Osher Online - Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution: Its Impact on Our Society

Dates: April 6 - May 11, 2023
Meets: Th from 10:00 AM to 11:15 AM
 Location: Osher Online
Cost:  $50.00
Date Day Time
04/06/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM
04/13/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM
04/20/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM
04/27/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM
05/04/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM
05/11/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM

Please note: This course program requires membership in a 2022-2023 OLLI at MSU Membership

Description

This course will not be recorded.

In this course, you will explore the history of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection. You will do this from a biological and moral perspective. Instructor Douglas Burks will present the basic evidence supporting the theory. The theory of evolution is the central unifying theory of biology and is the cornerstone of all biological and medical disciplines in the 21st century. We will explore how the fossil record, comparative anatomy, biogeography, and molecular biology all support evolution. Many called Darwin's theory a most dangerous idea. It was considered one wedge between religion and secular society. The course will explore the positive and negative impacts of modern evolutionary science. The course is for both novices and those experienced in science. Those with no background in science whatsoever will find the course both interesting and approachable.

OLLI at MSU Invited to Participate in National Osher Online Pilot Program

Experience shared online courses with OLLI members from across the Nation this spring! This pilot is offered by the National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (Osher NRC) in collaboration with Northwestern University School of Professional Studies and is your opportunity to be part of the first wave of Osher Online participants.

As part of the Osher Online pilot project, MSU OLLI members can choose from two online courses taught by premier OLLI instructors and moderators. Participants will experience OLLI in a new way, have the opportunity to network with other OLLI members across the Nation, and help shape the future of Osher Online.

Scholarships

Apply for a needs-based scholarship to take this offering.

Meet the Instructor

Fee:  $50.00

Osher Online

This is a real-time (live) online class that meets at the specified day(s)/time(s) listed.

Douglas Burks

Dr. Douglas Burks, a biologist by training, graduated from Earlham College in 1974 and received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 1978. Most of his career was spent at Wilmington College of Ohio as a member of the biology department for 38 years. He taught various courses in genetics, evolution, and molecular biology. Dr. Burks finds nature and how it evolved fascinating. As Darwin said at the end of the Origin of Species: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." This idea has impacted humans socially and intellectually more than any other theory.

Date Day Time Location
04/06/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM Osher Online
04/13/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM Osher Online
04/20/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM Osher Online
04/27/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM Osher Online
05/04/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM Osher Online
05/11/2023Thursday10 AM to 11:15 AM Osher Online