FOR THE FINAL UPDATE TO THIS Syllabus on May 12, 2005 please click here.

DESCRIPTION: A critical examination of selected theories and methods in cultural anthropology, and/or the generation of new theories and methods pertinent to selected problems in cultural anthropology. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units. (The 2003-2005 University Catalog, page 194.) In this seminar, we will discuss Charles R. Darwin (1809-1882) and his research, ideas, and influence on anthropology into the 21st century; we will also use Darwin as a focal point for our own research topics.

"Evolutionary theory has transformed the way humans view their past, present, and future. In domains as diverse as genetic engineering, sociobiology, race, gender, and the environmental balance of our planet, evolution affects the relationship between human beings and nature in fundamental and controversial ways. However, the controversial nature of evolutionary biology is not a recent phenomenon. The most well-known landmark in the development of evolutionary theory is the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 [stress added]." Martin Fichman, 2002, Evolutionary Theory and Victorian Culture (NY: Humanity Books), page 9.

Urbanowcz has had an interest in Charles R. Darwin since 1965 and he attempts to "humanize" Darwin and place him within the context of his times (while discussing some of the impacts and interpretations of his ideas on various theories in anthropology). As part of his interest in Darwin, in 1996 (working as part of an exceptional collaborative team) Urbanowicz was videotaped as Darwin in the first person for eight hours. Over the next eight years, four instructional videotapes were created and when the four videotapes were finally finished, Ms. Donna Crowe (the Writer, Producer, and Director of the series and now retired from the Instructional Media Center of this University) remarked that "The entire project took longer than the voyage of the Beagle itself!" (Please see http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/CELTOctober2004Darwin.html.)

THREE REQUIRED ITEMS IN THE AS BOOKSTORE:
Philip Appleman [Editor], 2001, Darwin: A Norton Critical Edition, Third Edition (NY: W.W. Norton & Co.).
Martin Fichman, 2002, Evolutionary Theory and Victorian Culture (NY: Humanity Books).
Jonathan Miller & Borin Van Loon (1982), Darwin For Beginners.

PLEASE NOTE the address for this syllabus: http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/syllabi/SYL_303-SP2005.html. Additional information will be added to this web-syllabus on an occasional basis throughout the semester.

RECOMMENDED ITEMS:
Any English Language Dictionary.
William A. Strunk, Jr., 2000, The Elements of Style (4th edition).
Cyril Aydon, 2002, Charles Darwin: The Naturalist Who Started a Scientific Revolution (NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers). [Note: there is a November 1, 2003 reprint edition:ISBN: 0786712120 - this has not been ordered for the bookstore but is available on Amazon.com and probably other locations. It is one of the better-written volumes covering Darwin's life and times.]

AN INTERESTING ITEM is the following:
Amanda Chesworth et al., 2002, Darwin Day Collection One: The Single Best Idea Ever (Tangled Bank Press). Originally published for $29.95 (Urbanowicz has a contribution in the volume), it is listed on Amazon.com for $125.95 to $190.42. PLEASE NOTE: this HAS NOT been ordered for the bookstore and IT IS NOT recommended that you purchase it at this price! ALSO NOTE: Urbanowicz has been in contact with Ms. Chesworth and has obtained copies for sale (at a reduced price!) for ANTH 303 Seminar participants this semester.

AND SEE: http://www.csuchico.edu/anth/CASP/1996.html [Chico Anthropological Society Papers - Issue 16, 1996} Special Issue on Charles Darwin: Papers From The Spring 1995 Graduate Seminar on Charles Darwin.] The papers from this publication, available on-line, are as follows:

Angela Pearce, The Popular Phenomenon of Charles Darwin
Tracy A. Hokaj, The Creation/Evolution Controversy in America
Laura Morris, Darwin and Education: A New Perspective
Penni Carmosino, From Darwin to the Human Genome Project
Kevin Weherly, Charles Darwin in Cyberspace: Electronic Evolution and Technological Selection
Charles F. Urbanowicz, Urbanowicz on Darwin

At the following web page you have a listing of everything Urbanowicz has ever written about "Darwin" available on the World Wide Web (and, please-be-advised, that there is a great deal of "overlap" in the various items):

in progress http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/DarwinPagesOnly.html [UrbanowiczDarwinPagesOnly].

The following web page has (as best-as-can-be-determined) some of the "web pages" that link to various Urbanowicz pages:

in progress http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/UrbanowiczCitations.html [UrbanowiczCitationsOnTheWeb].

Throughout the semester you might wish to examine the following web sites for "Darwin" information:

Darwin Day Celebration, http://www.darwinday.org/home/index.html [For information leading up to the year 2009]; and as stated on that page: "Darwin's 200th Birthday will occur on February 12th 2009 -- it will also be the 150th Anniversary of the publication of his famous book 'On The Origin of Species.' So, together we have time to evolve a truly International Celebration to show our appreciation for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity."
National Center for Science Organization [http://www.ncseweb.org/ ] National Center for Science Organization]
Cambridge University Library, http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Departments/Darwin/ [Darwin Correspondence Project Home Page]

ITEMS ON RESERVE:
R.B. Freeman, 1978, Charles Darwin: A Companion (England: Wm Dawson & Sons) [QH/31/D2/F73]
Pete Goldie,1997, Darwin 2nd Edition(San Francisco, CA: Lightbinders, Inc.) [QH365 A1 1997]. Please note the description for the content of this compact disc:

"Darwin's works included on the disc: The origin of species (6th ed., 1872); The descent of man (1871); The voyage of the Beagle (1845); The expression of the emotions in man and animals (1872); The structure and distribution of coral reefs (1842); On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects (1862); The zoology of the voyage of the Beagle (1839-1842); short papers by Darwin, including "On the tendency of species to form varieties" (co-authored with A.R. Wallace, 1858), "On the formation of mould" (1838), "A biographical sketch of an infant" (1877), "Observations of proofs of recent elevation on the coast of Chile" (1837), and "Habits of ants" (1873); Darwin's 1,200-page barnacles monograph on the living and fossil Lepadidae and Balanidae, presented as one volume and containing a reference bibliography with over 2,300 entries [stress added]."

EVALUATION: The finished product for each of us should be a paper of publishable quality. You will be evaluated on class participation (meaning your discussion throughout the course of the semester [25%]), your research topic [10% + 15% writing assignments], your seminar paper presentation [25%], and your finished research paper [25%].

INCIDENTALLY, ALL ANTHROPOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (1968) [REF/H40/A2I/5], the International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2001) [REF/H41/I58/2001], AS WELL AS the Annual Review of Anthropology [GN/1/B52] and Archaeological Method And Theory (edited by Schiefer) [CC/A242/Vol 1, 1989->], AND the Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology (Edited by D. Levinson and M. Ember) [ref/GN/307/E52/1996]). By now, you should also be familiar with the various publications and journals available in Butte 305 (Ethnographic Laboratory).

NOTE: If you have a documented disability that may require reasonable accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services (DSS) for coordination of your academic accommodations. DSS is located in the University Center (behind Kendall Hall). The DSS phone number is 898-5959 V/TTY or FAX 898-4411. Visit the DSS website at http://www.csuchico.edu/dss/.

PLEASE CONSIDER that although the paragraph below states the difficulty of entering into the "minds" of various individuals, I truly believe that this is what anthropologists attempt to do in telling the "story" or the "narrative" of people around the world (be it cultural anthropology, physical or forensic anthropology, archaeology, or linguistics); I also believe that we can "enter" into the various minds of the individuals of the day and understand and interpret their worlds (or words!) through our 21st century minds:

"It is not easy, a century and a half later, to enter fully into the mind-set of the early Victorians, in which both religion and science presupposed the glory of God to be manifested in nature. Nor is it easy to comperehend the intensity of their commitment to the fixity of species, or to imagine the intellectual and emotional upheraveal that Darwin's work would cause And it is diffcult to give sufficient credit to Darwin's boldness and originality, unless it is kept in mind that he had boarded H.M.S. Beagle young, as yet unseasoned in science, and still a believer in Genesis [stress added]." Philip Appleman [Editor], 2001, Darwin: A Norton Critical Edition, Third Edition (NY: W.W. Norton & Co.), pages 4-5.

