Darwin and His Discontents: a History of Evolution, 1700-1900

SYLLABUS

BISC499

University of Southern California

Spring 2009

Darwin and His Discontents: A History of Biological Evolution, 1725-1950

Mondays, 4-7 PM

Prof. Daniel Lewis (Adjunct)

Dibner Senior Curator, History of Science & Technology

The Huntington Library

Office phone: 626-405-2206

e-mail:

The history of evolution has influenced an astonishing number of areas of critical thought and practice since the eighteenth century, ranging from the direction and tenor of scientific inquiry, to conceptions of natural creation and religion, to the “human betterment” movement and notions of social and economic Darwinism. While Charles Darwin was not the first person to conceive of evolution, he posited for the first time the mechanisms by which evolution worked, most notably, natural selection.His 1859 publication The Origin of Species was arguably the most important book published in the history of scientific ideas since Nicolas Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbis coelestium appeared in 1543.

This course – being taught through the Integrative & Evolutionary Biology Department -- is designed to present, analyze and discuss the key set of issues surrounding evolution, starting with Darwin’s immediate intellectual predecessors at the end of the eighteenth century – including his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin -- and continuing up through into the 1970s. The primary chronological emphasis, however, will be on the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century.

It is my desire to help scientists-in-training, pre-med students and medical students (and any other students interested in the topic) to understand the implications of the history of evolution. This will make you better scientists, doctors, and yes, better-informed citizens. Science and medicine never take place in a vacuum, and those disciplines are highly influenced by cultural environment, mores, and the state of other scientific activities at the time. To understand Darwinian thought and its influences and successors is to be able to better contextualize modern conceptions of evolution, biological inheritance, and religion. This course will thus provide a look at the historical antecedents to Darwinian evolutionary theory; the thinking of catastrophists versus ideas of the linear, progressive nature of evolution; the responses of religious and spiritual thinkers to the appearance of the Origin of Species; and the changes to his theory in the decades following its appearance, including the new understanding of genetics at the start of the twentieth century (a critically explanatory piece of the evolutionary puzzle which Darwin did not live long enough to incorporate). We will analyze Darwin’s thought, scrutinize the influences on and of Darwin, and embed Darwin’s thinking within the social and political fabric of his era. We will also discuss changes in evolutionary thinking up through the Modern Synthesis era.

A couple of the class sessions will meet at the Huntington Library in order to take advantage of its extraordinarily rich holdings in this area. The Huntington holds the largest collection of Darwin’s printed works extant in North America, as well as many important manuscript collections, photographs and printed works related to his predecessors and successors. The course will thus also offer insight into some of the research methodologies used by scholars in working with the archival and historical record to continue and advance Darwinian and evolutionary scholarship, with an eye towards the most recent historiographical trends.

Regularly attending class is important. Missing more than three classes will result in an F. If you do have to miss a class I will assign a project for you to make it up.

Please also note the Statement for Students with Disabilities and the Statement on Academic Integrity following the weekly schedule below.

The class will include an analytical paper of approximately 20 pages in length due by the final class of the semester; details to follow during the semester.

Your final grade will be based as follows:

30% for a variety of short projects and assignments, both in class and outside of class.

30% for class participation, presentations and assigned class discussions to lead. Note that this is a substantial part of your grade, so it’s very important that you do the readings thoroughly, ask lots of questions, and participate enthusiastically.

40% for final paper.

There is no mid-term for the course.

Required texts for the course, in alphabetical order by author:

There are five books totaling six volumes required for the course.They range from reasonably priced ($30) to just a couple of dollars for used copies, so your total outlay for books will be relatively small. Virtually all of these texts are available online via abebooks.com (for used or new books) or amazon.com (for new books) as well as through the Bookstore. At least one (Origin of Species) is available in a full facsimile version online as well. If you buy used copies please be sure to order the edition specified if there’s more than one edition available, such as Thomas Kuhn’s book. Some of these are quite substantial, so pace yourself during the week so you can get the readings done.

