The Darwin Bicentennial Celebration
Appalachian State University will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth during the 2008-09 academic year with a series of lectures and events focusing on Darwin’s ideas and their impacts on society, and his theory of evolution. All talks are free and open to the public.
The presentations are sponsored by the University Forum Committee (UFC) and the Office of the Provost. Additional support is provided by several academic departments across campus.
Lecture Series
Eugenie Scott
Executive Director, National Center for Science Education
Why Darwin Matters
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, Farthing Auditorium
Jay Hosler
Department of Biology, Juniata College
Comic Books, Darwin and the “E” Word
Monday, September 29, 2008, I.G. Greer Auditorium
John Haught
Department of Theology, Georgetown University
Evolution and Faith: What is at Stake?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008, Farthing Auditorium
Ken Miller
Department of Biology, Brown University
Is Evolution “Only a Theory?”: Charles Darwin and the Design of Life
Thursday, October 30, 2008, Powers Hall, Broyhill Inn
Janet Browne
Department of the History of Science, Harvard University
Commemorating Darwin: 1809-2008: A History of Prior Darwin Celebrations
Thursday, November 13, 2008, Blue Ridge Ballroom, Student Union
Edward Larson
Professor of Law, Pepperdine University & Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
The Scopes Trial in History and the Theater
Thursday, January 22, 2009, Farthing Auditorium
Michael Ruse
Department of Philosophy, University of Florida
Darwin at Two Hundred Years Old: Does He Still Speak to Us?
Monday, February 2, 2009, Farthing Auditorium
James Costa
Department of Biology, Western Carolina University
Director, Highlands Biological Station
Charles Darwin and the Origin of the Origin
Tuesday, February 10, 2009, Powers Hall, Broyhill Inn
Sean Carroll
Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, 2009 ASU Morgan Lecturer in the Sciences
Into the Jungle: The Epic Search for the Origins of Species and the Discoveries that Forged a Revolution
Tuesday, February 24, 2009, Farthing Auditorium
Paul Ewald
Department of Biology, University of Louisville
Darwinian Insights into the Causes and Prevention of Cancer
Tuesday, March 17, 2009, Powers Hall, Broyhill Inn
Jonathan Weiner
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism & Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time
Thursday, March 26, 2009, Blue Ridge Ballroom, Student Union
Elisabeth Lloyd
Department of History & Philosophy of Science, Indiana University
Darwinian Evolution and the Female Orgasm: Explanations and Puzzles
Thursday, April 2, 2009, Blue Ridge Ballroom, Student Union
Niles Eldredge
Curator, American Museum of Natural History
Darwin, the Beagle, and the Origin of Modern Evolutionary Biology
Monday, April 6, 2009, Farthing Auditorium
The Evolution Film Series
All films are free and open to the public and are shown in Greenbriar Theater - Plemmons Student Union at 7pm.
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Hosted by Craig Fischer, Department of English
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial
Hosted by David Larry, University Attorney
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Primate
Hosted by Beth Davidson, Department of Sociology
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus
Introduced by Robert Creed, Department of Biology
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Hosted by James Wilkes, Department of Computer Science
Sunday, February 15, 2009
2001: A Space Odyssey
Hosted by Roger Stilling, Department of English
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Art and Music
The Great Tennessee Monkey Trials, A Radio Play from LA Theatre Works
Starring a cast drawn from the ranks of LA Theatre Works Radio Theater, the characters at the center of one of the great debates of American society come to life in this magnificent, semi-staged production of “The Great Tennessee Monkey Trials.” Based on the original transcripts of the 1925 Scopes Trial, which championed the right to teach evolution in public schools, the radio play features unlikely heroes Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, H.L. Mencken and John Scopes, who set the stage for an ongoing national debate over the separation of Church and State in a democratic society.
February 11, 8:00 p.m., Farthing Auditorium
Box Office: 262.4046 or 800.841.ARTS
www.pas.appstate.edu
The Trial Scene from Inherit the Wind and More
Darwin’s theory of evolution created a firestorm of controversy, and its dramatic and comic possibilites were quickly adapted to the stage. The Appalachian State University production will consist of three sections. Part I includes examples of the early 1920’s vaudeville’s response to Darwin in satiric and comic songs and sketches. Part II is the famous court room scene from the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee 1950’s play, Inherit the Wind. Part III looks at Darwin in contemporary theatrical terms.
February 12-14 and 19-21, 7:00 p.m.
I.G. Greer Studio Theater
Box Office: 828.262.3063
Other Events
Departmental Seminars
Check www.universityforum.appstate.edu for information regarding departmental seminars that are a part of the Darwin Celebration.
Public Outreach
Saturday seminars hosted by Appalachian State faculty members at the Watauga County Public Library.
- October 25, 1-3 pm: Misconceptions of Evolution
- December 6, 2-4pm: Fossils and Dinosaurs
- SPRING 2009: Readings from On the Origin of Species
Educational Outreach
The Mathematics and Science Education Center will offer license renewal credits to teachers attending the Darwin presentations or other activities related to the Darwin Series. There will be discussions of the presentations in the middle and high school Science Professional Learning Communities (formerly Science Focus Groups) at the regular monthly meetings.
Contact: Phillip E. Johnson, Director Mathematics and Science Education Center
828.262.3185
johnsnpe@appstate.edu
Darwin Field Trip
“On the Origin of the Origin: A Field Course on the Life of Charles Darwin”
They say seeing is believing, and what better way to appreciate the accomplishments of Charles Darwin than to visit the sites in the United Kingdom that were of importance to him? Announcing a field course to the UK that will document the life and accomplishments of Darwin.
Students will travel from his boyhood home in Shrewsbury, to Edinburgh and Cambridge where he did his university studies, to Wales where Darwin learned much of his geology. Then it will be on to the London area with its Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens, and nearby Down House, where he lived out his life.
The trip will be May 11-28, 2009, and space is limited. Instructors will be Dr. Howard Neufeld, Dept. of Biology, ASU and Dr. James Costa, Director, Highlands Biological Station and Dept. of Biology, WCU. Cost will be approximately $3,500. 5 semester hours of credit may be earned. For information contact Dr. Howard Neufeld at neufeldhs@appstate.edu or 262-2683.
Juried Art Competition
The Art Department will sponsor a juried student competition of art work devoted to any aspect of evolution to be exhibited February 2009 at the Looking Glass Gallery or other venue on campus.
The first place award for best student art work will be $250, second place will be $150 and third place will be $100. The deadline for submissions will be January 23, and work will be judged by a committee of three Appalachian State faculty.
Juried Music Competition
The Composition/Theory Majors in the Hayes School of Music will participate in a Darwin Composition Competition. The students will write original compositions that are inspired by Darwin and his theory of evolution. There will be one winner and two runners-up and all of the compositions will be performed in a chamber music recital on February 25 at 8:00p.m.The concert is free and will be held in the Rosen Concert Hall of the Hayes School of Music. For information contact Dr. Scott Meister, Professor of Music, 262-6443.