An additional 20th century statement you should consider is the following:

"The fact is that Charles Darwin was in almost all respects a fairly standard example of the nineteenth century student, well off, active in field sports, working hard enough to avoid academic failure, but a long way from academic success." Peter Brent 1981, Charles Darwin: A Man Of Enlarged Curiosity (NY: Harper & Row), page 89.

Urbanowicz also strongly believes in the following statemen:

"He [Charles Darwin] believed that the natural world was the result of constantly repeated small and accumulative actions, a lesson he had first learned when reading Lyell's Principles of Geology on board the Beagle and had put to work ever since. ... No one, not even Lyell himself, or any of Darwin's closest friends and supporters, accepted as ardently as Darwin that the book of nature was about the accumulative powers of the small [stress added]." Janet Browne, 2002, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place - Volume II of a Biography (NY: Alfred A. Knopf), page 490.

I attempt to incorporate "the accumulative powers of the small" in everything that I do.

To summarize this ANTH 303 seminar: we will discuss Charles R. Darwin (1809-1882) and his research, ideas, and influence on anthropology into the 21st century; we will also use Darwin as a focal point for our own research topics as indicated below. Each seminar participant will choose a single individual from the list below for their own seminar paper research topic:

The Descent of Man publication (1871)	The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals publication (1872)	The Beak of the Finch (1994) by Jonathan Weiner
Social Darwinism and Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)	Evolutionary Psychology	Intelligent Design (or Creationism/Creation Science)

YOUR individual choice will form the basis of your seminar presentation (beginning Week 12, on Tuesday on 26 April 2005). The "Presentation Order" of seminar research papers will be distributed on Tuesday, 5 April 2005 (created after consultation with seminar participants). Your eventual completed research paper is DUE on Thursday May 19, 2005.

In order to "contextualize" the individuals and the topics above, please consult http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/WhosWho.pdf (from John Bowlby, 1990, Charles Darwin: A New Life [NY: W.W. Norton & Co]) or consult R.B. Freeman, 1978, Charles Darwin: A Companion (England: Wm Dawson & Sons) [QH/31/D2/F73] [on reserve].

EVERY TUESDAY, each Seminar participant will bring to class at least one first-page item (with the web address) of a web page that has something to do with Darwin; these items, chosen independently by each seminar participant, will form the basis for the initial discussion for each Tuesday.

WEEK and DAYS OF as well as READINGS / DISCUSSION TOPICS in Appleman and Fichman.

WEEK and DAYS of:	DISCUSSION TOPICS	READINGS
1. January 25 & 27, 2005	Introduction & Overview: Why Darwin!	Please read, skim, and complete Miller & Van Loon as soon as possible; Appleman: pages 3-29.
2. February 1 & 3, 2005	The context of Charles R. Darwin and evolution.	Appleman: pages 31-64 & pages 65-81 [excerpts of Darwin's 1845 Voyage of the Beagle] as well as pages 82-94 [Darwin's 1858 Linnean Society paper] as well as 95-174 [excerpts from Darwin's 1859 On The Origin of Species]; Fichman: pages 9-50 (Introduction & Chapter 1: Evolutionism in Cultural Context).
3. February 8 & 10, 2005	Context continued (and one seminar participant will be chosen at random to initiate discussion each Tuesday & Thursday).	Miller & Van Loon should be completed by this week. [Everyone please come to class with written notes on the above readings.]
4. February 15 & 17, 2005	Darwin, Wallace, and various debates (and one seminar participant will be chosen at random to initiate discussion each Tuesday & Thursday).	Appleman: pages 255-288 [Part of Part V, Darwin's Influence On Science]; Fichman: pages 97-143 (Introduction & Chapters 4 & 5: Debates on Human Evolution & Wallace and Darwin: The Major Differences]
5. February 22 & 24, 2005	Darwin, Wallace, and others continued and a preliminary paper topic is due on Tuesday 2/22/2005. One seminar participant will be chosen at random to initiate discussion on Tuesday. NO CLASS ON THURSDAY 2/24/2005!	Appleman: pages 481-524 [Part VII, Darwinian Influences on Philosophy And Ethics]; Fichman: pages 145-167 (Chapter 6 & 7: Evolutionary Ethics & Evolution and Religion). Please bring a one-page statement on your topic (with sufficient copies for all participants).
6. March 1 & 3, 2005	Social Darwinism (and more). On Tuesday March 1, discussion will also deal with the New Orleans Forensic meetings. On Thursday, one seminar participant will be chosen at random to initiate discussion each Tuesday & Thursday).	Appleman: pages 387-480 [Part VI, Darwinian Patterns in Social Thought]; Fichman: pages 51-72 (Chapter 2: Social Darwinism(s))
7. March 8 & 10, 2005	After the Origin. (One seminar participant will be chosen at random to initiate discussion each Tuesday & Thursday).	Appleman: pages 175-254 [excerpts from Darwin's 1871 The Descent of Man] as well as 289-386 [Part of Part V, Darwin's Influence On Science]; Fichman: pages 73-96 (Chapter 3: Transatlantic Evolutionism).
8. March 14 -> 18, 2005	SPRING BREAK!
9. March 22 & 24, 2005	After the break and NO CLASS on Thursday 3/24/2005!	Discussion of all readings to date and research conducted since last class meeting,
10. March 29, 2005. [University is closed Thursday March 31, 2005]	FINAL paper topic is DUE on Tuesday 3/29/2005).	Please bring a one-page statement on your topic (with sufficient copies for all participants).
11. April 5 & 7, 2005	Darwin and the Literary Mind - Seminar Presentation Order distributed on Tuesday April 5'05.	Appleman: pages 631-682 [Part IX, Darwin And the Literary Mind].
12. April 12 & 14, 2005	Darwin in the 21st century.	Appleman: pages 525-630 [Part VIII, Evolutionary Theory And Religious Theory]; Fichman: pages 169-224 (Chapter 8: The Contemporary Debates: "Creation Science"?).
13. April 19 & 21, 2005	Various debates & discussions in the 20th & 21st centuries (continued)	Repeat: Appleman: pages 525-630 [Part VIII, Evolutionary Theory And Religious Theory]; Fichman: pages 169-224 (Chapter 8: The Contemporary Debates: "Creation Science"?).
14. April 26 & 28, 2005	Term paper presentations begin (two/day)	Four per week.
15. May 3 & 5, 2005	Term paper presentations continue (two/day)	Four per week.
16. May 10 & 12, 2005	Term paper presentations conclude (two/day)	Four per week.
17. May 19, 2005 [Thursday]	Final Research Paper Due.	Final Research Paper Due.

TO SUMMARIZE SOME SPECIFIC DATES FOR THE SPRING 2005 SEMINAR IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:

EVALUATION: The finished product for each of us should be a paper of publishable quality. You will be evaluated on class participation (meaning your discussion throughout the course of the semester [25%]), your research topic [10% + 15% writing assignments], your seminar paper presentation [25%], and your finished research paper [25%]. Please note the following ELEVEN important benchmarks (dates, deadlines, and performance percentages) for each of us:

1. 25 January 2005 -> 19 May 2005: Class Participation [25%].

SPECIAL NOTE: Your attendance is expected at every scheduled class meeting. One absence during the semester (with appropriate reason) is tolerable. More than one absence will affect your final grade.

ONE SEMINAR PARTICIPANT will be chosen (at random) each Tuesday or Thursday, beginning in Week 3 (8 February 2005) to initiate a discussion on the reading for the day/week.

2. 22 February 2005 (Tuesday of Week 5): Preliminary research topic due [10%]. Everyone must turn in (#1) a preliminary paper topic (including "working title"), (#2) a two-or-three paragraph description of the topic, and (#3) a listing of references that you have already consulted. An "annotated bibliography" is not required but if the information gathered from the item is not self-evident in the title, please provide a sentence or two. (Please see http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/PacificReferences.html for a "sample" page of annotation.] NOTE: Please come to class on Tuesday 22 February 2005 with sufficient handouts of your preliminary topic for all seminar participants.