Browne, Janet. Charles Darwin: A Biography. This is a two-volume work and the most substantial biography of Darwin; the first volume is entitled Voyaging (Princeton University Press, 1995, 605 pp.); and the second volume is The Power of Place (Princeton University Press, 2002, 590 pp.).

Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition (Harvard Paperbacks (HarvardUniversity Press, 2001).ISBN 0674637526. A facsimile edition of Charles Darwin’s most important work. 502 pp.Please be sure to get the 1859 first edition rather than the 1882 sixth edition, which is often the one sold. This work is ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE: both as a complete transcription at: and as a facsimile at: .

Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist (W. W. Norton & Company, paperback edition, 1994). Available used inexpensively through abebooks.com. A different take on some key aspects of Darwin, evolution, and Victorian England. 808 pp.

Kuhn, Thomas, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (3rded., University of Chicago Press, 1996). Widely available in hardcover and paperback for cheap, but try to get the third edition. One of the most important works in the history of science, dating from the 1st edition in 1962; we’ll discuss this quite a bit and bring it up to date with a number of supplementary readings on the topic that have followed Kuhn. 210 pp.

Mayr, Ernst. The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance (Belknap Press, 1985, 858 pp). Available in the bookstore. Also available used in both paperback and hardback on abebooks.com. A key text by a famous scientist (he’s been called “the Charles Darwin of the 20th century”) tracing the history of biological thought up to and past Darwin’s time.

Outline of weekly readings (subject to minor revisions during the semester as necessary):

Week 1 (Monday, Jan. 12): Setting the context: Introduction of class, lecture on precursors to Darwin (especially Jean-Baptiste Lamarck): evolutionary thought, transmutation, and notions of change over time.

Week 2 (Jan. 19): -- no class; MLK Day

Week 3 (Jan. 26): Darwin as scientist; context of Victorian England. Janet Browne, Vol. 1, pp. 1-274 (Chapters 1-11).

Week 4 (Feb. 2): The rest of Browne, Vol. 1, pp. 275-543. (Chapters 12-21)

Week 5 (Feb. 9): Browne, Vol. 2, entire.

Week 6 (Feb. 16): Kuhn, entire, on the structure of scientific revolutions, plus article by Michael Ruse, “The Darwinian Revolution, as seen in 1979 and as seen Twenty-Five Years Later in 2004.” Class meeting at the Huntington Library. Thomas Kuhn’s own research papers arrived at the Huntington as part of a larger acquisition in the Fall of 2006, and we will do some archival work in that collection to better understand his thinking and work.

Week 7 (Feb. 23):Diversity, taxonomy, and common descent: Mayr, pp. 1-534 (Chapters 1-11).Also, turn in proposal for final paper. It doesn’t have to be much; if it’s not detailed enough to be of potential use to you as an educational tool, I’ll let you know.GUEST LECTURER: David Archibald, Vertebrate paleobiologist at SDSU, and nationally-renowned Darwin expert.

Week 8 (Mar. 2): Inheritance and genetics: Mayr, pp. 535-858 (Chapters 12-20).

Week 9 (Mar. 9): Darwin, Origin of Species(entire). Class meeting at the Huntington Library.

Week 10 (Mar. 16): -- NO CLASS; Spring break

Week 11(Mar. 23): Desmond & Moore, pp. 1-300 (Chapters 1-19)

Week 12(Mar. 30): Desmond & Moore, pp. 301-678 (Chapters 20-44)

Week 13(Apr. 6): Supplemental reading/s to be assigned. Will likely include Stephen Jay Gould’s Ontogeny and Phylogeny, depending on the biology backgrounds of the students.

Week 14 (Apr. 13): Supplemental reading/s to be assigned

Week 15(Apr. 20): Supplemental articles from the Journal of the History of Biology

Week 16 (Apr. 27):No readings; work on your papers!

Week 17 (May 4): Final paper due.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honestyinclude the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation thatindividual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligationsboth to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid usinganother’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by theseprinciples. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards forfurther review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process canbe found at: