Evolution Geography
Tuesday 2:30 – 5:00 PM
Morrill I South, Room 218D - Conference room in the new student lounge near the Life & Earth Cafe
Spring 2012
Instructors: Professor Richard Wilkie, Adjunct Professor Bruce Scofield and teaching assistant James MacAllister
Evolution Geography Seminar Syllabus
Draft 1/11/2012 subject to change
Professors Lynn Margulis and Richard Wilkie taught a version of this seminar twice: one semester in 2010 and another semester in 2011. Bruce Scofield was a seminar co-teacher in 2011 and James MacAllister was the T.A. for the seminar both times. It is hoped that this seminar will help honor Dr. Margulis, a world renowned evolutionist who died unexpectedly in November from a stroke.
In this course we continue to explore the integration of evolutionary theory with the methods and subject matter of geography. This is not a course about the role geography plays in the origination of species, it is about placing geographic inquiry into a framework of change over time called evolution which has already played a unifying role in biology, ecology, neuroscience, and anthropology. Other forms of evolution have been identified in physics, astronomy and chemistry (i.e. stellar evolution, chemical evolution).
The general plan for the course is to first discuss readings on evolution and geography and attempt to better define those subjects. This will lead to an outline of topics that illustrate Evolution Geography. Second, as the major assignment for the course, students (and instructors) will investigate and report on these topics producing a collection of papers that could be published as a book.
“The Science of the 21st Century deals with the interactions between the multiple components of complex systems, ranging from aggregations of elementary particles (each of which has its own multivalent set of properties) to the behavior of the largest structures in the cosmos. This kind of science is fundamentally different from earlier periods, when the goal was to understand the unique property of each atomistic unit and then try to derive the behavior of large systems from a small set of interaction rules plus the character of their component parts. Today, a major focus in scientific inquiry is to understand how systems change over time, whether they are atoms, molecules, organisms, ecosystems, climates, galaxies, black holes, or universes. Change over time—in other words, evolution—is thus a central feature of contemporary science” – James A. Shapiro, Evolution: A View from the 21st Century, 2011.
The traditional subject matter of Geography—the surface of the Earth—involves a range of complex phenomena requiring studies of almost limitless scope. Tangible and intangible, biophysical and human aspects of the Earth—water, landforms, geochemistry, organisms, soils, climates, populations, communities, settlements, societies, cultures, economies, policies, ideas, and philosophies—are investigated both separately and in terms of their interactions; over space and through time; at local to global scales; and at various depths and levels of explanation or understanding of underlying processes. Geography is unified by key components
·Space
·Place
·Environment
·Mapping
·Modeling
· Scale
·Time
·Openness and boundedness
·Inclusiveness, the search for connections, rather than absolutes
In this Evolution Geography seminar we will expand geography in space, time and scale. We will explore and invent a course that puts into a dynamic context what we think we know about the universe and our place in it from deepest time to our planning and predictions for the future.
Updated 01/27/2012
Annual Meeting in NYC