3. PLEASE NOTE: We will meet on Tuesday February 22, 2005 (as indicated above) but there is NO CLASS on Thursday February 24, 2005 - independent research!]

4. On Tusday 1 March 2004, in addition to a discussion of Darwin and Social Darwinism, our discussion will also cover the informationj brought back by individuals who attended the Forensic Meetings in New Orleans, Lousiana.

5. 14 March 2005 --> 18 March 2005: Week 8: SPRING BREAK!

6. PLEASE NOTE: We will meet on Tuesday March 22, 2005 and there is no class on Thursday March 24, 2005, but your attendance at the Anthropology Forum is encouraged.

7. 29 March 2005 (Tuesday of Week 10): On this date you must turn in (#1) final paper topc (including final title) [15%], (#2) a one-page statement on your topic (with sufficient copies for all participants), and (#3) an annotated bibliography of sources that you have consulted to date.

8. PLEASE NOTE: We will meet on Tuesday March 29, 2005 but there is no class on Thursday March 31, 2005, since the University is closed.

9. 11 April 2005 (Tuesday of Week 11): Seminar presentation order distributed (created after consultation with seminar participants).

10. 26 April 2005 (Tuesday of Week 14): Individual research presentations begin [25%] and continue for the remainder of the semester.

11. 19 May 2005 (Thursday of Week 17): Completed research paper DUE [25%].

The ideas of Darwin are with us today and virtually every week the terms "Creationism, Darwinism, or Evolution" will appear in the popular press, scholarly journals, or on the web! Please consider the following information concerning "Charles R. Darwin" according to various "Search Engine" results: On January 19, 2005, "search engine hits" for "Charles R. Darwin" resulted in the following information: Google had 697,000 items; Alta Vista Search had 531,000; WiseNut had 1,775; AllTheWeb had 435,000 web pages, and MSN Search had 104,684. Please consider some previous search engine results:

Incidentally, please consider the following information concerning every edition of On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life published in Darwin's lifetime. He re-wrote every-single-edition and all are different! The reason it is important to point out the various editions of Origin is demonstrated by the following chart, based on information in the excellent 1959 publication of Morse Peckham [Editor] entitledThe Origin Of Species By Charles Darwin: A Variorum Text). The concept of change is definitely vital to an understanding of Darwin, whether you are reading Darwin himself or reading about him and I include the following tabular information on Darwin's Origin in virtually everything I write that deals with this gifted individual:

YEAR/Ed.	COPIES	Sentences	Sentences	Sentences	TOTAL	% CHANGE
1859/1st	1,250				3,878
1860/2nd	3,000	9 eliminated	483 rewritten	30 added	3,899	7 %
1861/3rd	2,000	33 eliminated	617 rewritten	266 added	4,132	14 %
1866/4th	1,500	36 eliminated	1073 rewritten	435 added	4,531	21 %
1869/5th	2,000	178 eliminated	1770 rewritten	227 added	4,580	29 %
1872/6th	3,000	63 eliminated	1699 rewritten	571 added	5,088	21-29 %

 

TO CONCLUDE this Spring 2005 syllabus, please consider the following:

"Whatever the controversies that surround him, Charles Darwin was certainly the most important natural scientist of the past century; he may become the most important social scientist of the next. His great insight--that humans are animals and that their behavior, like that of all animals, is shaped by evolution--is now making its way into social theory. In economics, linguistics, anthropology and psychology, scholars are attempting to see how our evolved nature, interacting with particular environments, generates the ways we trade and speak, live with others and with ourselves [stress added]." Anon., The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 1999, page A24.

"Mr.[Karl] Rove understands what surveys have shown, that many more Americans believe in the Virgin Birth than in Darwin's theory of evolution [stress added]." Garry Wills, 2004, The Day the Enlightenment Went Out, The New York Times, November 4, 2004, page A31.

"Americans are divided in their assessment of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, according to a poll by Gallup. 35 per cent of respondents say the British naturalist's views are supported by evidence, while 35 per cent disagree. Darwin's 'The Origin of Species' was first published in 1859. The book details the naturalist's theory that all organisms gradually evolve through the process of natural selection. Darwin's views were antagonistic to creationism, the belief that a more powerful being or a deity created life. In the United States, the debate accelerated after the 1925 Scopes trial, which tested a law that banned the teaching of evolution in Tennessee public schools. 45 per cent of poll respondents today say God created human beings in their present form. Earlier this year, Georgia's Cobb County was at the centre of a controversy on whether science textbooks that explain evolutionary theory should include disclaimer stickers. ... Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,016 American adults, conducted from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10, 2004. Margin of error is 3 per cent [stress added]." CPOD [Centre for Public Opinion & Democracy, The University of British Columbia], 20 November 2004. Evolution, Creationism Still Splits Views In U.S. From: http://www.cpod.ubc.ca/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=5108.

Similar information appeared from a poll of November 22, 2004:

"Americans do not believe that humans evolved, and the vast majority says that even if they evolved, God guided the process. Just 13 percent say that God was not involved. But most would not substitute the teaching of creationism for the teaching of evolution in public schools. Support for evolution is more heavily concentrated among those with more education and among those who attend religious services rarely or not at all. There are also differences between voters who supported Kerry and those who supported Bush: 47 percent of John Kerry's voters think God created humans as they are now, compared with 67 percent of Bush voters. ...Overall, about two-thirds of Americans want creationism taught along with evolution. Only 37 percent want evolutionism replaced outright. More than half of Kerry voters want creationism taught alongside evolution. Bush voters are much more willing to want creationism to replace evolution altogether in a curriculum (just under half favor that), and 71 percent want it at least included. ...This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 885 adults interviewed by telephone November 18-21, 2004. There were 795 registered voters. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus three percentage points for results based on all adults and all registered voters [stress added]." Anon., November 22, 2004, Creationism Trumps Evolution, CBS NewsPoll. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/22/opinion/polls/main657083.shtml.

And, finally, please consider the following four items:

"A Pennsylvania school district on Friday [November 19, 2004] defended its decision to discount Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and take a lead in teaching what critics say is a version of creationism. Dover Area School District in south-central Pennsylvania is believed to be the first in the country to approve the teaching of a new theory called 'intelligent design,' according to the National Center for Science Education. Proponents of intelligent design argue that the complexity of nature is such that it could not have occurred by chance, as Darwinian theory holds, and so must have been created by some all-powerful force. That being is not explicitly identified, but many of the theory's conservative religious supporters say it is God. NCSE, an Oakland, California-based group that defends the teaching of evolution in schools, said the district's board approved the policy change last month after a debate that began more than a year ago when a board member objected to a biology textbook on the grounds it focused on Darwinism. The move set off a noisy debate in the district, with at least two school board members resigning. On Friday, the district defended its decision by saying it intends to present a balanced view, and not to teach religious beliefs. Officials will "make sure no one is promoting but also not inhibiting religion," according to a statement posted on the district's Web site. 'Because Darwin's theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered,' the statement said. 'Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence [stress added]." John Hurdle, November 19, 2004, Pennsylvania School District Retreats from Evolution. Story location: http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=952652&tw=wn_wire_story

"ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The small town of Dover, Pennsylvania today [January 18, 2005] became the first school district in the nation to officially inform students of the theory of Intelligent Design, as an alternative to Darwin's theory of Evolution. In what has been called a 'measured step', ninth grade biology students in the Dover Area School District were read a four- paragraph statement Tuesday morning explaining that Darwin's theory is not a fact and continues to be tested. The statement continued, 'Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view [stress added].'" From: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=41768; note: this is only part of the information available on this web page.

