Theme: "Intelligent Design: Is it science? Should it be taught in public schools?"

Darwin Day 2008 took place over February 11th-13th. All events focused on Intelligent Design, which has recently been promoted as an alternative to evolution education in several counties in the United States (and one in Tennessee). We kicked off Darwin Day with a Teacher Workshop in the beautiful Emporium Annex space in downtown Knoxville. Dr.s Gary McGracken and Andy Kramer joined guest speaker Dr. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education in presenting a deconstruction of Intelligent Design for the 37 workshop participants. Dr. Eugenie Scott’s keynote talk on Feb 12 entitled “Intelligent Design: Is it science? Is it valid?” packed the University Center Auditorium which holds over 500 people. On Feb 13 we showed two daytime films (Flock of Dodos and Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial) that went over capacity (of 55) in the original Hodges Media Center room, so that an additional room had to be opened up to accommodate everyone. At lunchtime a seminar by Dr. Gordon Burghardt entitled “Before Paley: the unexpected roots of Intelligent Design” was also well-attended and -received. Lastly, we drew an estimated crowd of 130 to an evening showing of the film War on science: Intelligent Design in the Classroom on Feb 13, which was followed by a panel discussion with Dr.s McCracken, Kramer, and Mike Gilchrist.

Announcement for 2008 Teacher Workshop
Announcement for 2008 Essay Contest

We awarded EEB undergraduate Emily Giles in our newly revived Essay Contest for her essay on the topic: “What is science, and what criteria should be used to decide what is taught in science classrooms? Discuss recent court cases on science standards in public schools.” We plan to expand our efforts to include local middle and high schools in the Essay Contest next year.
Read the winning essay by Emily Giles

Darwin Day received great publicity this year, including interview segments on our local NPR station a local talk radio station. We were covered on the front page of the Beacon on Feb 11, and also in an article on the UTK website which linked from a rotating logo on the UTK homepage during the events. This was all in addition to (and due to) our regular advertising in the Beacon and Metro Pulse, among local colleges and public secondary schools, via press releases to local media, and massive postering efforts from our volunteers.
Feb 8 article on UTK website
Feb 11 article in The Beacon

These events were made possible with the generous support of our sponsors for 2008:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)
Offices of the Provost and Chancellor, UTK
Department of Physics and Astronomy, UTK
Department of Microbiology, UTK
Division of Biology, UTK
Department of Anthropology, UTK
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Psychology, UTK
Department of Biochemistry & Cellular & Molecular Biology, UTK
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, UTK
College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, UTK
Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology , UTK and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

Theme: "Evolution and Medicine"

Darwin Day 2007 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville took place over February 6th-13th. The theme was "Evolution and Medicine," and focused on the impact of evolution in understanding disease and public health. We had a documentary film screening, two prominent speakers giving evening talks for the general public and additional focused talks, and a workshop for area teachers on integrating evolutionary topics in the public school curriculum.

2007 Sponsors:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)
The Haines-Morris Fund, UTK
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Microbiology, UTK
Division of Biology, UTK
College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences , UTK
Department of Psychology, UTK
Department of Anthropology, UTK
Department of Biochemistry & Cellular & Molecular Biology, UTK
Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology , UTK and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Frank H. McClung Museum, UTK
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
 

Highlights:

Randolph Nesse, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Michigan

Paul Ewald, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Director of the program for Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Louisville

We also hosted a workshop for area high and middle school teachers titled “Evolution – It is too important not to teach”. The workshop was hosted by the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville. Dr. Andrew Kramer and Dr. Gary McCracken taught the workshop, which was free to all area teachers in Knox and surrounding counties.

We were also fortunate to screen the documentary film Flock of Dodos on the Evolution/Intelligent Design clash before it was widely released!

