On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin "No other work advertised to the world the emancipation of science from philosophy as blatantly as did Darwin's Origin. - Ernst Mayr
On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin "No other work advertised to the world the emancipation of science from philosophy as blatantly as did Darwin's Origin. - Ernst Mayr
Reading
On the Origin of Species, A Facsimile of the First Edition (1859). Charles Darwin. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1964
Understanding Evolution. (2005) The University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, and the Regents of the University of California. Available online at: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
Key Dates:
Draft of Darwin Paper Due: 11/21/05
Final Paper Due: 11/28/05
Guest Lectures:
Thursday 11/10 - Noon - Room 600 - Dr. Wesley R. Elsberry. "Evolutionary Science." More information about Dr. Elsberry is available at: http://www.ncseweb.org/ourstaff.asp
Thursday 11/17 - Noon - Room 600 - Prof. Philip E. Johnson. "Intelligent Design." More information about Professor Johnson is available at: http://www.arn.org/authors/johnson.html
Tuesday 11/22 - Noon - Room 600 - Open Discussion: Where do you stand? Hosted by Dr. Susan Sperling and Scott Hildreth of Chabot College.
Lecture & Reading Schedule
Day 1 (Oct. 31 Monday)
by E. Mayr pp vii-xxIntroduction
Chapter One: Variation under Domestication (pp 7-20)
Nature of Science pp 1-12 in handout or online at http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/nature/index.shtml
Questions for Contemplation and Discussion
1. What does Ernst Mayr mean by the quote from his introduction at the top of this page?
2. The article on the Nature of Science says that science is a particular way of understanding the natural world. Explain this statement
Day 2 (Nov. 1 Tuesday)
Chapter One: Variation under Domestication (pp 21-43)
Artificial Selection p13 in handout or online at http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/lines/IVAartselection.shtml
Questions
1. According to Darwin (Chapter 1) how did pigeon breeders select for the many different characteristics of domestic pigeons? What evidence does he bring to bear on this matter?
2. Why might Darwin have chosen to put his discussion of artificial selection in his first chapter of the Origin?
Day 3 (Nov. 2 Wednesday)
Chapter Three: Struggle for Existence, pp 60-70
Natural Selection pp 14-16 in handout or online at http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/history/naturalselection.shtml
Questions
1. What is the theory of natural selection? What is the role of variation among organisms in a species in the process of natural selection?
Day 4 (Nov. 3 Thursday)
Chapter Three: Struggle for Existence pp 71-79
Battling Bacterial Evolution pp 17-26 in handout or online at http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/bergstrom_01
Questions
1. How does Darwin build his argument for natural selection in this chapter? What are some key examples and points he makes?
2. How does Carl Bergstom’s work modeling bacterial evolution build on Darwin’s discovery? What are the uses of this kind of research for human life and health?
Week Two
11/7/05 Monday
Chapter 4, pp. 80-90
Chromosomes (pp. 1-4) from Berkeley.evoution.edu
Questions
1. What is sexual selection?
2. Give some examples of probable sexual selection in nature.
11/8/05 Tuesday
Chapter 4, pp. 90-101
A Case Study of Coevolution (pp. 5-7) from Berkeley.evolution.edu
Questions
1. What is co-evolution? What examples does Darwin give of this phenomenon?
2. How do seed-predators in the Rocky Mountains select for certain pinecone characteristics? How have birds evolved in response to pinecone characteristics?
11/9/05 Wednesday
Chapter 4: pp. 101-111
Speciation (pp. 8-10) from Berkeley.evolution.edu
Questions
1. What is the relationship between geographic isolation and speciation?
2. Give a hypothetical example of how speciation could occur.
11/10/05 Thursday
Chapter 4:pp. 111-130
Genetic Similarities (pp. 11-13) from Berkeley.evolution.edu
Questions
1. Why has an understanding of DNA enhanced scientist’s ability to study evolutionary relationships of living things?
2. DNA hybridizations studies have shown that humans are genetically closest to which other primate species?
Online resources:
Books Written by Charles Darwin (http://www.aboutdarwin.com)
Charles Darwin's Writings Online at The British Museum (http://pages.britishlibrary.net/charles.darwin3/images.html)
Paustian, Timothy (2003) Introduction to Bacterial Structure. University of Wisconsin-Madison http://www.bact.wisc.edu/Microtextbook/index.php?module=Book&func=display&chap_id=32
Rubin. (2002) Hospital Stays Can Be Harmful To Your Health. Emerging Infectious Diseases. National Center for Infectious Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/press_r/rubin.htm
Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Paleontology: great information and graphics http://www.ucmp.berkeley.eduEvolution Updates in current periodicals from The Evolution Research Center for Students and Teachers http://users.mstar2.net/spencersa/evolutusTalk Origins: A particularly good site for those interested in the evolution/creation controversy http://www.talkorigins.org/National Center for Science Education is an advocacy organization for the teaching of evolution http://www.natcenscied.org/Mayr, E. (1999) Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought. University of Hamburg. Available online: http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e36_2/darwin_influence.htm
Darwin, C. On the Origin of Species. Available online at:
An Online Library of Literature: http://www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-origin-of-species/
The Talk: Origins http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html
Darwin, C. The Descent of Man. Available online at:
University of Hamburg: http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e36_descent/descent.html
Chabot College
