Darwin & Evolution in the Muslim World Conference

On October 2nd and 3rd, we are hosting an international conference on Darwin & Evolution in the Muslim World at Hampshire College. The goal of the conference is to look at the historical reception of Darwin's early work and the social and cultural contexts of current debates over biological evolution in the Muslim world. We are indeed very excited as we have a list of outstanding speakers from many different disciplines (see the program here). The day sessions of the conference are not open to general public. However, we have open public events on Friday and Saturday evenings at 6pm (details below). We are recording the proceedings of the entire conference and will make the videos available free of cost from the conference website after a few days. Here is the announcement for the public events. Please join us on Friday and Saturday evenings (please note that the public events are also part of our regular Lecture Series on Science & Religion):

Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion Presents
Darwin and Evolution in the Muslim World
Two public events at Hampshire College

Creationism Goes Global: From American to Islamic Fundamentalism
by
Dr. Ronald L. Numbers
Friday, October 2, 2009
6:00p.m., Franklin Patterson Hall, Main Lecture Hall
Hampshire College

AND

Islam and Evolution: A Panel Discussion
with
Dr. Brian Alters, Dr. Ehab Abouheif, & Dr. Taner Edis
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
6:00p.m., Franklin Patterson Hall, Main Lecture Hall
Hampshire College

Dr. Ronald L. Numbers is the Hilldale Professor of History of Science & Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Brian Alters holds the Tomlinson Chair in Science Education, McGill University, Canada
Dr. Ehab Abouheif holds Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Developmental Biology, McGill University, Canada
Dr. Taner Edis is Associate Professor of Physics, Truman State University, Missouri

Abstract for the public lecture by Dr. Ronald L. Numbers:

Despite growing evidence to the contrary, evolutionists in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries clung to the belief that creationism could be geographically contained. In 2000 the usually reliable American paleontologist and anti-creationist Stephen Jay Gould, assured foreign audiences that creationism was not contagious. “As insidious as it may seem, at least it's not a worldwide movement,” he said reassuringly. “I hope everyone realizes the extent to which this is a local, indigenous, Americanbizarrity.” Although Gould remained oblivious to it, the worldwide growth of creationism by 2000 had already proven him utterly wrong. Antievolutionism had become a global phenomenon, as readily exportable as hip-hop and blue jeans. In the past few decades it has quietly spread from America throughout the world and from evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Judaism, and, especially, Islam. This lecture situates the Islamic embrace of creationism in the larger global story.

If you are in the area, we hope you can join us. A video will also be available a few weeks after the event. For videos of past lectures, please visit our lecture series website.

The conference and these public events are sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York

Save the date for the next Science & Religion Lecture:
Dr. Scott Atran, Thursday, March 25, 2010