JHE353H1

History of Evolutionary Biology

A historical examination of major ideas about biological evolution, with an emphasis on the period from the 18th century to the 1950s, and of their impact on scientific and social thought. Topics include the diversity of life and its classification, the adaptation of organisms to their environments, Wallace’s and Darwin’s views on evolution by natural selection, sexual selection, concepts and mechanisms of biological inheritance, and the implications of evolutionary theory for the organization of human society.