HISTORY OF SCIENCES SERIES
Evolving Ideas of Life
Professor Llyd Ewan Wells
This course is co-sponsored by the Independence Branch of the Free Library, located at 18 S. 7th Street (7th and Market Streets), Philadelphia.
LECTURES BEGIN AT 6:30 P.M.
- Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - A World of Invisible Beings
Did you know that the vast majority of living things on this planet are invisible, being too small to be seen? And that these were the only organisms on Earth for most of its history? This class will serve as an introduction to the world of microbes - what they are, what they do and why they matter.
- Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - NO CLASS*
- Wednesday, April 9, 2008 - Evolution and the Concept of Virus
We'll follow up our discussion of the microbial world with a more detailed look at a particular type of thing found within it: viruses. How do viruses affect what we mean by the word "life"? We will also consider what viruses teach us about biological evolution.
- Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - Biological Matryoshka
Matryoshka are the Russian dolls nested one within another. Living organisms often adopt relationships to each other that are similar to such dolls. We'll explore some examples of this phenomenon in the biological world and discuss its importance to the evolution of complex cells..
- Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - Trees of Life
Trees of life represent ways of organizing biological knowledge. We'll consider some of the different trees that have been proposed historically, as well as problems that these trees raise. What do the shortcomings of our attempts to represent all living things teach us about life and evolution?
- Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - Origins of Life
In the context of last week's discussion about biological representation, we'll examine past and present efforts to identify or define life's origin. Why is this question so difficult - and appealing? What are some of the problems that it forces us to confront?
- Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - Martian Rabbits, or Alien Life in the Universe
The search for the origin of life curiously often morphs into the quest for life elsewhere. This class will provide a selective overview of current and past efforts to detect such aliens. What assumptions about life underlie these searches?
- Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - Life and the Environment: From Crusoe to Crisis
In earlier classes, we have explored important relationships between life and the environment as they pertain to origin-of-life or astrobiological research. The course will now finish by coming full circle to consider how current environmental crises reflect assumptions about these relationships.
Using an interdisciplinary approach that includes science, history and literature, this course will explore various ways that we have imagined life. In particular, we will focus on the microbial world, evolution and fiction, and on how together these subjects challenge us to think differently about life, the environment and ourselves. We will consider the relevance of that challenge to origin-of-life research, the search for alien life, and current environmental problems.
*No class is scheduled for April 2nd. Students may be interested in a related program at the University of Pennsylvania. Princeton professor Elaine Pagels will give a free public lecture entitled "Original Sin" from 5-6:30 at the Rainey Auditorium, Penn Museum, 3260 South Street. For information and to register (pre-registration is required), visit http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu/07-08/event12_pagels.shtml or call (215) 573-8280.
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