"Creation vs. Evolution in PA - HARRISBURG, PA-January 18, 2005 - A statement about 'intelligent design' is being read for the first time to high-school students in a York County school district that is requiring students to be made aware of the idea as an alternative to the theory of evolution. An attorney for the Dover Area School District and the head of the high school science department say administrators read the statement in two biology classes this morning. Seven science teachers objected to the requirement in a letter to administrators earlier this month, saying it would violate Pennsylvania's professional standards and practices code for teachers. They were temporarily exempted from having to read it. The Dover district is believed to be the only one in the nation to require teachers to mention intelligent design in the classroom. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex, it had to be created by an unspecified guiding force. Two civil-liberties groups have filed a federal lawsuit against the district. They allege that intelligent design is a a secular variation of creationism, the biblical-based view that regards God as the creator of life [stress added]. From: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/01182005_nw_intelligentdesign.html]

"SACRAMENTO, Jan. 17 [2005] /PRNewswire/ -- A California school district [Roseville Joint Union High School District] has been sued in federal court for violating a parent's civil rights during a controversy over how to teach evolution." From: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050117/sfm051_1.html; note: this is only part of the information available on this web page.

Finally-Finally, please consider the following statement and the "paraphrased" item immediately below it:

"Science is what scientists do not what nonscientsts think they do or ought to be doing." Dennis Flanagan (1919-2005): Editor of Scientific American for 37 years. (The New York Times, January 17, 2005, page A18.)

"Anthropology is what anthropologists do not what non-anthropologists think they do or ought to be doing."

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On May 12, 2005, the final items were added to these pages:

Hopefully you have thought about that article from The San Franciso Chronicle of May 9, 2005: "Recent study forces scientists to rethink basic laws of physics" by Keay Davidson - fascinating!

Another recent article from The New York Times of May 10, 2005, is entitled "How Cultures Pushes Us to the Top of the Food Chain" by Claudia Dreifus highlights to work of the "theoretical biological anthropologist" Dr. Robert Boyd and discusses his recent book entitled Not By Genes Alone, described as "a synthesis of current thinking on the role culture plays in human evolution (Claudia Dreifus, 2005, page D2), co-authored with Peter Richerson. Driefus points out the following: "Over a 30-year career, Dr. Boyd, 57, of the University of California, has made it his task to show how contemporary human behavior is rooted in the cultures that humans developed as they lived the evolutionary process [stress added]." Could be interesting to pursue!

Finally-finally, some of you might be interested in the following two items: one I hope to deliver at the Anthropology Forum on September 1, 2005, and the is being prepared for the American Anthropological Association Meetings in November-December 2005

in progress http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/WorldWarIIEnds2005.html [World War II Ends! Proposed paper for a presentation at the Anthropology Forum at California State University, Chico, on September 1, 2005.]

in progress http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/TripleADC2005.html [On Intelligence: SETI and Terrestrial Intelligence. Proposed paper for the104th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (with the overall theme of "Bringing the Past into the Present"), Washington, D.C., November 30-December 4, 2005.]

Again, thanks for a most rewarding and enjoyable semester and I encourage you to remember the words of Harlen Adams:

"The most important word in the English language is attitude. Love and hate, work and play, hope and fear, our attitudinal response to all these situations, impresses me as being the guide." Harlen Adams (1904-1997)

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On May 10, 2005, the final items were added to these pages:

Thank you for an enjoyable semester - please remember that your term paper (25% of your grade) is DUE by 4pm on Thursday May 19, 2005.

Perhaps of all of the information I have shared with you this semester, the one I still continue to truly believe in is the following and I attempt to incorporate "the accumulative powers of the small" in everything that I do:

"He [Charles Darwin] believed that the natural world was the result of constantly repeated small and accumulative actions, a lesson he had first learned when reading Lyell's Principles of Geology on board the Beagle and had put to work ever since. ... No one, not even Lyell himself, or any of Darwin's closest friends and supporters, accepted as ardently as Darwin that the book of nature was about the accumulative powers of the small [stress added]." Janet Browne, 2002, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place - Volume II of a Biography (NY: Alfred A. Knopf), page 490.

"'When we try to pick out anything by itself,' wrote wilderness wanderer John Muir [1838-1914] , 'we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.' Thus did Muir who founded the Sierra Club in 1892, become on of the first to define in 25 words or less what ecology is all about [stress added]." John G. Mitchell, 1970, Ecotactics: The Sierra Club Handbook for Environmental Activitists, p. 23.

You might be interested in the following web page: http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Tahiti2005.html, entitled "Tahiti: From 1971 to 2004/2005!"

FINALLY, you also might be interested in checking out National Geograpic Society information at http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/participate.html, which describes their "Genographic Project." For ~$99.95 you can purchase and participate in a study to learn about your own DNA: "Purchasing a Public Participation Kit will fund important research around the world&emdash;and open the door to the ancient past of your own genetic background.....Your own genetic ancestry is revealed you'll also see worldwide samples map humankind's shared genetic background around the world and through the ages." There is a much more information on this web page if you are interested in participating.

"The most important word in the English language is attitude. Love and hate, work and play, hope and fear, our attitudinal response to all these situations, impresses me as being the guide." Harlen Adams (1904-1997)

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On April 12, 2005, the following item was added to these pages:

from: AS Director Legis Affairs (Nicole DeMartini, AS Director of Legislative Affairs)

subj: "Student Day of Action on State Budget

I am writing to inform you of an important and historical event that your students will be participating in next week.  On April 20th [2005], CSU and UC students from around the state will be walking out of class, getting on busses, and traveling to Sacramento to protest the state's cuts to our education.  Legislators in Sacramento who are trying to defend the CSU have asked for this kind of action from students so that they "have a reason to stand up for higher education."  This action is absolutely necessary for the future of our institution, and Chico State's students are excited to participate.

Locally, students will be rallying at 10:45 AM in the Free Speech Area on April 20th.  About 150 students will then be loading onto busses to travel to Sacramento.  At the Capitol our students will be meeting up with thousands of students from around the state to rally together on the steps of the Capitol.  That day, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee will begin their discussions on raising student fees, cutting financial aid, and potentially eliminating all outreach and retention programs such as EOP and Early Assessment.  Students will be packing the hearing room and the halls outside to prove to the legislators that the students, the CSU, and the state of California cannot afford anymore cuts.  Some students will also testify at the hearing.  Students who wish to travel to Sacramento can sign up in BMU 203 or e-mail me at aslegaffairs@csuchico.edu. 

Your Academic Senate and Faculty Association both support this action and the discussion of the issue and its effects on the institution and the state of California in your classroom where appropriate.  I am asking you to, at the very least, read this e-mail to your students to inform them of the rally and the opportunity to go to Sacramento.  AS officers are also available to make an announcement in your class or facilitate a discussion with your students.  Please e-mail me if you think this would be appropriate.

Your support and buy-in is critical to the success of this movement and for the future of the CSU.  Thank you for any gesture you can make in supporting this cause.

Sincerely, Nicole DeMartini, AS Director of Legislative Affairs, www.aschico.com, www.csustudents.org, 530.898.5701, aslegaffairs@csuchico.edu, "Whether we stand by or stand up makes all the difference in the world."  Jerry Fowler [stress added].

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On April 7, 2005, the following items were added to these pages:

To repeat, and add, some information:

April 2005 (Tuesday of Week 11): Seminar presentation order distributed (created after consultation with seminar participants) [and distributed on Tuesday April 4, 2005 and posted to the web on April 7, 2005].

26 April 2005 (Tuesday of Week 14): Individual research presentations begin [25%] and they continue for the remainder of the semester as indicated below. Please keep in mind your one-page handout for seminar members when you make your ~30 minute presentation: Abstract, "who's who" of individuals you will discuss or mention, geographical locations of major events, and timeline.

19 May 2005 (Thursday of Week 17): Completed research paper DUE [25%]. Please remember: Section headings, page numbers, and assorted mechanical and grammatical items. Consult the Department of Anthropology Style Guide for your individual ~20 page papers.

