Newswise — 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's landmark book, On the Origin of Species. Several experts from Southwestern University are available to discuss various aspects of this story:
Elizabeth Green Musselman, associate professor of history, is an expert on the history of science, particularly in 19th century Britain. Green Musselman says Darwin, who originally trained to be an Anglican minister, is "a very misunderstood person." She can talk about how he spent decades writing On the Origin of Species, which was his first major publication.
At Southwestern, Green Musselman teaches a class on the history of the controversy between evolution and intelligent design.
Ben Pierce, holder of the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair in Biology, can discuss statistics that point to the continued disconnect between what science says and what the public believes when it comes to the topic of evolution. For example, Gallop Polls conducted between 1982 and 2004 consistently found that 44 to 47 percent of Americans do not believe in evolution. Instead, they believe that humans were "created by God pretty much in their present form less than 10,000 years ago." Meanwhile, a recent survey of more than 400 university professors in Texas, a generally conservative state, found that nearly 90 percent believe modern evolutionary biology is largely correct.
Pierce is an evolutionary biologist and teaches a course in evolution at Southwestern. He also is organizing one of the first events in 2009 that will mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Darwin book. The symposium, titled "Science and Religion: Conflict or Convergence," will be held at Southwestern University Feb. 5-6 as part of the university's annual Brown Symposium series. For more information on the symposium, visit http://www.southwestern.edu/academics/brownsymposium/index.php
Phil Hopkins, associate professor of religion and philosophy, has expertise in both the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science. He teaches topics such as intelligent design, creation science and fundamentalist views of Darwin in his philosophy classes at Southwestern. He also follows where debates on science vs. religion are taking place, such as the courts and school boards. Hopkins has taught a First-Year Seminar class at Southwestern in which students re-enacted the Kansas School Board debate.
Laura Hobgood-Oster, professor of religion and philosophy, can discuss the resurgence of the "Biblical literalism" movement. People who believe in Biblical literalism believe the creation stories in the Bible must be true, which means that the theory of evolution can't be true. While fundamentalism globally is on the increase, Hobgood-Oster notes that the United States is unique because it has such a widespread system of public education. Thus, debates on the teaching of evolution vs. creationism in the public schools are much more prevalent in the United States than in other countries.
Hobgood-Oster specializes in religion and ecology, which necessarily addresses issues of evolution, ecosystems and religious beliefs.
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