History of Biological Ideas

BIOL 4373/5373

Fall 2007

Dr. Aldemaro Romero

Arkansas State University

1. Course Objectives

1.1. Introduction:  This is an introductory course aimed at examining the historical development of selected topics and subdisciplines in biology.  Emphasis is placed on a chronological analysis of the history of ideas, their influence on biological science and our perception and experience of the world.  They include, but are not limited to: Evolution, Origin of Life, Heredity, Spontaneous Generation, Systematics, Ecology, Cell Theory, Eugenics, Lysenkoism, Developmental Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Natural History in Latin America.

The major objective of this course is to provide interested students with an historical perspective of the discoveries that have led to our present state of biological knowledge.

1.2. Methodology:  You will be given an introduction on the history of biological ideas and a discussion of the social, political, and economic environments in which those ideas developed and evolved, and how they changed our view of the world.

The course starts with a discussion on the different approaches taken to study the history of science in general and biology in particular and what have been the major ideas in the history of the life sciences.

Class meetings serve several important functions that cannot be duplicated by doing the reading on your own, by talking to someone who attended class, or by reading class notes.  It is very important to your learning (and to your grade) that you attend class regularly.   I will assume that everyone is doing both the reading and the homework.  Remember that we will focus on placing your readings into context, we will explore some ideas that are difficult to understand by reading alone, and we will use class time for special kinds of presentations and activities (video segments, etc).

1.3. Expected outcome:  By the end of the semester, you should have a very broad and comprehensive vision of the major intellectual revolutions throughout the history of biology and an understanding of the social circumstances surrounding those revolutions.  Also you should have a deeper understanding of how science is done and about the different styles of scientific research.

1.4. Prerequisites: Any introductory biology course or permission of instructor.

2. Instructor

Dr. Aldemaro Romero, Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences at the Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University.  One of my areas of research is the history of natural sciences and exploitation of natural resources in Latin America and the Caribbean.  I am particularly interested in how the social and political circumstances affected the development of the natural sciences in that part of the world.  I emphasize understanding the intellectual tradition, the philosophical foundations, and the socio‑economic determinants that underlie particular scientific efforts at particular times.

Some relevant papers I have published on history of biology are:

Romero, A. 1986. Charles Breder and the Mexican blind cave characid. National Speleological Society News 44(1): 16-18.

Romero, A. 1986. He wanted to know them all: Eigenmann and his blind vertebrates. National Speleological Society News 44(11):379‑381.

Paolillo, A. and A. Romero 1989. Los relatos de la fauna orinoquense hechos por Felipe Salvador Gilij, evaluados con la óptica de la zoología del Siglo XX. Revista Montalbán (21):159-178

Romero, A.; I. Agudo and S.J. Blondell. 1997. The scientific discovery of the South American freshwater dolphin, Inia geoffrensis. Marine Mammal Science. 13(3):419-426.

Romero, A. 1997. Las Plantas del Mundo en la Historia. Isis 88(4):699-700.

Romero, A.; I. Agudo and S. Green. 1997. Cetacean exploitation in Venezuela. Reports of the International Whaling Commission. 47:735-746.

Romero, A.; S. Chilbert and M.G. Eisenhart. 1999. Cubagua's pearl-oyster beds: the first European-caused natural resource depletion in the American continent. Journal of Political Ecology 6:57-78.

Romero, A. 1999. The blind cave fish that never was. National Speleological  

         Society News 57(6):180-181.

Romero, A. 1999. Myth and reality of the alleged blind cave fish from Pennsylvania. Journal of Spelean History 33(4):67-75.

Romero, A. and A. Romero. 1999.  On Cope, caves, and skeletons in the closet.

        National Speleological Society News 57(11):341-343.

Romero, A. 2000. Francisco Pelayo Del Diluvio al Megaterio. Isis 91(1):134-135.

Romero, A. and K. Hayford. 2000. Past and present utilization of marine mammals in Grenada. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 2(3):223-226.

Romero, A. 2000. The speleologist who wrote too much. National Speleological Society News 58(1):4-5.

Romero, A. and K. Benz. 2000. The unsung heroes of speleology. National Speleological Society News 58(4):106, 126.

