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The following blog posts chronicle a unique, interdisciplinary course Charlotte Pence taught with Dr. Gary Fritz in the fall of 2014.  In the late 19th century, Charles Darwin proposed a theory of biological evolution that offered a new paradigm regarding the history of life on earth and, therefore, our place in it. How did this … More Information on Posts Below

DARWIN: EQUAL PARTS PREACHER, PROPHET, AND PROFESSOR

For today’s class, we looked at the conclusion, or what really feels like the firework finale, of On the Origin of Species. Whereas the previous 480 pages are carefully, exhaustively, even at times hesitantly proposing natural selection and descent with modification, the conclusion changes in tone. Confident and assertive, the Darwin in the last chapter … More DARWIN: EQUAL PARTS PREACHER, PROPHET, AND PROFESSOR

ONLY TWO OPTIONS?

For Tuesday’s class, Dr. Richard England, Dean of the Honors College, guest lectured about the religious reaction to Darwin’s work in the years following Origin’s 1859 publication. His point was not what you’d expect. Contrary to the current pugilistic tenor that one must swiftly choose between God or Darwin, the late 19th century offered a … More ONLY TWO OPTIONS?

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALICE AND DARWIN?

 WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALICE AND DARWIN? When I handed out today’s reading, which was selections from Alice in Wonderland, I asked the class to do two things: read it–and come up with an hypothesis as to why we were reading it. Published just six years after Origins, it’s hard to imagine that the kerfuffle … More WHAT’S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALICE AND DARWIN?

A POEM BY CAROL ANN DUFFY

Mrs. Darwin 7 April 1852. Went to the Zoo. I said to him— Something about that Chimpanzee over there reminds me of you. By Carol Ann Duffy from her Selected Poems. (It’s midterms. We could all use a little levity.)