On Clarence Darrow (1857-1938): "He had a tremendous lust for life, yet he came about as close to living according to the Sermon on the Mount as could any man trying to earn his way in a competetive world. He was a man with all the faults, shortcomings and inadequacies of a man, but he was a civilized human being in that he could not endure to see his fellow human being suffer. His quarrel had never been with religion itself but with those creeds which turned their backs on education and science; his quarrel with these forms of worship was on the ground that they operated against the welfare of their own people." Irving Stone, Clarence Darrow: For The Defense (NY: Bantam), page 275.

from: The World's Most Famous Court Trial: Tennessee Evolution Case (1925) (1990 Reprint Edition published by Bryan College, Dayton, Tennessee), page 87; the court transcript points out that Clarence Darrow said: "If today you can take a thing like evolution and make it a crime to teach it in the public school, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools, and the next year you can make it a crime to teach it to the hustings or in the church. At the next session you may ban books and the newspapers. Soon you may set Catholic against Protestant and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the minds of men. If you can do one you can do the other. Ignorance and fanaticism is ever busy and needs feeding. Always it is feeding and gloating for more. Today it is the public school teachers, tomorrow the preachers and the lecturers, the magazines, the books, the newspapers. After while, your honor, it is the setting of man against man and creed against creed until with flying banners and beating drums we are marching backward to the glorious ages of the sixteenth century when bigots lighted fagots to burn the men who dared to bring any intelligence and enlightenment and culture to the human mind [stress added]."

"An agnostic is a doubter. The word is generally applied to those who doubt the verity of accepted religious creeds or faiths. Everyone is an agnostic as to the beliefs or creeds they do not accept. Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds, and the Protestants are agnostic to the Catholic creed. Anyne who thinks is an agnostic about something, otherwise he [or she!] must believe that he is possessed of all knowledge. And the proper place for such a person is in the madhouse or the home for the feeble-minded. In a popular way, in the Western world, an agnostic is one who doubts or disbelieves the main tenets of the Christian faith [stress added]." Clarence Darrow [1857-1938], 1994, Why I Am an Agnostic and Other Essays (NY: Prometheus Books), page 11.

The following might be interest to you next week:

Peter Phillips, chair of the Department of Sociology at Sonoma State University and director of Project Censored, will speak at California State University, Chico on Tuesday, April 12, 7:30 pm, in Harlen Adams Theatre. His talk is free and open to the public. Phillips teaches classes in media censorship, sociology of power, political sociology and sociology of media. He has published eight editions of Censored: Media Democracy in Acton and Project Censored Guide to Independent Media and Activism 2003, with Seven Stories Press Phillips writes op-ed pieces for independent media nationwide, including Z Magazine, Counterpunch, Common Dreams, Social Policy and Briarpatch. He frequently speaks on media censorship and various socio-political issues on radio and TV talk shows, including Talk of the Nation, Air America, Public Interest, Talk America, World Radio Network, Democracy Now! and the Jim Hightower Show. Phillips is the national and international news editor with the North Bay Progressive in Santa Rosa. The North Bay Progressive is a monthly regional publication serving a five-county area north of San Francisco. He earned a BA in social science in 1970 from Santa Clara University and an MA in social science from California State University, Sacramento in 1974. He earned a second MA in sociology in 1991 and a PhD in sociology in 1994. His doctoral dissertation was titled A Relative Advantage: Sociology of the San Francisco Bohemian Club. Phillips is a fifth-generation Californian, who grew up on a family-owned farm west of Lodi. Phillips' visit is sponsored by the Department of Sociology, CSU, Chico and co-sponsored by the Department of Journalism, the Peace Institute, Chico News and Review, the Chico Peace and Justice Center, KZFR, 90.1 FM and Women's Health Specialists, a Feminist Women's Health Clinic.

You might also be interested in: http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2004/ [Project Censored]. And please ponder the following:

"A landmark, four-year study sponsored by the United Nations reveals that rising world populations and pollution are damaging the planet faster than ever. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, condicted by 1,300 experts from 95 countries, reported that humans had ruined approximately 60 percent of ecological systems to meet demands for food, fresh water, timber and fuel....The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment cost some $20 million and was funded by the Global Environmental Facility, the United Nations Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the World Bank and others [stress added]." Anon., March 31, 2005, Humans' basic needs destroying planet rapidly, report says, The San Francisco Chronicle, March 31, 2005, page A17; but see: "Earth's environment in peril, but fixes possible, study says" by Seth Borenstein in The Sacramento Bee, March 31, 2005, page A1 and A16. Please see: http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.aspx [Millennium Ecisystem Assessmebt].

According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to April 6, 2005 at 4:15pm (Pacific Standard Time) was 295,821,580 (or a net increase of 849,047 since December 14, 2004. If you are on the web, what number is it when you are reading this page? (See http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/popclock.)

From The San Francisco Chronicle of 2 April 2005:

"An upward trend in atmospheric carbon dioxide has brought the level of the greenhouse gas to a new high, according to U.S. researchers. Data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, regarded as one of the most reliable for climate research, measured 278 parts per million of CO2. The most striking thing about the data is that we've seen an increase in carbon dioxide levels every single year since 1958,' laboratory director Dr. Pieter Tans told the BBC. While the rise slowed somewhat during the past year, the overall growth rate during the past decade has been about twice as fast in the 1960s [stress added]." Steve Newman, 2005, Earthweek: A Diary of the planet. The San Francisco Chronice, April 2, 2005, page B8.

And see: http://www.mlo.noaa.gov/default.htm - MLO} Manua Loa Observatory as well as http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/sio-mlo.htm [Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Record from Mauna Loa.]

"Americans drive imported cars, wear imported clothes and chug imported beers. Now scientists are discovering another less welcome import into the USA: air pollution. Mercury from China, dust from Africa, smog from Mexico--all of it drifts freely across U.S. borders and contaminates the air millions of Americans breathe, according to recent research from Harvard University, the University of Washington and many other institutions where scientists are studying air pollution [stress added]." Traci Wilson, 2005, Air pollution from other countries drifts into USA. USA Today, March 14, 2005, pages 1A + 2A, page 1A.

And finally, if you are interested, check out: http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/ [Our Stolen Future: Centers for Disease Control Report on human body burden of chemicals, 2003]

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On March 22, 2005, the following item was added to these pages:

You will recall that for January 19, 2005, I provided you with the following "search engine" results concerning "Charles R. Darwin" (in the web-syllabus):

On January 19, 2005, "search engine hits" for "Charles R. Darwin" resulted in the following information: Google had 697,000 items; Alta Vista Search had 531,000; WiseNut had 1,775; AllTheWeb had 435,000 web pages, and MSN Search had 104,684. (Please consult the syllabus for similar information going back to October 17, 2001.)

Please consider the following information from March 22, 2005:

Google had 750,000 items; Alta Vista Search had 909,000; WiseNut had 937; AllTheWeb had 776,000,000 web pages, and MSN Search had 108,093.

So in 62 days we have the following:

Google increased by 53,000 items.

Alta Vista Search increased by 378,000.

Wisenut decreased by 838 items.

AllTheWeb increased by 341,000 items.

MSN Search increased by 3,409 items.

This represents a "net increase" of 776,000 "hits" in 62 days (or ~12,521/day). Undoubtedly, there is probably some "duplication" in what the various "engines" picked up, but the "information" is increasing! Consider, if you will, the following 1871 cogent words of Charles R. Darwin:

"False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness: and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened." Charles R. Darwin, 1871, The Descent of Man And Selection in Relation to Sex[1981 Princeton University Press edition, with Introduction by John T. Bonner and Robert M. May], Chapter 21, page 385.

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On March 15, 2005, the following item was added to these pages:

March 15, 2005

To:  Faculty and Staff

From:   Joe  Wills, Public Affairs and Publications Director and Brooke Banks, Information Security Officer

Subject: Computer Security Incident on CSU, Chico campus

The Information Security Office, in conjunction with University Housing and Food Service, is in the process of notifying more than 59,000 individuals that their personal data was on a server which was illegally accessed by computer hackers. While there is no indication that the hackers targeted this information or will use it for any unlawful purpose, we are sending the notifications as required by California Civil Code 1798.29, commonly referred to as SB 1386.

The server contained personal information, including names and Social Security numbers, on current, former, and prospective students, as well as current and former faculty and staff.  The vast majority of students involved were new students within the last five years.  The faculty and staff data was contained in a file from the Wildcat Card system.

The University will begin sending notification letters today via e-mail and postal mail.  The notification process is expected to be completed by March 18.

CSU,  Chico has established a Web site, http://www.csuchico.edu/inf/security/03-14-2005.shtml, to answer questions about the incident. The site also has information available regarding identity theft. There is also a toll-free number to call,  (877) 837-7200. Please direct any outside-campus calls you may get to the Web site and phone number. If there are other outside inquiries you are not sure how to direct, please let Joe Wills know. Thank you for your assistance.