Romero, A. and Z. Lomax. 2000. Jacques Besson, cave eels and other alleged European fishes. Journal of Spelean History 34(2):72-77.

Romero A. & K. M. Paulson. 2001. Humboldt's alleged subterranean fish from

        Ecuador.  Journal of Spelean History 36(2):56-59.

Romero, A. 2001. Scientists prefer them blind: the history of hypogean fish research. Environmental Biology of Fishes 62(1-3):43-71.

Romero, A., R. Baker, J. E. Creswell, A. Singh, A. McKie & M. Manna. 2002.

        Environmental history of marine mammal exploitation in Trinidad and Tobago,

        W.I. and its ecological impact.  Environment and History 8(3):255-274.

Romero, A. 2002. The life and work of a little known biospeleologist: Theodor

        Tellkampf. Journal of Spelean History 36(2):68-76.

Romero, A. 2003. Death and taxes: the case of the depletion of pearl oyster beds in sixteenth-century Venezuela. Conservation Biology 17(4):1-12.

Romero, A.  2004. Biospeleologists. pp. 151-154, In: J. Gunn, Ed.  Encyclopedia of

        Cave and Karst Science. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn.

Romero, A. & J.S. Woodward. 2005. On white fish and black men: did Stephen Bishop discover the blind cave fish of Mammoth Cave? Journal of Spelean History 39(1):23-32.

Romero, A. 2006. The big issue between science and religion: purpose vs. uncertainty.

Forum on Public Policy 2(4):867-881.

Romero, A. 2007. The discovery of the first Cuban blind cave fish: the untold story. 

Journal of Spelean History 41(131):16-22.

Romero, A. & S. Vanderpool. 2007. World notes biology icon as he turns 400 years old.  

The Jonesboro Sun 104(140):A8-A9. 20 May 2007.

Why I Study the History of Biology 

The history of biology is a fascinating area of study and scholarship in its own right, and I suppose that there are as many reasons for studying it as there are historians of biology.  I study the history of biology in order to gain a better understanding of how to teach biology.  This understanding comes about in two ways.  Concepts that our students find difficult to understand were often also difficult for biologists to grasp.  By understanding the observations, experiments, arguments, and other events that transformed biologists' thinking, I believe that I can develop better lessons for my students.  Although the course of history is not often as logical as our reconstructions, there are many examples of knowledge and understandings which would have been impossible to attain without prior understandings.  If we look closer at many of the problematic concepts in biology we may find that biologists are able to understand them because we take certain things for granted that our students do not because they have not yet gained a working understanding of our fundamental assumptions. I believe that the use of a historical chronology in the sequencing of biological curricula avoids many of these problems.

3. Textbook and Supplies

3.1. Textbook 

There is no textbook for this class. I will provide you with all the notes you need.  Below you can find a list of books that can be useful references.

Allen, G.E. 1978. Thomas Hunt Morgan: The Man and His Science. Princeton, NJ:

      Princeton University Press.

Allen, G.E. 1975.  Life Science in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, Engl.: Cambridge

      University Press.

Bowler, P. 1984. Evolution, the History of an Idea. Berkeley, CA:  University of California

      Press.

Bowler, P. 1989. The Mendelian Revolution. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University

      Press.

Carlson, E.A. 1989. The Gene: A Critical History. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders,

      reprinted 1989, Iowa State University Press.

Cole, F.J. 1975. A History of Comparative Anatomy. From Aristotle to the Eighteenth

      Century. NY: Dover Publications.

Coleman, W. 1987. Biology in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge, Cambridge University

      Press.

Debus, A.G. 1978. Man and Nature in the Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University

      Press.

Farley, J. 1977. The Spontaneous Generation Controversy from Descartes to Oparin.

      Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Gabriel, M.L. & S. Fogel. 1966, Great Experiments in Biology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

      Prentice‑Hall.

Gardner, E.J. 1972. History of Biology. Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Co.

Hays, H.R. 1973. Birds, Beasts, and Men. A Humanist History of Biology. London: Dent.

Mayr, E. 1982. Growth of Biological Thought. Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance.

      Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 974 pp.

