Monday, January 5, 2009 | Science : Evolution and Biology | print version

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10 Lectures on Darwin's Legacy

by Stanford University

10 lectures of around two hours each on Darwin's Legacy from the Continuing Studies course (DAR 200) at Stanford University.

Introductory lecture. Professor William Durham provides an overview of the course; Professor Robert Siegel touches upon "Darwin's Own Evolution;" Professor Durham returns for a talk on "Darwin's Data;" and the lecture concludes with a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Lynn Rothschild.

Lecture 2 by Eugenie Scott. Dr. Scott explores the evolution vs. creationism debate and provides an argument for evolution. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Brent Sockness and Jeff Wine.

Lecture 3 by Janet Browne. Dr. Browne presents a biography on Charles Darwin and explores Darwin's Origin of Species. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Craig Heller and Robert Proctor.

Lecture 4 by Daniel Dennett. Dr. Dennett presents the philosophical importance of Darwin's theory of evolution. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Hank Greely and Chris Bobonich.

Lecture 5 by Peter and Rosemary Grant. The Grants discuss how and why species multiply. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Carol Boggs and Rodolfo Dirzo.

Lecture 6 by Niles Eldredge. Dr. Eldredge discusses Darwin's life and work. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Ward Watt and Liz Hadly.

Lecture 7 by Professor Melissa Brown. Professor Brown speaks about the history and consequences of social Darwinism, and offers insight into new ways of thinking about social evolution.

Lecture 8 by Paul Ewald. Dr. Ewald speaks about how several pathogenic viruses have evolved over time to break down the cell's barriers to several types of cancer. He suggests that further research will aid in the discovery of additional viruses linked to the causation of cancer. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Gary Schoolnik and Stanley Falkow.

Lecture 9 by Russell Fernald. Dr. Fernald discusses how social behavior changes the brains of fish, animals, and humans to adapt to situations typically involving mating behaviors. The lecture is concluded with a panel discussion with Eric Knudsen and Charles Junkerman.

Lecture 10 by George Levine. Dr. Levine discusses through analysis of Darwin's literary works, ways of seeing and being enchanted by the world as well as the poetic eloquence of Darwin's prose. The lecture is concluded with a discussion between Dr. Levine and Rob Polhemus.

Stanford's channel on YouTube

Posted: Monday, January 5, 2009 | Permalink

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1. Comment #313202 by RightWingAtheist on January 5, 2009 at 11:37 pm

Cripes, a friggin 14-minute introduction before I can watch Dennett!

If I was sitting in that room, I don't know if I could resist the urge to scream "shut the hell up and let the speaker get on with it!"

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2. Comment #313209 by RightWingAtheist on January 5, 2009 at 11:41 pm

In case anyone hasn't guessed, this is one of my "issues". I have a lot of them.

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3. Comment #313223 by Dispiracist on January 6, 2009 at 12:19 am

In breaking news: Darwin’s legacy is nearly bankrupt.

As a consequence of the depression, Waterford Wedgewood is now under administration.

That Charles Darwin married into family wealth sufficient to allow him to study and do virtually anything he wanted would have to be an inspiration to scientists everywhere. Wedgewood is no longer an option. But for the next generation of researchers today’s equivalent, Paris Hilton, could still be available.

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4. Comment #313232 by Stafford Gordon on January 6, 2009 at 12:38 am

Wow!

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5. Comment #313243 by AllanW on January 6, 2009 at 12:59 am

I can't wait to view these lectures. Another great facility provided by the site; thanks.

It's a very sad day when the Wedgwood company falls into the state it is in. There will be many more companies dying before the current economic climate improves.

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6. Comment #313282 by MrPickwick on January 6, 2009 at 1:45 am

Thank you Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar!
Awesome gift!
I knew you were for real!

(I el bus ateu arriba a Barcelona... Yuppi! http://www.busateu.org)

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7. Comment #313285 by gcdavis on January 6, 2009 at 1:49 am

...and if you really can't get enough of Darwin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00g9z9x/Darwin_In_Our_Time_On_the_Origins_of_Charles_Darwin/

5 talks about Darwin on BBC radio 4, including Steve Jones as a guest this morning

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8. Comment #313296 by celticaster on January 6, 2009 at 2:04 am

Not sure how to start a new post on here but has anyone seen this on today's BBC news site:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7811875.stm

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9. Comment #313304 by Anvil on January 6, 2009 at 2:12 am

7. Comment #313285 by gcdavis:

..and if you really can't get enough of Darwin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00g9z9x/Darwin_In_Our_Time_On_the_Origins_of_Charles_Darwin/

5 talks about Darwin on BBC radio 4, including Steve Jones as a guest this morning

I'll second that... just listened to the first programme in the car - 6 degrees below, but had to wait till the end of the broadcast before I could get back into the house!

I'm bloody freezing... can't wait for tomorrows programme!

[EDIT: the programmes have their own page @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g9zb3 for those who can 'Listen Again'. Excellent radio!]

This is going to be a great year!

Anvil.

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10. Comment #313310 by Anvil on January 6, 2009 at 2:28 am

8. Comment #313296 by celticaster on January 6, 2009 at 2:04 am
Not sure how to start a new post on here...

You can submit the article by clicking on 'Contacts' at the top of the page, then click on 'Article Submissions'

('Pink' iguana, eh? didn't realise they were endangered? I shall stop eating them, forthwith!)

Anvil.

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11. Comment #313555 by j.mills on January 6, 2009 at 10:15 am

Woof! My cup runneth over.

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12. Comment #313760 by milt on January 6, 2009 at 2:02 pm

Dennett's lecture is so clear and brilliant.
Much easier work than his books which though superb make my little brain hurt. Am still recovering, but grateful for, "consciousness explained"

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13. Comment #313955 by TGarrett on January 6, 2009 at 4:06 pm

I wished this had come last week when I was off for the "birthday" when I had time to watch. So much to learn...

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14. Comment #314124 by ChicagoMolly on January 6, 2009 at 9:22 pm

Dennett's lecture is so clear and brilliant.
Much easier work than his books which though superb make my little brain hurt. Am still recovering, but grateful for, "consciousness explained"

When I was younger (much younger!) I tried reading some of the Top Ten Philosophers and ended up tossing their books and making reference to their prose styles and ancestries in unflattering ways. Dennett's writing is clear, straightforward human talk. He doesn't try to rebuild the English language from the ground up to prove how clever he is (and how clever we're not).

Thank goodness the Darwin documentary is on Radio 4! If it had been a tv program we who live beyond the Pale would get smacked down by the Copyright Lawyers from Hell. Unless some daring cyberspatial Robin Hood were to do something of a file-sharing nature with the vids, which of course would be quite wrong.

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15. Comment #314225 by Raiko on January 7, 2009 at 1:31 am

These are the days when I realize that having dial up at home and forgetting to bring your USB stick to work is a painful combination. This is like the heaven of lectures. :P

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16. Comment #314727 by rod-the-farmer on January 7, 2009 at 1:22 pm

Wow. I am chewing my way through all of them. They take a long time, and I must admit I find some of the thinking beyond me. Still, fun to try to follow them all.

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17. Comment #314928 by Lithium_joe on January 7, 2009 at 5:51 pm