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On March 8, 2005, the following items were added to these pages:

FROM: The New York Times, Thursday, March 3, 2005 - Anonymous Editorial entitled "My Little Chickadee."

"Bird feeders across much of America are mobbed with black-capped, chickadees at this time of year. Can you tell them apart, one by one? Probably not; it's hard to distinguish male from females in this species, let alone recognize individuals in a flock. But scientists are starting to suggest that if we look closely enough, we can distinguish birds of a single species by personality. A team of Dutch scientists, testing a European relative of the chickadee, has found that some birds are shy and others are bold, broad personality differences that have a genetic foundation. This finding doesn't erode the basic differences between Home sapiens and Poecile atricapillus (the black-capped chickadee). But it substantially enlarges the similarities."

"We take the range of personalities among individuals in our species for granted, yet it seems surprising to think of similar diversity in another species. Many people find the implications of that genuinely shocking. If bird personalities have a strong genetic and evolutionary basis, there is good reason to suspect that human personalities do, too."

"Humans do not like to think of themselves as animals. Nor do they like to think that their behavior may have genetic or evolutionary roots. But the richer perspective--morally and intellectually--lies in examining and coming to terms with the kinship of all life. There's a certain tragic isolation in believing that humans stand apart in every way from the creatures that surround them, that the rest of creation was shaped exclusively for our use. The real fruit of that perspective is, in fact, tragic isolation on an earth that has been eroded by our moral assumptions. Science has something much wiser to tell us about who we are. So do the birds around us [stress and italics added]." [~288 words]

PLEASE consider the following words pertaining to John Archibald Wheeler, born in 1911:

"'Participatory universe' is Wheeler's catchphrase for the controversial notion that the universe is not entirely 'out there' and ready to be discovered, but shaped in part by the very questions we ask about it and the information we receive in answer to them. He illustrates this proposal by telling the story of three baseball umpires who define balls and strikes according to their world views: 'I call 'em as I see 'em,' brags the first one, evidently an empiricist. 'I call 'em the way they are,' proclaims the realist. The third explains: 'They ain't nothin' until I call 'em,' making Wheeler's point [stress added]." Hans Christian von Baeyer, 2004, Information: The New Language of Science (Harvard University Press), page xi.

And Wheeler on Darwin: "It's inspiring to read the life of Charles Darwin and think how the division of plant and animal kingdoms, all this myriad of order, came about through the miracles of evolution, natural selection and chance mutation. To me this is a marvelous indication that you can get order by starting with disorder." [from: http://www.bigear.org/vol1no4/wheeler.htm} Cosmic Search, Vol. 1, No.4, September 21, 2004] And see: http://www.usd.edu/phys/courses/phys300/gallery/clark/wheeler.html as well as innumerable other pages on the WWW. And take a look at Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research, elaborated upon below the "date" information.

Melanie Beasley	The Great Scientific Oversight: Possible Explanations to the Oversity of Mendel's Work.
Tammy Buonasera	Why Natural Selection is a Scientific Theory and Intelligent Design Is Not: The Evolution of Scientific Method and Theory.
Gregory Collins	Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911).
Jennifer Halpain	Thomas Huxley: Not Just Darwin's Bulldog.
Devin Hamlin	Robert Fitzroy.
Amy McFarland	On The Beak of the Finch (1994) by Jonathan Weiner.
Kendall McGowan	Intelligent Design.
Kathleen Moran	Social Darwinism: Sex, Slavery & Subjugation.
Mangan Pulford	The "Better Half" of Victorian Science: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Women and Science.
Rhea Sanchez	Alfred Russel Wallace.

1. We will meet on Tuesday March 22, 2005 and there is no class on Thursday March 24, 2005. Your attendance at the Anthropology Forum is encouraged where one of our candidates for the tenure-track position in Cultural Anthropology will be making a formal presentation.

2. On Tuesday March 29, 2005, you must turn in (#1) final paper topic (including final title) [15%], (#2) a one-page statement on your topic (with sufficient copies for all participants), and (#3) an annotated bibliography of sources that you have consulted to date. Also please remember that there is no class on Thursday March 31, 2005, since the University is closed.

3. On April 11, 2005 (Tuesday of Week 11): Seminar presentation order distributed (created after consultation with seminar participants).

4. On April 26, 2005 (Tuesday of Week 14): Individual research presentations begin (two per day and worth 25% of your final grade. Presentations & discussions will continue for the remainder of the semester as indicated on the following dates: April 28 [Thu], May 3 [Tue], May 10 [Tue], and May 12 [Thu].

5. There will be no class on Thursday May 5, 2005, but you are all welcome to attend the Anthropology Forum where I will finally make my Tahiti presentation and retire to "The Bear" after the Forum!

6. Your completed research paper DUE [25%] during "Finals Week" on Thursday May 19, 2005 by 4pm..

http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/ [Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research] described as follows:

"The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) program was established at Princeton University in 1979 by Robert G. Jahn, then Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to pursue rigorous scientific study of the interaction of human consciousness with sensitive physical devices, systems, and processes common to contemporary engineering practice. Since that time, an interdisciplinary staff of engineers, physicists, psychologists, and humanists has been conducting a comprehensive agenda of experiments and developing complementary theoretical models to enable better understanding of the role of consciousness in the establishment of physical reality [stress added]."

Here are some favorite statements that I share with other students:

"The most important word in the English language is attitude. Love and hate, work and play, hope and fear, our attitudinal response to all these situations, impresses me as being the guide." Harlen Adams (1904-1997)

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." Anatole France (1844-1924)

"Treat yourself well. You are your own best friend, and never lose sight of fun." Virginia Grabbe: 80 year old principal of Isador Cohen School in Sacramento, CA. (The Sacramento Bee, November 20, 2004, page B4.)

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On February 15, 2005, the following items were added to these pages:

As of this date, the following individuals have chosen the following "tentative" research topics:

Melanie Beasley	Gregor Mendel
Tammy Buonasera	Intelligent Design
Gregory Collins	Evolutionary Psychology
Jennifer Halpain	Thomas Henry Huxley
Devin Hamlin	Robert Fitzroy
Amy McFarland	Spencer/Social Darwinism
Kendall McGowan	Intelligent Design
Kathleen Moran	Social Darwinism/Slavery
Mangan Pulford	Emma Darwin/Women in Victorian Science
Rhea Sanchez	Alfred Russel Wallace

Please remember that next week, February 22, 2005 (Tuesday of Week 5) a preliminary research topic is due [10%]. Everyone must turn in (#1) a preliminary paper topic (including "working title"), (#2) a two-or-three paragraph description of the topic, and (#3) a listing of references that you have already consulted. An "annotated bibliography" is not required but if the information gathered from the item is not self-evident in the title, please provide a sentence or two. (Please see http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/PacificReferences.html for a "sample" page of annotation.] NOTE: Please come to class on Tuesday 22 February 2005 with sufficient handouts of your preliminary topic for all seminar participants. 

Also, for next week, in Darwin Day Collection One: The Single Best Idea Ever (Edited by Amanda Chesworth et al., 2002) could you all please read the following five articles and also be prepared to discuss them in class on 2/22/05: Dawkins (Before The origin: Commemorating The Darwin-Wallace Paper Read to the Linnean Society in 1858, pages 45-53), Laporte (Why Learn About Charles Darwin, pages 97-99), Peddie ( Teaching Evolution to the Alienated: Presenting the Evidence Just Isn't Enough, pages 131-136), Pinker (How The mind Works, ...So, Let's All Be Scientists!, pages 433-442), and Carter (pages 461-465); you should also be familiar with Urbanowicz (There Is A Grandeur In This View Of Life, pages 67-70) in the same volume.