Nitecki, M.H. & D.V. Nitecki (Eds.). 1992. History and Evolution. Albany, NY: State Univ.

      of New York Press.

Olby, R. 1985. Origins of Mendelism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Portugal, F.H. & J.S. Cohen. 1977. A Century of DNA. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Sapp, J. 2003. Genesis. The Evolution of Biology. NY: Oxford University Press.

Serafino, A. 1993. The Epic History of Biology. New York: Plenum Press.

Singer, C. 1950. A History of Biology. NY: Henry Schuman.

Sirks, M.J. & C. Zirkle. 1964. The Evolution of Biology. NY: The Ronald Press Co.

Stubbe, H. 1972. History of Genetics. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Sturtevant, A.H. 1965. A History of Genetics. NY: Harper & Row.

3.2. Additional Readings

I will periodically indicate articles that you should read and whose contents will be included in the exams.

3.3. Other supplies 

I recommend that you obtain a three‑ring binder to accommodate handouts or that you make back‑ups of electronic material to store your files.

4. Other Resources

4.1. Library Resources:  The Library has various scientific periodicals such as Scientific American, Science, and Nature.  A complete selection of journals which pertain specifically to the topics of history of biology, such as British Journal of the History of Biology, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, History of Biology, Isis and Quarterly Review of Biology are also available on campus or through Interlibrary Loan. 

4.2. Computer Resources:  All officially enrolled students have access to the e‑mail system.  You can send me email to ask me questions or to engage in discussions with your colleagues.  Please avail yourself of this opportunity.

History of Biology Electronic Resources

a) Charles Darwin:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Darwin/DarwinSem-S95.html

The Origin of Species

http://www.uib.no/zoo/classics/darwin.html

The Descent of Man

http://www.uib.no/zoo/classics/descent.html

Other Darwin Sources

http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96feb/darwin.html

Other Darwin Sources 

b) Alfred Russell Wallace

On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type

http://www.uib.no/zoo/classics/varieties.html

On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species

http://www.uib.no/zoo/classics/new_species.txt

c) Gregor Mendel

http://www.fcasd.edu/schools/DMS/mendel.htm

The Mendel Web 

d) Thomas Hunt Morgan

http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1933/morgan-bio.html

e) Other Links

http://dmoz.org/Science/Biology/History/

5. Academic Approach

I give the best of myself in each one of my classes in order to offer you the opportunity to maximize your chances of learning lasting lessons in science.  I consider myself motivational, challenging, and enthusiastic.  I encourage questions during lectures and will stop lecture until you are satisfied that your question has been answered.  I greatly appreciate students who come to me for further discussion and inquiring.  Please do not hesitate to see me to discuss the subject as well any problem that may arise regarding class schedule and grading.  I expect the finest from you.  I will do my best to ensure that you learn the maximum and that your effort is rewarded with good grades.  I take a great deal of pride on how much my students learn and on the well-earned grades they receive. 

Note that this is a 3-credit course.  Your total effort per week should average 9 hours.  This will include approximately 3 hours of class attendance and at least 6 hours of outside work.

Note on Recording and Duplication of Course Materials

Lecture presentations, lecturer's notes and outlines, handouts, and exam materials are the property of the instructor and may not be recorded or duplicated for commercial use or sale without the permission of the instructor.  Students are permitted to record lectures for individual use only.  Commercial note‑taking services are expressly prohibited.

6. Office Hours

My policy regarding office hours is that if I am in my office or my lab, I am available.  If you need to discuss something that requites a lot of time, please make an appointment.

Office: Biology Office; Lab: LSW 443

Phone Number: (870) 972-3082

Email address:  aromero@astate.edu

7. Evaluation Criteria 

Your achievements in this course will be evaluated using the following criteria:

a) Research paper (40%)

b) Paper presentation (40%)

c) Class participation (20%)

Research paper: (40% of your total grade)

After discussing the topic with me, you may have the opportunity to write an original research paper on a particular topic.  Grading will be based on originality, clarity of ideas, and quality of the substance and presentation.  The paper must be type-written and double-spaced and submitted electronically.

The paper must be a review article about a topic in the history of biology, that is an in‑depth summary and discussion about your topic.  This assignment is in two parts.

