Week 1 (Jan 22-24): Course Introduction.
National Academy
of Sciences: "Evolution and the Nature of Science" (289).
Week 2 (Jan 29-31): Darwin Origin Introduction,
Chapters 3 and 4.
Week 3 (Feb 5-7): Darwin Origin Chapters 6, 9, and 14
Week 4 (Feb 12-14): Darwin's Influence on Science
Richard Dawkins: "Explaining the Very Improbable" (301)
Bowler "The Evolutionary Synthesis" (319)
Paraphrase, Summary, Quotation
Summary Assignment due Feb 14
Week 5 (Feb 19-21): Gould "[On Punctuated
Equilibrium]" (344)
Eldridge "The Great Stasis Debate" (349)
Ian
Tattersall: "Out of Africa Again . . . and Again?" (335)
Week 6 (Feb 26-28):
Steven Jay Gould: "The Human Difference" (342)
Hull "Cladistic Analysis" (361)
Padian and Chiappe "[Cladistics in Action: The Origin of Birds and Their
Flight]" (363)
Essay 1 Due Feb 28
Week 7 (March 4-6): Darwin's Influence
on Social Thought
Hofstedter "The Vogue of Spencer" (389)
Andrew Carnegie "The Gospel of Wealth" (396)
Nowak, et al "The Arithmetics of Mutual Help" (403)
Library research assignment due March 6
Week 8 (March 11-13):Spring Break
Week 9 (March 18-20): Wilson "Sociobiology:
The New Synthesis" (409)
Gould "Biological Potentiality vs Biological Determinism" (415)
Nancy M Tanner "On Becoming Human" (427)
Evelleen Richards "Darwin and the Descent of Women" (436)
Week 10 (March 25-27): Darwin's
Influence on Philosophy and Ethics
Pinker "How the Mind Works" (465)
Jones "The Set Within the Skull" (477)
Daniel Dennett: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (489)
Essay 2 due March 27
Week 11 (April 1-3): Michael Ruse: "Darwinian
Epistemology" (493)
Michael Ruse and Edward O Wilson: "The Evolution of Ethics" (507)
Frans de Waal: "Good Natured" (511)
Matt Ridley: "The Origins of Virtue" (517)
Research Proposal due April 3
Week 12 (April 8-10): Darwin
and Religion
Mainstream Religious Support (527)
Scott "Antievolution and Creationism in the US" (534)
Annotated Bibliography due April 10
Week 13 (April 15-17): Institute for Creation Research "Tenets
of Creationism" (555)
Henry Morris: "Scientific Creationism" (557)
Thomas Wheeler: "Review of Morris" (564)
Johnson "Darwin on Trial" (581)
Scott "Review of Johnson" (586)
Week 14 (April 22-24): Behe "Darwin's Black Box" (592)
Dorit "Review of Behe" (601)
Peer review in class April 24
Week 15 (April 29-May 1): Presentations.
Research papers due May 1