'The Darwin Seminar' Interdisciplinary Honors Class Offered Spring 2023

Photo Submitted

Professor William F. McComas kneels next to a tortoise during a visit to the Galápagos Islands.

Are you looking for an interesting elective with credits possible in biology, curriculum and instruction, history, humanities or philosophy?

A team of 10 U of A professors will offer a three-credit-hour interdisciplinary honors class (non-honors students may request permission to register) called the Darwin Seminar this spring. The class is a unique opportunity for students to investigate the topic of evolution, its personalities, controversies and implications.

Classes will meet from 4:30‐5:45 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and will include BIOL (480vH-001), CIED (4503H-001), HIST (3923H), HUMN (425VH) or PHIL (3923H).

The seminar is led by Parks Family Professor of Science Education William F. McComas. He will be joined by co-instructors from various specializations across campus who bring a rich mix of perspectives to examine evolution from its history to Charles Darwin's voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle to the Scopes Trial to continuing aftershocks in modern science classrooms.

"Darwin and the ideas he supported have profound relevance across the fields of biology, history, literature, sociology and beyond, yet many misunderstand or even reject evolution," McComas said.

All course materials, including books, will be provided.

For more information about this unique undergraduate experience, a complete description is available here or contact McComas directly at mccomas@uark.edu.