First, a literature search plus a 2‑page summary of two of the articles from the primary literature is due at the beginning of class on September 21, 2007.  You must include the print‑out from the online computer search, your summary of the two articles, plus a copy of the two articles.  This summary must be at least 2 full pages, but not more than 3.  The summary must be typed exactly in the style of a term paper, i.e., the statements that you make in the summary must be supported with appropriate citations that are then listed in the "literature cited" section at the end of the paper.  The two articles must address the same topic and your summary must indicate the relationships between the two papers.  For example, one paper builds on the work of a previous paper, or the two papers present opposite views of the same topic, or the two papers reach the same conclusions but use different methods.  The summary should include why the authors performed the research, how they did the research, what they found, and a discussion of the results.  Also include a paragraph discussing why you chose your particular topic.  This summary is worth 25%.  The summary will be graded upon your ability to summarize the findings and its grammatical correctness.

The second part is the paper itself, which is worth 75%.  There is no upper limit to the number of citations that would be appropriate.  You should use as many as is possible concerning your  topic, however, minimally the literature cited section must contain at least 10 citations, with at least 7 of these from the primary scientific literature.  Your paper should be typed and double‑spaced and at least six pages of text, exclusive of the literature cited.  PAPERS THAT DO NOT MEET THESE VERY MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS CAN EXPECT NO MORE THAN 70%.  Your paper will be graded on its scientific content and the coverage of the topic, in addition, the paper will be graded on grammar, clarity, and freedom from typographical and spelling errors.  Papers are due on December 10, 2007.  Plagiarizing your paper from some other source or collaborative efforts with other students will be considered cheating and your behavior will be reported to the appropriate ASU office for punishment that may include expulsion from the university.  In addition, if you turn in essentially this same paper for a different class, I will consider it cheating and you will also be prosecuted for violation of academic integrity.  I will always be available to discuss with you the progress of your research paper at any stage prior being handled to me.  However, you must know that I will measure it to the highest scientific standards.  Any work submitted by an individual student is expected to represent his/her individual, personal work.  Passages of text, images, diagrams, pictures, or original ideas drawn from other sources must be clearly identified, both by separating the passage from the neighboring student‑written narrative (using quotation marks or block indents) and with citations and reference to the original work or individual.  Any student submitting in their name the work of another student, individual, or author is committing plagiarism and will be referred for disciplinary action.  Read the academic integrity section of the Student Handbook. Details of all suspected violations of academic integrity will be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Paper presentation: (40% of your total grade)

I expect you give a 20-30 min. presentation of your paper meeting the highest standards of clarity, depth, and quality. I will be available to help you with your presentation, something I recommend very strongly.

I also ask that we all do our best to be intellectually honest, while also being tolerant of personal differences.  Everyone in the class should feel safe to express an idea, even if that idea is not a popular one.  I welcome and encourage intellectual controversy‑‑ it is how we learn best, I believe.  I demand, however, that we respect one another's right to believe differently, even as we challenge the ideas supporting those beliefs.  I promise to value each of you as individuals independently of how well you do in tour assignments.

All deadlines must be met.  No flimsy excuses will be accepted. In other words, if you miss a deadline because your grandmother died, I will require a death certificate; if it is because you were hospitalized, I will require copy of the hospital's bill; if you could not do it because you were abducted by space aliens, I will require a copy of the complaint you filed with the FBI for kidnapping, and so on.

The grading scale will observe the following perceptions

A: Integrates theory and examples; evidence of original thinking and knowledge of  the literature.  Strong in theory or examples and integration, knowledge of the literature, application to new problems. 

B: Weak in theory or examples; poor in integration, knowledge of the literature, application to new problems. 

C: Problems with accuracy; weak in both theory and knowledge of examples.  Show severe signs of lack of critical thinking

D: Very inaccurate; very vague knowledge of major concepts; completed the assigned work.

F: Did not complete the assigned work. 

I: Incomplete; granted only in response to written explanation and request and under extraordinary and strongly justifiable circumstances. 

8. Letters of Recommendations

Those students that have excelled in my class can always count with strong letters of recommendation upon request. 

