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CS92PROD
Evolution, Pictures and Publics
FGSS 127
Spring 2007 not offered
Crosslisting: HIST 127, SISP 127

This seminar is designed to introduce first-year students to critical issues arising from the circulation and display of scientific illustrations in the public sphere. Ironically, the theory of evolution-one of the most difficult scientific phenomena to represent visually-also is among the most widely illustrated. Today, evolutionary imagery appears in scientific textbooks, museum displays, comic books, paintings, films, and magazines. The course provides an in-depth look at the history and social meanings of evolutionary imagery in the trans-Atlantic world from the scientific illustrations of Darwin's theory of natural and sexual selection in Victorian London, to the family trees produced during the Scopes "monkey" trial in Dayton, Tennessee, to the anti-evolutionary imagery circulated by scientific creationists, to a range of recent artworks that explore evolution as a central motif. Students learn how to write histories of popular scientific illustrations by studying the images themselves. Throughout the course, attention will be paid to how evolutionary imagery has been infused with changing visual codes of gender, race, class, sexuality, nationalism, and ethnicity. This course is appropriate for students with interests in biology, gender studies, visual culture, science policy, science and law, and science and the media.

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS FGSS
Course Format: Lecture/DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: None

Last Updated on DEC-08-2024
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