ENV 402: Darwin In Our Time • Fall 2007
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ENV 402: Darwin In Our Time • Fall 2007 |
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Environmental History: Darwin in our Time The course focuses on close reading of four works by Charles Darwin that revolutionized natural science and challenged Western concepts of humanity. Our discussions explore Darwin's ideas of nature, choice, and language. We also consider four waves of response to Darwin: fundamentalism, social Darwinism, creationism, and neo-Darwinism. Requirements: (1) talk on a current issue; (2) notes for a seminar, (3) mid-term and final. Recommended Texts (see also Online
Texts) Use the bold-face ISBN numbers to order from ABE or Amazon. Image |
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| Date |
Darwin Readings |
Topics |
| The Voyage of the Beagle | ||
| 17 Sep |
Heavy Rain Musical Frogs (ch 1-7) |
creation stories and life forms, dominion and stewardship. |
| 24 Sep |
Miserable Condition of the Savages (ch 8-14) | early ideas of nature, providence, theodicy, and animals |
| 01 Oct |
Differences in the Species or Races (ch 15-21) | exploration and imperialism, ecology as a paradigm |
| The Origin of Species | ||
| 08 Oct |
Natural Selection (ch 1-5) | evolution and its reception, Darwinism in literature, politics, ethics, and science |
| 15 Oct |
Difficulties on Theory (ch 6-10) |
production-consumption, competition-collaboration, social Darwinism |
| 22 Oct |
Mutual Affinities of Organic Beings (ch 11-14) | aesthetic and scientific expression, heredity-environment, life writing |
| 25
Oct |
Take-home exam on weeks 1-6 | |
| Fall
Break |
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| The Descent of Man | ||
| 05
Nov |
On the Descent of Man (ch 1-7) | primatology, race and racism, fundamentalism |
| 12
Nov |
Sexual Selection (ch 8-14) | revisions of evolution: succession, sexuality, intelligent design |
| 19 Nov |
Secondary Sexual Characters (ch 15-21) | ecology and environmentalism; wilderness preservation |
| The Expression of the Emotions | ||
| 26 Nov |
General Principles of Expressions (ch 1-5) | biophilia, biophobia, creationism |
| 03 Dec |
Special Expressions of Man (ch 6-9) | sacramental nature, deep ecology and evolution |
| 10 Dec |
Self-Attention (ch 10-14) | animal rights, genetic engineering, the future of Darwinism |
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17 Jan |
Take-home exam on weeks 7-12 |
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