D2. Genetics, Geology, & Genomes: How We Got Here (Blatt) (Mon)

Who are we?  Where did we come from?  What is our place on the earth and in the vast universe we see around us?  Since the most ancient of times, religions and philosophical musings have provided answers that satisfied the thinking and needs of people in different ages and over diverse regions of the earth. We will learn about how observations, experiments, and carefully-focused thought led to our current level of understanding about those age-old questions; but we will also spend a little time considering how controversial some of these ideas, especially Darwin’s insights on evolution, remain to the present day.  No previous background in the sciences is necessary.

GROUP LEADER:  Les Blatt is Professor Emeritus of Physics and Education at Clark University. His research interests include work in experimental nuclear physics, astrophysics and modern approaches to learning science. He has created and taught courses ranging from “Energy and the Environment” to “Exploring the Universe,” and from “Seeing the Light: At the Crossroads of Art and Science” to science workshops and summer institutes for college-level education students and current teachers in Central Massachusetts public schools.

REQUIRED BOOK:  A Brief History of Creation, by Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves II, published by W. W. Norton; ISBN#: 978-0393353198, paperback edition available December 6, 2016.