Evolution and Society

A photo of a Galapagos finch.

Charles Darwin brought finch specimens back to England after his trip to the Galapagos Islands. These played an important role in the creation of Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection. (Photo courtesy of Santiago Ron on Flickr. CC-BY-NC)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

STS.009

As Taught In

Spring 2012

Level

Undergraduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This course provides a broad conceptual and historical introduction to scientific theories of evolution and their place in the wider culture. It embraces historical, scientific and anthropological/cultural perspectives grounded in relevant developments in the biological sciences since 1800 that are largely responsible for the development of the modern theory of evolution by natural selection. Students read key texts, analyze key debates (e.g. Darwinian debates in the 19th century, and the creation controversies in the 20th century) and give class presentations.

Related Content

John Durant, Jeanne Wildman, and Michaela Thompson. STS.009 Evolution and Society. Spring 2012. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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