If you care to drop Ms. Chesworth an e-mail, her address is: a.human@mindspring.com and re-check out the "Darwin Day" site at: http://www.darwinday.org/home/index.html

You might be interested in the following item: "Holy Evolution, Darwin! Comics Take On Science" from the "Morning Edition" of NPR [National Public Radio], 14 February 2005: "Jim Ottaviani, a longtime comic book enthusiast and trained engineer, decided to use the format to communicate scientific fact instead of fiction." [see: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4495248]

Here is a link to the "The Digital Evolution Laboratory at Michigan State" [http://devolab.cse.msu.edu/] which includes a link to the February 2005 issue of Discover magazine, Vol. 26, No. 2 and the article "Testing Darwin: Digital organisms that breed thousands of times faster than common bacteria are beginning to shed light on some of the biggest unanswered questions of evolution."

And consider this article from The New York Times on Saturday February 12, 2005, entitled "God And Evolution" by Nicholas D. Kristof: "The notion of a genetic inclination toward religion is not new. Edward Wilson, the founder of the field of sociobiology, argued in the 1970's that a predisposition to religion may have had evolutionary advantages. ... It's not surprising that nature would favor genes that promote an inclination to faith. Many recent studies suggest that religious people may live longer than the less religious [stress added]." Nicholas D. Kristoff, 2005, God And Evolution. The New York Times, February 12, 2005, page A31.

The 1858 Darwin-Wallace item ("Darwin-Wallace And the Theory of Natural Selection including the Linnean Society Papers") has been placed on Electronic Reserve for you (password distributed in class today).

PS: the web page for the program to create the various Darwin self-tests is at: http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/. You can create this type of test, or crossword puzzles, or matching exercises, or fill-in-the blanks, jumbled sentence exercises, or short answer exercises. Have a look when you can! As the web page points out: "The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware, but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web."

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On February 3, 2005, the following items were added to these pages:

Please Keep In Mind The Following Potential Seminar Topics For You To Choose From:

Emma Wedgwood Darwin (1808-1896)	Robert Fitzroy (1805-1865)	Charles Lyell (1797-1895)
Joseph D. Hooker (1817-1911)	Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)	Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
Robert Chambers (1802-1883)	Johann Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)	Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002)

as well as

The Descent of Man publication (1871)	The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals publication (1872)	The Beak of the Finch (1994) by Jonathan Weiner
Social Darwinism and Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)	Evolutionary Psychology	Intelligent Design (or Creationism/Creation Science)

Some of you expressed an interest in the following essay:

2001 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/WordsOnAnnie'sBox.html (Essay on Annie's Box: Charles Darwin, his Daughter and Human Evolution, by Randal Keynes [2001]).

Here is a paper dealing with the creation of the Darwin videos:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/CELTOctober2004Darwin.html (The Darwin Project: 1996 to 2004!)

Please Consider The Following Three Statements:

"Human evolution is the most passionate aspect of the evolution-creation debate [stress added]." Larry A. Whitham, 2002, Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists And Evolutionists In America (Oxford University Press), page 242.

"Religion is based on faith, while science is grounded in doubt; and although both religion and science do deal with questions of origin, the province of religion is ultimate cause, while the causes investigated by science are proximate ones." Ian Tattersall, 2002, The Monkey in the Mirror: Essays on the Science of what Makes Us Human (NY: Harcourt, Inc.), page 4.

FEBRUARY 1, 2005: "Catholic educators need better teaching programs about evolution 'to correct the anti-evolution biases that Catholics pick up' from the general society, according to a U.S. bishops' official involved in dialogue with scientists for 20 years. Withough a church view of human creation that is consistent with currently accepted scientific knowledge, 'Catholicism may begin to seem less and less 'realistic' to more and more thoughtful people, said David Byers, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Science and Human Values from 1984 to 2003....'Denying that humans evolved seems by this point a waste of time,' he said without mentioning specific controversies in the United States. In recent years, conflicts have arisen in several parts of the country questioning whether evolution should be taught in public schools as scientific fact. In January, the public school board in Cobb County, Ga., voted to appeal a federal judge's order to remove stickers on science textbooks which said that 'evolution is a theory, not a fact.' Byers said, 'The official church sees little danger in evolution.' He cited a 1996 speech by Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of Science and a 2004 document, 'Communion and Stewardship' by the Vatican's International Theological Commission. The 2004 document 'properly recognizes evolutionary theory as firmly grounded in fact,' he said. But 'our educational leadership has been very slow to correct the anti-evolution biases that Catholics pick up from prominent elements in contemporary culture,' he said....The Genesis creation stories should not be read literally because 'they are stories, after all,' he said. They are meant to express 'deeper truths' about God's intent in creating humans, said Byers. 'It is wise to encourage an understanding of Scripture consistent with what we know (or think we know) in the 21st century,' he said. Byers, currently executive director of the bishops' Committee on the Home Missions, called evolution 'one of the hottest battlegrounds between science and religion.' Evolutionary theory by itself 'does not necessarily support any philosophical or theological generalizations,' he said. 'Arguments that evolution disproves God's existence or humanity's spiritual dimension are simply wrongheaded.'...'Dialogue between religion and science can help assuage their doubts, clearing away obstacles to a vital faith,' he said.... [stress added]. Anon., 1 February 2005, "Church needs better evolution education, says bishops' official." From: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0500591.htm

You might be interested in "Google News Alerts" (at http://www.google.com/alerts); see what you can do and what sortof information can be sent directly to your computer, such as:

January 31, 2005} Genes give insight into evolution by Roger Highfield, Science Editor. "A genetic variant is spreading through Europe according to researchers, giving them the opportunity to study human evolution in action. People with the variant tend to thrive. This is the first direct evidence of natural selection affecting the human genetic make-up, or genome. Scientists found that one orientation of a particular chromosome segment, about 900,000 genetic 'letters' long, which is rare in much of the world, is now present in one in three people in some European populations. Dr Augustine Kong, Dr Kari Stefansson and colleagues from the Icelandic company deCODE Genetics and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation found that this variant, called a chromosome inversion, arose about three million years ago in a hominid, long before Homo sapiens evolved. In a study reported today in the journal Nature Genetics, they say it is still spreading in Icelandic pedigrees and conclude that it has a positive effect on fertility. While the effect is modest - people with the variant have 3.2 per cent more children per generation -it is large enough to have profound consequences on an evolutionary timescale, gradually spreading because its carriers have more offspring with the variant [stress added]." From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/31/ngene31.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/31/ixhome.html]

On "Darwin" items, you should be familiar with all of the information contained in the following five self tests (as well as the information presented in the four Darwin videos--also available on the World Wide Web):  

Urbanowicz-Generated Darwin Self-Tests:

2005 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/SelfTesting/DarwinTestFive.htm (Darwin Self-Test Five} February 2005).

2004 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/SelfTesting/DarwinTestFour.htm (Darwin Self-Test Four} September 2004).

2003 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/SelfTesting/DarwinTestThree.htm (Darwin Self-Test Three} October 2003).

2001 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/SelfTesting/DarwinTestTwo.htm (Darwin Self-Test Two} November 2001].

2000 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/SelfTesting/DarwinTestOne.htm (Darwin 2000-2001 [Self]Test One} January 2000).

The Four Darwin Videos (all available at http://rce.csuchico.edu/darwin/darwinvideo.htm or):

2003 Charles Darwin: - Part Three: A Man of Science. [ ~Twenty-four Minute Video. Darwin from South America, through the Galápagos Islands, and back to England.] [http://rce.csuchico.edu/Darwin/RV/darwin4.ram] Produced and Edited by Ms. Donna Crowe: Instructional Media Center, CSU, Chico. Available via the Internet with REAL PLAYER [http://www.real.com/player/index.html].

Within a few years of his return to England, Charles Darwin happily settled into marriage, moved to a quiet house in the country, and begun a routine of research and writing which would occupy the rest of his life. In this episode discover why Darwin (Professor Charles Urbanowicz) waited over 20 years to publish his groundbreaking work Origin of Species, and learn how ill health, family tragedies, friends, respected colleagues and ardent supporters shaped his life and career.

2001 Charles Darwin: - Part Two: The Voyage. [ ~Twenty-seven Minute Video. Darwin from South America, through the Galápagos Islands, and back to England.] [http://rce.csuchico.edu/darwin/RV/darwin3.ram] Edited by Ms. Vilma Hernandez and Produced by Ms. Donna Crowe: Instructional Media Center, CSU, Chico. Available via the Internet with REAL PLAYER [http://www.real.com/player/index.html].

