques taught in the “Introduction to Cryptozoology” class especially in the area of toxic chemical reagents, operating technical equipment and animal tracking technique.
Stuydents would also have to take the following 28 credits
MCB 2010C Microbiology (3)
GLY 1001 Intro. To Earth Science (3)
OCE 1001 Intro. To Oceanography (3)
BSC 2420 Genetic Engineering and Cloning (3)
LIS 2004 Intro. To Internet Research (1)
ZOO 2303C Vertebrate Zoology (3)
CGS 1000C Intro. To Computer Science (3)
HUS 1422 Therapeutic Communication Skills (3)
GEA 1000 World Regional Geography (3)
PGY 1100C Photography I (3)
These courses reflect the multi- and inter-disciplinary aspects of cryptozoology as a scientific endeavor and stress the day-to-day aspects of the work done by cryptozoologists as well as scientific methods and procedures.
The final part of the cryptozoology program to be discussed here deals with elective subjects that the student needs to complete the academic necessities to achieve the credit aspects of our proposed Associates Degree accreditation.
Electives
Basic elective classes listed here are suggested to provide information about fields of knowledge useful in cryptozoological work and to expose the student to a variety of fields that are germane to cryptozoology.
A number of these courses are listed below. You will note that there is particular emphasis on photographic technology, but that forensics, media relations and professional composition are also included. The student would need 2 classes from the list below for a total of 6 credit hours to complete their academic requirements for graduation. However, they would be encouraged to undertake additional elective classes suited to cryptozoology as an occupational pursuit.
CJT 0070 Criminal Investigations 3
ICS 2132 Basic Research Diving 3
OCE 1000 Intro. To Marine Biology 3
PCB 2030 Environmental Biology 3
PGY 1245C Underwater Photography 3
PGY 1640C Documentary Photography 3
FIL 3300C Documentary Filmmaking/TV Production 3
??? ???? Working with the Media ??
ENC 2210 Intro. To Technical & Professional Writing 3
Other Recommended Courses (May be Non-Credit)
HSC 2400 First Aid 3
CPR 0700 CPR
ARW 0200 Advance Report Writing
COM ???? Grant Writing
DPB 0100 Digital Photography 3
Having established a general basis for cryptozoological study through the Core Requirements and appropriate electives, individual students can also develop areas of specialization through their selection of elective classes offered at the college in academic departments that have cryptozoology-related curricula.
For example, a cryptozoology student that desires to study cryptid animals that are aquatic in nature may focus his or her elective class selections in the outstanding Diving Technology department at Florida Keys Community College. Students who are interested in the forensic aspects of cryptozoology may choose classes that emphasize investigation and lab work, those pursing bipedal hairy primates may select anthropology or primatology classes and so forth.
Graduation Requirements
As with other associate degree programs, the number of college credits required for graduation would total 64 credit hours of study.
A baccalaureate degree in cryptozoology would require considerably more credit hours of study, and such a curriculum would have to provide greater depth and scope than would be typical of a two-year, general study program. However, the associate degree course of study that we have been discussing at our college does form a solid foundation, academically speaking, towards developing a standardized cryptozoology education.
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