136-029 Darwinism

Formerly available as 136-102. Students who have completed 136-102 Darwinism are not eligible to enrol in this subject. For science third year, see 136-329 Darwinism (Science 3).

Usually 75 points of first year study across any discipline areas.

This subject explores the origins and the implications of Charles Darwin's revolutionary theory of evolution by means of natural selection. It begins by examining the diverse sources from which the theory was constructed during the late 1830s: the geological data used to challenge Biblical stories of Creation and the Great Flood; the observations of plants and animals that began to suggest common descent; the evolutionary theories that preceded Darwin's own; and the fraught socio-economic context that arguably helped inspire Darwin's vision of a natural world steeped in struggle. The course goes on to examine the reasons why Darwin delayed publishing for more than twenty years and the reception of his theory following the appearance of The Origin of Species in 1859. The course then charts how Darwin's basic theory was refined by successive generations of biologists. It also examines the application of evolutionary theory to questions of politics, warfare, colonialism, economics, as well as race, class and gender, during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The course concludes with a discussion of Darwin's legacy both in terms of the relationship between science and religion, and the emergence of evolutionary approaches to understanding human mind and behaviour.

• develop skills in written and oral communication;

• conduct independent research;

• make appropriate use of primary and secondary sources in mounting an argument;

• form defensible judgements based on a critical evaluation of conflicting arguments.

Tutorial assignment of 1500 words 35% (due mid-semester) and a 2500 word essay 65% (due at the end of semester).

• P J Bowler, Evolution: the history of an idea. (3rd ed) University of California Press July 2003.