Darwin bicentennial series features lectures, films and theatre presentation

From Appalachian State University:

Darwin bicentennial series features lectures, films and theatre presentation
Posted May 5, 2008 at 8:09 am · By ASU News

BOONE—Appalachian State University will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth during the 2008-09 academic year with a series of lectures and events focusing on Darwin’s ideas and their impacts on society, and his theory of evolution.

A yearlong lecture series will feature prominent scientists, philosophers, historians, and theologians. Among the speakers are Pulitzer Prize winners Edward Larson and Jonathan Weiner. Other speakers include Niles Eldredge, curator at the American Museum of Natural History and recent curator of a traveling exhibit on Darwin. All talks are free and open to the public.

The presentations are sponsored by the University Forum Committee (UFC) and the Office of the Provost. Additional support is provided by several academic departments across campus.

For more information, e-mail UFC chairman Howard Neufeld at neufeldhs@appstate.edu.

The series begins Sept. 16 with a presentation by Eugenie Scott at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium. Scott is executive director of the National Center for Science Education. Her talk is titled “Why Darwin Matters.”

Jay Hosler from Juniata College’s Department of Biology will present “Comic Books, Darwin and the ‘E’ Word” Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. in I.G. Greer Auditorium.

John Haught from Georgetown University will lecture on “Evolution and Faith: What is at Stake?” Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium. Haught is a professor in Georgetown’s Department of Theology and is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center.

Brown University biology professor Ken Miller will present “Is Evolution Only a Theory? Charles Darwin and the Design of Life” Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. in the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center’s Powers Grand Hall.

On Nov. 13, Janet Browne from Harvard University’s Department of the History of Science will present “Commemorating Darwin: 1809-2009: A History of Prior Darwin Celebrations. Her talk begins at 8 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union’s Blue Ridge Ballroom.

Edward Larson presents “The Scopes Trial in History and the Theatre” Jan. 22, 2009 at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium. Larson is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and a professor of law at Pepperdine University.

Michael Ruse from the University of Florida will present “Darwin at Two Hundred Years Old: Does He Still Speak to Us?” Feb. 2, 2009, at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium.

On Feb. 12, 2009, Jim Costa, director of the Highlands Biological Station at Western Carolina University, will discuss “Charles Darwin and the Origin of the Origin.” Costa is the author of a soon-to-be-released annotated “On the Origin of Species,” discussing how Darwin came to write The Origin.

Sean Carroll presents “Into the Jungle: The Epic Search for the Origins of Species and the Discoveries that Forged a Revolution” Feb. 24, 2009, at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium. Carroll is a professor of molecular biology, genetic, and medical genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His talk is sponsored by the university’s Morgan Lecture Series.

Paul Ewald from the University of Louisville’s Department of Biology will present a lecture March 17, 2009 at 8 p.m. in the Broyhill Inn’s Powers Grand Hall. His topic will focus on the evolution of diseases in humans.

Elisabeth Lloyd from Indiana University will present the lecture “Darwinian Evolution and the Female Orgasm: Explanations and Puzzles” April 2, 2009, in a location yet to be determined.

Niles Eldredge, curator of the American Museum of Natural History, will speak on “Darwin, the Beagle and the Origin of Modern Evolutionary Biology” April 6, 2009, at 8 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium.

Also in April 2009, Pulitzer Prize winning author Jonathan Weiner will speak at a date and location to be announced later. Weiner is a professor in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

In addition to the lectures, a series of affiliated events has been planned, including a film festival on the subject of evolution; a play by the L.A. Theater on the Scopes Trial (Feb. 11, 2009); local productions by the Department of Theater and Dance, including a performance of the courtroom scene from “Inherit the Wind”; art and music events; plus special outreach activities for students and teachers.