Listed in: First Year Seminar, as FYSE-108
Anna M. Martini (Section 01)
The centerpiece of this course is Darwin and his book On the Origin of Species. Like all revolutionary ideas, Darwin's theory did not appear out of nowhere and did not settle matters once and for all; therefore the course will explore the scientific context in which this work appeared and Darwin's own intellectual background. We will read the great book itself to see what exactly Darwin had to say and how he went about saying it. Pigeons will come up. Then extracts from the writings of Darwin's contemporaries will be used to look at the scientific, social, and theological responses to Darwin's theory. Finally, we will consider a few of the major issues in evolution that still reverberate today.
The course on Darwin's theory will be taught as a seminar--we will all read something, then gather together and try to figure out what exactly it was that we read. The reading itself will be challenging, sometimes because the ideas are subtle, sometimes because the sentences are long, sometimes both, and discussion will be necessary to figure out what happened in the readings. There will be many writing assignments, many of them short. Common assignment will be to summarize and explain an argument, or to imagine the response of one point of view to an argument from a different point of view. We hope that you will come away from the course with a better understanding of evolutionary theory and its impact on the world, but also with an enhanced appreciation of vigorous reasoning and a better idea of how to fashion and support your own arguments.
Fall semester. Professor Martini.
Section 01
Tu 11:30 AM - 12:50 PM BEBU 203
Th 11:30 AM - 12:50 PM BEBU 203
This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.
| ISBN | Title | Publisher | Author(s) | Comment | Book Store | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On the Origin of Species | Broadview Press, 2003 | Caroll | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| The Selfish Gene | Oxford, 2006 | Dawkins | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Darwin's Century | B&N, 2009 | Eiseley | Amherst Books | TBD | ||
| Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History | W.W. Norton, 1990 | Gould | Amherst Books | TBD |
These books are available locally at Amherst Books.