Theme: "Evolution and Religion" View Flyer

Film series & Discussions
Evolution: Episode 1, Darwin’s dangerous idea (NOVA/PBS)
Evolution: Episode 6, The mind’s big bang  (NOVA/PBS)
Evolution: Episode 7, What about God?  (NOVA/PBS)

Talk by Rev. Michael Dowd; View Flyer
Topic: The Gospel According to Evolution: Great News Personally and Globally

Talk by Dr. Tim Berra; View Flyer
Topic: Charles Darwin: The Man 1809-1882

For Darwin Day 2005, we had an information booth, film series, and keynote address by Dr. Michael Shermer. Dr. Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Director of the Skeptics Society, a monthly columnist for Scientific American. Dr. Shermer gave two lectures: "The Science of Good and Evil: The Evolutionary Origins of Morality" and Why People Believe Weird Things: Creationism, Holocaust Denial, and Beyond". Additionally, Marc Cadotte and Dr. Thomas Near appeared on National Public Radio for an interview, followed by a call-in question and answer session with the general public.
 

Participating Organizations 2005:

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK)
Division of Biology, UTK
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, UTK
School of Journalism and Electronic Media, UTK
Rationalists of East Tennessee

This year our activities were coordinated with the Clarence Brown Theatre's production of "Inherit the Wind" and co-sponsored by the Theatre Department and the College of Law at the University of Tennessee.  Productions of the play ran from February 1-17 to coincide with the February 12-13 celebration of Darin Day. Lectures (below) included a keynote address by Dr. Barry Palevitz of the University of Georgia and several talks relating to "Inherit the Wind".

We had an information booth, film series, and a workshop for teachers (link below).

Teacher Workshop: "Focus on Gateway- Teaching Science from an Evolutionary Viewpoint"

Keynote Address, February 13:
"Never say Uncle: Creationism and Intelligent Design"
By Dr. Barry Palevitz

February 5:
"Theatre Talk- A Discussion of Media and the Theatre"
By Doug Mason, entertainment writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel

February 9:
"The Scopes Trial and the Evolving Concept of Freedom"
By Dr. Ed Larson

"The Scopes Trial and the Evolving Concept of Freedom"
By Dr. Ed Larson

February 14:
Debate: "What is the evidence for and against the modern theory of evolution?"
Dr. Jonathan Wells, Discovery Institute
Dr. Massimo Pigliucci

This year we continued the information booth, film series, and book signing by our keynote speaker, Dr. Ken Miller, Brown University professor and author of several high school biology text books. The theme of this year's teacher workshop organized by Dr. Miller was "Teaching the Fact and Theory of Evolution- Meshing Classroom Practice with Science and with Common Sense".

An extensive lecture series spread over three months included the following talks:

January 24:
"Does Climate Drive Evolution?" (technical)
"Evolution? The Fossils Say Yes!" (general public)
by Dr. Donald Prothero

Keynote Address, February 10:
"Finding Darwin 's God: On the Apparent Conflict Between Evolution and Religion"
by Dr. Ken Miller

March 13:
"The Rewards of Cooperation: Cognitive Aspects of Primate Reciprocity" (technical)
"Good Natured: The Evolution of Morality in Humans and Other Animals"
by Dr. Frans de Waal

April 10: "Evolutionary ethics: a phoenix arisen?" (technical)
"Darwinism and atheism: a marriage made in heaven?"
by Dr. Michael Ruse

For Darwin Day in 1999, we had the information booth, a film series, and another teaching workshop (link below). The essay contest focused on the words of Ulysses S. Grant: "Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the state forever separate." 

Our keynote speaker was Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. His talk was entitled, "Separation of God and  Darwin." He discussed the ideas of evolution and the teachings as they affect the separation of church and state in our country.

Teacher Workshop: "Teaching Evolution: Resolving the Controversies"

Our 1997 activities included an information booth, a film series at the UTK Library, a book display in the campus bookstore, and a keynote address by Dr. Douglas Futuyma on Evolution, Science, and Society. We began work on the Darwin Day Web Page, and the Evolution at UTK Discussion Group was established.

Film series

• Evolution in the Classroom: The 1996 Controversy in Tennessee
• God, Darwin , and Dinosaurs
• Origin of Species: Beyond Genesis
• In the Beginning: The Creationist Controversy
• In Search of Human Origins: Episode One, The Story of Lucy
• Creation vs. Evolution: Battle in the Classrooms
• The Evidence for Evolution

Dr. Futuyma's keynote address: "Evolution, Science, and Society"