The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.

The Darwinian Revolution was one of the greatest upheavals in human thought, involving the very basis of our self-awareness: Where did we come from? What is or should be the basis for our ethics and social behavior? Where are we going? Topics to be considered include the historical antecedents of Darwin's theories; the scientific evidence for evolution and natural selection; the impact of Darwinism on religion, social theory, and ethics; later scientific developments and recent challenges by latter-day creationists. The goal is to use these interdisciplinary topics as an exemplar of scientific methods and change, and of the unsteady relationship between science and the public. In addition to attending and participating in each week's lecture/discussion, each student will be required to write a short paper (five pages maximum) due at the end of the semester.

Requisites

• Freshman Students

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills