Creationism
RELS 2000/ANTH 2090
Dr. Joanne Robinson () and Dr. John Marks ()
MW 2-3:15, Friday 137
Course Description and Learning Outcomes
This course is about the recurrent rejection of human evolution in favor of Biblical literalism over the last century and a half. We will explore the history of creationism and its implications for science and theology. Various versions of creationism will be presented, including natural theology, young-earth creationism, old-earth creationism, intelligent design, and non-Christian origin narratives. We will discuss various interpretations of Genesis and of evolution, what constitutes science, what constitutes religion, and their contested zones of overlap.
Students taking this course should expect to become familiar with the complex ways "creationists" and "evolutionists" engaged in debates about the origins. By the end of the course, students should be able to recognize and describe various strains of creationist thought, including commonalities and differences among groups. They should be able to explain the historical development of this cultural clash and its impact on American culture in particular. Students will learn how to read texts critically, to become aware of their own views and biases, and to treat the views of others seriously and respectfully.
Office Hours
Dr. Joanne Robinson, Macy 210, in office frequently but email about meeting
Dr. John Marks, Barnard 216, MW 9-10:30, or by appointment
Required Texts
Ronald L. Number, The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design (Harvard 2006)
Richard H. Robbins and Mark Nathan Cohen, Darwin and the Bible: The Cultural Confrontation (Pearson, 2009)
A Turning Point Technologies Clicker- These can be purchased or rented at the University Library
Expectations and Grading
We expect you to attend class regularly but will allow you two absences without consequence (and without telling us where you were). After two excused absences, all other excused absences must be for documented conflicts. You may also drop two of the daily clicker quizzes without consequence (or drop your one or two lowest grades if you take all of them).
We expect you to do the readings on a daily basis. Graded work will include class attendance and participation (assessed through clickers, including questions related to each day's readings), participation in online discussion forums, a midterm (in class), and a final exam (in Moodle).
Grade Calculations
Online discussion forums: 15%
Clicker Questions an Attendance: 20%
Midterm and Final Exams: 65%
Academic Integrity
All students and faculty are expected to adhere to the University's Code of Academic Integrity:
Disability Services
Students with documented disabilities who have registered Disability Services will be accommodated according to each student's needs:
Course Schedule
Wednesday, January 7th: Welcome and Introduction (Marks and Robinson)
Reading: Michael Ruse, "Curb your Enthusiasm"
Monday, January 12th: What is/are religion(s)? (Robinson)
Reading: Laura Perras, "Turmoil," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 176-84.
What is Religion? Misconceptions about Studying Religion
"What is the Academic Study of Religion?" by Russell McCutcheon
Wednesday, January 14th: What is science? (Marks)
Reading: Martinez Hewlett and Ted Peters, "The Science of Evolution and the Theology of Creation," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 67-80.
Einstein, Science and religion
Monday, January 19th: NO CLASS Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Wednesday, January 21st: Does the universe have a purpose? (Robinson)
Readings: Templeton, Does the universe have a purpose?
Werner Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
Monday, January 26th: What is the Bible? How do we know what it means? (Guest)
Readings: Prof. Joel Baden: What Use Is the Bible?
Walter Hearn, "Creation Matters," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 53-66.
Wednesday, January 28th: Genesis 1-3 (Robinson)
Readings: Alter, Genesis 1-3 Awake! (Jehovah's Witnesses) Sept. 2006
Monday, February 2nd: Other creation myths (Marks)
Readings:van Over, Introduction to Sun Songs: Creation Myths from Around the World
A Native American (Acoma) origin myth "The beginning of the world"
"Who can say whence ..." African (Boshongo) cosmogony
Ancient Aliens and Bad Hair Guy
Wednesday, February 4th: Genesis 1-3 revisited, in other translations (Robinson)
Readings: R. Crumb, Genesis 1-3, illustrated King James Version (KJV) of Genesis 1-3 Platt, "Family feuds"
Monday, February 9th: Traditional Proofs for the Existence of God (Robinson)
Readings: Anselm on the Existence of God (1077-78)
Thomas Aquinas, "Five Ways" (1265-1274)
Excerpt from William Paley's Natural Theology (1800)
Wednesday, February 11th: Origins of scientific thought and method (Marks and Robinson)
Readings: Jonathan Marks, "The Scientific Revolution"
Monday, February 16th: 19th century naturalistic discourses (Marks)
Reading: The Creationists, "Creationism in the Age of Darwin," pp. 15-32. Atheist tract, ca. 1930
Wednesday, February 18th: What is the modern scientific story? Why do we believe it? (Marks)
Readings: Storytelling Landau, Human evolution as narrative
Monday, February 23rd: Problems with "belief," "faith," "evidence," "proof" (Robinson)
Reading: Edward J. Larson, "Postmodern Developments in the Debate" in Darwin and the Bible, Chapter 8.
Jeffrey Goldberg, "Were There Dinosaurs in Noah's Ark?"
Wednesday, February 25th: Midterm exam
SPRING BREAK
Monday, March 9th: The roots of evolutionary theory (Marks)
Reading: Jonathan Marks, "Intelligent Design and the Native's Point of View (Assuming the Native is an Educated Eighteenth-Century European), in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 87-98.
Wednesday, March 11th: The Birth of Fundamentalism in America (Guest)
Reading: The Creationists, "Creationism in the Fundamentalist Controversy," pp. 51-68
The Creationists, "Evangelicals and Evolution in North America," pp. 180-207. The Creationists, "Creationism in the Churches," pp. 329-50.
Monday, March 16th: Social Darwinism, William Jennings Bryan, and the Scopes trial (Marks)
Reading: Richard H. Robbins, "William Jennings Bryan and the Trial of John T. Scopes," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 99-116.
Wednesday, March 18th: Scopes, continued (Marks and Robinson)
Readings: Inherit the Wind trial scene Notes to accompany "Inherit the Wind"
Monday, March 23rd: Scientific creationism in the 1970s (Marks)
Reading: The Creationists, "Creation Science and Scientific Creationism," pp. 268-85.
Phil Donahue vs. Duane Gish
Wednesday, March 25th: Scientific creationism in the 1970s, continued (Robinson)
Reading: The Creationists, "Creation Research Institutes," pp. 312-28.
The Grand Canyon, from "Rocks Don't Lie" (2012)
Monday, March 30th: Intelligent design in the 1990s (Marks)
Reading: The Creationists, "Intelligent Design," pp. 373-98.
Phillip Johnson, "The Intelligent Design Controversy Summarized" in Darwin and the Bible, Chapter 5.
Wednesday, April 1st: Intelligent design in the 1990s, continued (Marks)
Readings: Pigliucci on ID (2010) Excerpt from Raff "Once We All Had Gills" (2012)
Ken Miller on Colbert
Monday, April 6th: Evolution in public education (Robinson)
Reading: The Creationists, "The Textbook Project," pp. 264-67.
Edward J. Larson, "The Battle Between Creation and Evolution in the Classroom: A Historical Perspective," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 155-65.
Steve Randak, "The Problems and Challenges of Teaching Biology in the 21st Century," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 166-75.
Penn and Teller on creationism
Wednesday, April 8th: Thinking about the Fall, salvation, and ethics in post-Darwinian theology (Guest)
Readings: Michael Ruse, "Can a Darwinian Be a Christian? Ethical Issues"
Monday, April 13th: On arguments for the existence of a creator God, revisited (Robinson)
Readings: Michael Shermer, "A Scientific Creation Story"
Neil deGrasse Tyson on "The God of the Gaps"
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Open Letter to Kansas School Board URL
Wednesday, April 15th: NOMA? (Robinson)
Reading: Stephen Jay Gould, "Creationism: A Distinctly American Violation of NOMA," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 42-52.
"The Need for Science; the Need for Faith -- Separately," by Mark Nathan Cohen, in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 23-41.
Monday, April 20th: Why Darwin matters (Marks)
Reading: Ernst Mayr, "Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 130-36.
Wednesday, April 22nd: Creationism in and beyond American Christianity (Robinson)
Reading: Glenn Branch, "Creationism as a Global Phenomenon," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 137-52.
The Creationists, "The Appeal of Creationism at Home and Abroad," pp. 351-72.
Brook, Interpreting the word and the world Creationism and Evolution in Turkey
Monday, April 27th: Conclusions? (Robinson and Marks)
Reading: Mark Nathan Cohen, "Conclusions," in Darwin and the Bible, pp. 185-204.
FINAL EXAM: Monday, May 4th, 2:00-4:30