Darwin, Huxley and the Continuing Revolution
Honors course Fall 2003
 
Wayne G. Landis Director
Institute of Environmental Toxicology
 Huxley College of the Environment
 
Contact Information
landis@cc.wwwu.edu
No office hours, make an appointment with Donna Vandergriend @ 650-6136
 
ES 534 The Huxley College of the Environment Conference Room
 Tuesday and Thursday 2-3:20 PM

The publication of Origin of Species on November 24, 1859 is a critical landmark in ourunderstanding of the natural world, perhaps more than publication of Newton's Principia or Einstein's three 1905 papers. Of these works, evolution by natural selection and its implications are perhaps the most discussed by the layman, legislated upon by representatives, and engenders more controversy than any other fundamental scientific fact. In the first part of the seminar we will explore the foundations of Darwin's development of evolution by naturalselection in the context of Victorian England. Emphasis will be placed on how the development of the theory was very much in the context of the culture of the times and the revolutionary in thought. Critical points will be to follow the importance of human networks, the importance of scientific politics, the vagaries of publication, and the influence of T. H. Huxley in the establishment of this revolutionary idea. The relationships of evolutionary theory to current society will also be examined. Topics such as the elimination of evolution from textbooks, the rise of non-scientific alternatives will be discussed. We will also spend time examining how evolutionary biology is misunderstood or misapplied in our current culture, from the belief in progressive biological development, the balance of nature in evolutionary thought to the social constructs of racism and social Darwinism.

The textbook was ordered by the bookstore but they only recieved three copies. We will know Monday the status of the other seven copies backordered.--Update--The books should be here Wednesday, seven copies.

Required Text

Browne, Janet. 1995. Charles Darwin Voyaging. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. pp 605. This is one of the best biographies of a scientist that I have read. I begins with Darwin's beginnings and stops as Origin of Species is begun. Many of you will recognize C. Darwin as a typical college student in an era as foreign to us as any culture currently on earth. Janet Browne captures the college student, the fledgling scientist and his struggles for the formultion of evolution by natural selection in a very readable manner.

Class Schedule


   

      
Week 1. September
   25-30

         
         
      
      
  • Introduction to the members of 
the class, collection of contact information,
 introduction  to the class.
  
  • Introduction to the
            19th Century
            

  • Huxley and Darwin
            as unlikely  conspirators--not exactly collaborators
            

  • Science in a  social context
            

  • Start reading J. Browne Voyaging
            

   

      
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
Week 2. October 2-7
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      

         Summary of
            current
            
            
            evolutionary
            theory in contrast to the Darwinian

            
            
            model
            

            
            
            

            
            
            

            
            
  • Comparison to the
            
            
                formulation
            of evolutionary thought in the early and mid
    
            
            
                19th
            Century
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Evolution and it
            social
            
            
                context
            1830-1875
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • T. H. Huxley, the
            early
            
            
                years-1825 to
            1850.
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Assignment of
            paper
            
            
                topics
            
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
Week 3. October 9-14
         

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
    
            
            
            
  • C. Darwin-growing up
            as
            
            
                a privileged
            member of the English middle class
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Educational
            experiences
            
            
                compared to
            the students  the seminar
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • C. Darwin and the
            HMS
            
            
                Beagle
            
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • T. H. Huxley and the
            HMS
            
            
               
            Rattlesnake
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 4. October 16-21
         

         
         
      

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
Student led
         discussions

         
         
         begin.

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 5. October 23-28
         

         
         
      

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
First
         papers

         
         
        
         due.

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 6. October
         30-November

         
         
         4

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
    
            
            
            
  • Man's place in
            
            
                nature-then
            and now
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Wallace, Darwin,
            Huxley
            
            
                and Owen, the
            interactions that spurned the development
    
            
            
                of 
            evolutionary theory and Huxley's career.
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 7. November 6-11
         

         
         
      

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
    
            
            
            
  • Science as a
            social
            
            
                construct in
            the context of the times
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Victorian and the
            German
            
            
                approaches to
            science
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Support for science
            in
            
            
                the mid-19th
            century
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • science--and what
            
            
                background
            was required?
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Agnosticism as a
            social
            
            
               
            movement
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Early 20th
            century
            
            
                trends  and
            not trends
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Early 21st
            century,
            
            
                where are we
            now?
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 8. November

         
         
         13-18

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
    
            
            
            
  • Scopes trial in
            
            
               
            Tennessee--not what you think.
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Current challenges
            to
            
            
                evolution by
            natural selection
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Current challenges
            to
            
            
                the
            scientific discussion of evolutionary theory
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Misapplication of
            
            
                natural
            selection and the struggle for existence.
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Final
            
            
             
  papers due and and posted
            on
            the Web site
    
            
            
             
  for final presentation and
            discussion.
    
            
            
             
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 9. November

         
         
         20-25

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
    
             
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Environmentalism
            and
            
            
               
            Education
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Impact of T. H.
            Huxley
            
            
                on science,
            society and education.
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Presentations by
            
            
                students--see
            topics
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      

   

      
         
         

         
         
Week 10. December 2-4
         

         
         
      

         
         
      
      

         
         

         
         
 

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
    
            
            
            
  • Presentations by
            
            
                students--see
            topics
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
                
    
            
            
  • Summary and final
            
            
               
            discussion
    
            
            
             
    
         

         
         
         

         
         
         

         
         
 

         
         
      
      



Readings

Browne, Janet. 1995. Charles Darwin Voyaging. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. pp 605.

Browne, Janet. 2002. Charles Darwin Power of Place. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. pp 591

Darwin, C. 1859, current edition 1998. The Origin of Species. (The origin of species by means of natural selection, or,

The preservation of favored races in the struggle for life/). Modern Library Edition. pp 685.

Darwin, Charles. 1871. The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. 2 vols.

Dennett, Daniel C. 1995. Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Touchstone, New York, NY pp 586.

Desmond, Adrian. 1999. Huxley: From Devil's Disciple to Evolution's High Priest, Helix Books/Perseus Books, Reading MA. pp. 820

Desmond, Adrian and Moore, James. 1991. Darwin. Warner Books., New York, NY. pp 808.

Gould, Stephan Jay. The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. pp 1433.

Paradis, James G. 1978. T. H. Huxley: man's place in nature. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. pp 226.

 
Previewed Web Sites

C. Darwin

The writings of Charles Darwin on the web edited by John van Wyhe , Ph.D.

http://pages.britishlibrary.net/charles.darwin/

T. H. Huxley

T. H. Huxley and the rise of modern science . by Walter Gilberti 27 November 1998

http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/nov1998/hux-n27.shtml

The Crayfish, An introduction to the study of zoology. T. H. Huxley, F. R. S.

http://www2.biology.ualberta.ca/palmer/thh/crayfish.htm

Thomas Henry Huxley 1825-1925 . A tribute from by H.L. Mencken May 4, 1925. http://www.freedomsnest.com/mencken_huxley.html

Darwin Correspondence Project

http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Departments/Darwin/

THE HUXLEY FILE Created by Charles Blinderman, Professor of English and Adjunct Professor of Biology, and David Joyce, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Clark University

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/