The second half of the historic journey of the HMS Beagle finds Charles Darwin exploring more of South America and several islands in the Pacific. In this episode, Charley Darwin (Professor Charles Urbanowicz) views several active volcanoes, experiences an earthquake, treks to the Andes, explores the Galapagos Islands, and then heads for home.

1999 Charles Darwin: - Part One: The Voyage. [ ~Twenty-two Minute Video. Darwin sailing from England to South America.] [http://rce.csuchico.edu/darwin/RV/darwinvoyage.ram] Produced and Edited by Ms. Donna Crowe: Instructional Media Center, CSU, Chico. Available via the Internet with REAL PLAYER [http://www.real.com/player/index.html].

Sail along with Charley Darwin on the first half of his historic journey around the world aboard the HMS Beagle. In this second video in the series, Charley Darwin (Professor Charles Urbanowicz ) travels from England to unexplored reaches of South America and along the way he confronts slavery, rides with gauchos, experiences gunboat diplomacy, encounters a future dictator of Argentina, explores uncharted rivers, and discovers dinosaur bones.

1997 Charles Darwin: Reflections - Part one: The Beginning. [ ~Seventeen Minutes Video. Darwin in England]. [http://rce.csuchico.edu/darwin/RV/darwinreflections.ram]. Produced and Edited by Ms. Donna Crowe: Instructional Media Center, CSU, Chico. Available via the Internet with REAL PLAYER [http://www.real.com/player/index.html].

Imagine that you could visit with Charles Darwin as he remembers his youth. Perhaps you could learn what early experiences sharpened his power of observation and contributed to his unique perspective of the world. Join Dr. Charles Urbanowicz as he portrays the fascinating and very human Charley Darwin in the first program of the series Charles Darwin: Reflections: The Beginning.

AND JUST TO PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME ADDITIONAL VISUALS:

Source: Caroline Overy, 1997, A Teacher's Guide To Charles Darwin: His Life, Journeys and Discoveries (United Kingdom: English Heritage).

Source: Various (and see R.B. Freeman, 1978, Charles Darwin: A Companion [Folkestone, Kent, England: Dawson & Sons, Ltd.], pages 66-68.

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On January 27, 2005, the following items were added to these pages:

The 1937 Hungarian-American Nobel Prize winner for Physiology/Medicine, Albert Szent-Györgyi [von Nagyrapolt] (1893-1986), stated that a scientist should "see what everybody else has seen and then think what nobody has thought" and it has been written that "nobody did this better than Charles Darwin, who first realized that the evolution of life took place by Natural Selection" [J. Livingston and L. Sinclair, 1967, Darwin And The Galapagos, n.p.]. Numerous other individuals had seen many similar things that Darwin had seen in his travels, but it was Charles Darwin who was to "see what everybody else has seen and then think what nobody has thought.". (from: http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Darwin/DarwinSem-S95.html]

VIDEO NOTES ON: KOESTLER ON CREATIVITY = "Noted author Arthur Koestler [1905-1983] discusses his theories concerning the conscious and unconscious processes underlying creativity, emphasizing scientific discovery but considering artistic originality as well." The video is based on Koestler's 1964 book: The Act Of Creation: A Study of the Conscious and Unconscious in Science And Art. A chart in the book indicates "that we can arrange neighboring provinces of science and art in a series which show a continuous gradient from 'objective' to 'subjective,' from 'verifiable truth' to 'aesthetic experience' ... The point...is to show that regardless of what scale of values you choose to apply, you will move across a continuum without sharp breaks: there are no frontiers where the realm of science ends and that of art begins [stress added]." (1964: 28).

Verifiable OBJECTIVE										Emotional SUBJECTIVE
Chem	Biochem	Biology	Medicine	Psych	ANTH	History	Biograph	Novel	Epic	Lyric

VIDEO: Koestler points out that the "combinatorial act" is the key: "Science as the marriage of ideas which were previously strangers to each other or even thought incompatible."

NOTE: Koestler's approach is similar to that of Jacob Bronowski [1908-1974] who wrote that "No scientific theory is a collection of facts. ... The act of fusion is the creative act. All science is the search for unity in hidden likenesses [stress added]." Jacob Bronowski, 1956, Science And Human Values, pp. 12-19.

"It is obvious, says Jacques Hadamard, that invention or discovery, be it in mathematics or anywhere else, takes place by combining ideas. ... The latin verb cogito for 'to think' etymologically means 'to shake together.' St. Augustine [354-430 A.D.] had already noticed that and also observed that intelligo means 'to select among.'" Arthur Koestler, The Act Of Creation: A Study of the Conscious and Unconscious in Science And Art ,1964: 200-201.

"My view is that knowledge is a rearrangement of experience, in which we put together those experiences that seem to us to belong together, and put them apart from those that do not [stress added]." Jacob Bronowski [1908-1984], The Identity of Man, 1966: 26.

"When you ferret out something for yourself, piecing the clues together unaided, it remains for the rest of your life in some way truer than facts you are merely taught, and freer from onslaughts of doubt." Colin Fletcher, 1968, The Man Who Walked Through Time, p. 109.

"In the end, the common themes linking these creative people separated and floated to the surface like cream. Some of what I discovered I expected: they were all driven, remarkably resilient, adapt at creating an environment that suited their needs, skilled at honoring their own peculiar talents instead of lusting after an illusion of self, capable of knowing when to follow their instincts, and above all, magnificent risk-takers, unafraid to run ahead of the great popular tide [stress added]." Denise Shekerjian, 1990, Uncommon Genius: How Great Ideas Are Born (NY: Viking Penguin), page xxii.

"Every innovation is a combination of ideas. The only bonds between its part in a cultural setting are mental connections; they are instituted with the first individual mind to envisage them, and they dissolve with the last individual mind to retain a recollction of them. The mental content is socially defined; its substance is, in major part, dictated by tradition. But the manner of treating this content, of grasping it, altering it, and rendering it, is inevitably dictated by the potentialities and the liabilities of the machine which does the manipulating: namely the individual mind. ... Every individual is basically innovative for two reasons. No two stimuli to which he [or she] reacts are ever identical. ... The second reason for diversified reactions is that no one ever or minutely duplicates his responses to what he regards as the same stimulus [stress added]." H.G. Barnett [1906-1985], 1953, Innovation: The Basis of Cultural Change (NY: McGraw-Hill), pages 16-20.

"Ken Bingman has been teaching biology in the public schools in the Kansas City area for 42 years, and over the past decade he has seen a marked change in how students react when he brings up evolution. 'I don't know if we're more religious today,' he says, 'but I see more and more students who want a link to God.' Although he is a churchgoer, Bingman does not believe that link should be part of a science class. Neither does the Supreme Court, which declared such intermingling of church and state unconstitutional back in 1988. But that decision does not sit well with a lot of Americans. So at a time when religious faith is increasingly worn on public sleeves--most prominently that of the President--a dispute that dates back to the celebrated 1925 Scopes 'Monkey Trial' is being replayed around the country in legislatures, courts, school-board meetings and parent-teacher conferences. School administrators in rural Dover, Pa., visited biology classes last week to read a declaration proclaiming, among other things, that 'Darwin's theory [of evolution] ... is a theory, not a fact.' And in suburban Cobb County, Ga., officials pasted stickers on biology textbooks declaring the same thing and are now appealing a court order to remove them. The intellectual underpinnings of the latest assault on Darwin's theory come not from Bible-wielding Fundamentalists but from well-funded think tanks promoting a theory they call intelligent design, or I.D. for short. Their basic argument is that the origin of life, the diversity of species and even the structure of organs like the eye are so bewilderingly complex that they can only be the handiwork of a higher intelligence (name and nature unspecified) [stress added]." Excerpted from: "Stealth Attack on Evolution: Who is behind the movement to give equal time to Darwin's critics, and what do they really want?" by Michael D. Lemonick, Time, January 31, 2005, pages 52-53.

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[~13,027 words} 10 May 2005]