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Earth, Body, and Mind: Changes in Scientific Thought
| Course Home Page | Purposes & Overview of Course | Course Schedule & Readings | Course Procedures | Course Related Web Links | Academic Skills Center |
Class Schedule and Readings: Spring 2008
Topic |
Reading |
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| UNIT I: INTRODUCTION, PLATE TECTONICS, MASS EXTINCTION | |||
| Feb | 4 | Introduction to Class; Does Science Matter? Science as a Way of Knowing; “Science as a Candle in the Dark” (Lecture) | Purposes & Overview; Naturalism |
| 6 | Plate Tectonics (Lecture) | Who Invented the Theory of Continental Drift; Alfred Wegener; Geology: Plate Tectonics; Major Tedtonic Plates of the World | |
| 8 | Plate Tectonics continued (Lecture & HWC video) | This Dynamic Earth; Plate Tectonics: Introduction | |
| Feb | 11 | Plate Tectonics continued (Kiluhea Video & Discussion) | Tsunami Graphics; Tsunami Information; Earthquake Damage; Plate Tectonics, the Cause of Earthquakes |
| 13 | Mass Extinction; K-T Impact (Lecture) | K-T Boundary Impact Hypothesis; Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event; Article on Permian Extinction; 2nd Permian Extinction Article, Ancient Crash, Epic Wave |
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| 15 | Unit 1 Exam | Example Exam for Unit 1 | |
| UNIT II: THE ENVIRNOMENT | |||
| 18 | The Environment – An Overview (Lecture) | Begin reading the book Ishmael; Endrocrine Disrupters, Tragedy of the Commons, 1602: Tragedy of the Commons, Definition of Ecosystem Serices | |
| 20 | Ozone Depletion and Global Climate Change (Lecture) | The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon, Global Warming (EPA) 1; Global Warming (EPA) 2; Global Warming: Early Warning Signs | |
| 22 | Biodiversity and the Extinction Crisis (Lecture) | A Modern Mass Extinction? | |
| 25 | The Future of Life (Video & Discussion) | The Real Biodiversity Crisis | |
| 27 | Tropical Rain Forests (Lecture & HWC video) | Tropical Rain Forest | |
| 29 | Population-the Ultimate Environmental Problem (Lecture) | World Population Counter; | |
| Mar | 3 | The Environment of North Central Texas: From the Local Perspective to the Global (Lecture) | Blackland Prairie Reading, Map of North Central Texas |
| 5 | Brownlash & the Effect of Politics on Science (Spin Doctors Video, Lecture & Discussion) | Biodiversity and the Brownlash; Manipulating Public Knowledge; Distain for Science (Siegfried)---electronic reserve; Finish reading Ishmael | |
| 7 | Unit 2 Exam | Example Exam for Unit II | |
| UNIT III: THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION | |||
| 10 | Pre-Darwinian Paradigms (Lecture) | Biology Before the Beagle (Gavin De Beer)---electronic reserve | |
| 12 | The Darwinian Revolution: Evolution of a Paradigm Shift (Lecture) | The Origin of Species (Introduction) (Charles Darwin); Principles of Geology (Charles Lyell)---electronic reserve | |
| 14 | The Darwinian Revolution (Continued) (Lecture & Discussion) | Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution; Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution | |
| 15–23 | Spring Break | ||
| 24 | Primate and Human Evolution (Lecture) | ||
| 26 | Primate and Human Evolution (Lecture) | ||
| 28 | Human Evolution continued (Mysteries of Mankind Video) | Hobbit-Like Ancestor Found in Asia | |
| 31 | Changes in Worldview; Sociobiology (Lecture) | The Boy Raised as a Girl; On Becoming Human---electronic reserve; The Brains of Gay Men---electronic reserve | |
| Apr | 2 | Creationism (Lecture) | Seven Short Creationism Readings---Total of 11 pages (Farewell to Newton, Einstein, and Darwin; Creationism and the Age of the Earth; Does Evolution Conflict with Religious Belief?; Challenging Evolution Does Not Make Creationism Science; Creationists versus Evolution: The Issues; Evidence for Scientific Creationism?; Putting Darwin Back in the Dock)---these are on electronic reserve; Recent Texas Headline |
| 4 | Creationism continued (Church Video & Discussion) | Intelligent Design? (an 8 page article including
essays by both Intelligent Design proponents and
Scientists)---electronic reserve; Five Major
Misconceptions about Evolution |
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| 7 | Evolutionary Medicine; Intelligent Design?; Benevolent Design? (Lecture) | Sweet Death; If Humans Were Built to Last---electronic reserve | |
| 9 | Molecular Evolution; The Irony of Knowledge; Evolution Summary (Lecture & Discussion) | ||
| 11 | Unit 3 Exam | ||
| UNIT IV: COGNITIVE SCIENCE | |||
| 14 | Introduction. History of the Problem of Consciousness (Lecture) | A Brief Tour of the Brain, Parts 1 and 2: History of the Study of the Brain, and Large Scale Features | |
| 16 | Introduction continued. Philosophical Considerations (Lecture) | Some Definitions and Names, Sessions 1-3 | |
| 18 | Free Will (Lecture & Discussion) | Free Will (Thomas Nagel)---electronic reserve | |
| 21 | Introduction to the Brain, and Damaged Brains Part 1 (Lecture) | Brain Parts; Neurons, Synapses, and Neurotransmission; The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Oliver Sacks)---electronic reserve | |
| 23 | Guest Lecturer -- Dr. Greg Dimijian on Evolution and Sexuality (Lecture) | ||
| 25 | Damaged Brains Part 2 (Lecture and Discussion) | From Left Brain, Right Brain (Springer and Deutsch): Introduction, Evidence from Brain Damage; Splitting the Brain; Implications of Split-Brain Research---3 documents total, on electronic reserve | |
| 28 | Artificial Intelligence (Lecture) | Can a Computer Have a Mind? (Roger Penrose)---electronic reserve | |
| 30 | Food and the Brain (Lecture) | ||
| 2 | Videos and Discussion | ||
| 5 | Sex and the Brain (Lecture) | Sex, Math, and Scientific Achievement, Pas de Deux of Sexuality Is Written in the Genes | |
| May | 7 | Animal Consciousness (Lecture) | Time in the Animal Mind |
| 9 | Unit 4 Exam | ||
| 12 | Review/Reading Day | ||
| 15 | FINAL EXAM (OPTIONAL) Thur., 3–5 pm |
All material on this page copyright 2008, George M. Diggs, Jr. & Kerry G. Brock
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