9. Attendance

Attendance is required at all classes.  Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class.  I can be flexible if in a very occasional fashion you are late and I will give you an "attended" mark for that day.  However, regular tardiness will not be excused.  Students are expected to come to all sessions having read the assigned material.  I reserve the right to penalize those who do not attend by lowering the expected final grade.  Class attendance is one of the major characteristics that employers are interested in when hiring new employees because it tells a lot about one's commitment to assigned tasks and the ability to deal with varying life situations.  For example, there is an increasing tendency for some students to miss a class in one course in order to study for a test scheduled later in the day; yet, studies suggest this is usually not a valid decision.  Not only does it seldom result in a significant increase in the final score, it is considered an indication of lack of confidence and/or poor time management.  If you must miss class for any reason, you should get notes from two classmates, review the notes, and then see me to clear up any questions about the missed class. 

10. Academic Honesty

To ensure the highest standards of academic honesty and ethical behavior, the Honor Code will be strictly enforced.  In other words, do not even think about any behavior that may be construed as academic dishonesty, plagiarism, misrepresentation, or cheating.  Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following: 

A. Receiving help from others in work to be submitted.

B. Plagiarizing, that is, taking and passing off as one's own the ideas, writings or work of another, without citing the source.  This is true whether the material used is only a brief excerpt or an entire paper or article and whether the original source is the work of another student, a publication, or the Internet.

C. Submitting work from another course.

D. Stealing course material.

E. Falsifying data and/or records.

F. Assisting anyone to do any of the above.

The honor code protects the honest student, the reputation of Arkansas State University, and the value of degrees earned here.  We should all support it both by personal honesty in all things and by refusing to tolerate dishonesty in others.  Any graded work must be performed completely unaided.  Students must report to me any suspected cheating.  If you have any questions about your assignment, plagiarism, or the Honor Code, please contact me. 

11. Withdrawals

You are the sole responsible for fulfilling all necessary steps to formally withdraw from this course.

12. Students with Special Instructional Needs

If you have any special needs related to learning or testing in this course, please let me know as soon as possible so I can address those needs.

COURSE OUTLINE

Session 1: General Introduction: laws, theories and hypotheses.  Readings: 2, PowerPoint

Session 2: Organic Evolution before Darwin. Readings: Babylonians, Aristotle, Pliny, Galen, China, Islam, Alchemy, Timboktu, Aztecs, Physiologus, Origin, Political Authority, Disputation, Francis Bacon, Leonardo Da Vinci, Bestiaries, Rondelet, Belon et al., Tyson, Linnaeus, Harvey, Hutton

Medieval Universities.

PowerPoint 2 (Early Development of Science)

PowerPoint 3 (Medieval, China, Islam, Mayans, Aztecs)

PowerPoint 4 (The origin and development of early Western universities)

PowerPoint 5 (From Bestiaries to Linnaeus and Cuvier)

Session 3: Organic Evolution from Darwin on.

     Readings: Darwin 1, Darwin 2, Darwin 3, Darwin 4, Darwin 5

PowerPoint 6 (From Erasmus Darwin to Charles Darwin - 1)

Session 4: The Modern Synthesis.

Session 5: Heredity and reproduction before and after Mendel. Readings: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Session 6: The structure of DNA. Readings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6: Also one video.

Session 7: Eugenics. PP10. Readings: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Session 8: Lysenkoism. PP11. Readings: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Session 9: Spontaneous Generation and microbiology. PP7. Readings: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

Session 10: The Cell Theory. Reading: 16, PP8.  Readings: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Session 11: The ideas of ecology, community, and biogeography. 17, PP9. Readings: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Session 12: The idea of Predestination in Biology. Reading: 20

Session 13: Predestination and the study of cave life evolution. Reading 21

Session 14: Natural History in Latin America.  Readings: 18, 19

Session 15: Animal and human physiology. Reading: 15

Session 16: Comparative anatomy and embryology. Readings: 13, 14

Session 17: Systematics and classification.  Reading: 12

Session 18: Students' presentations.

Disclaimer:  The information contained in this syllabus is as accurate as possible, but may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice.  The schedule and content of lectures and assignments may be changed at the discretion of the instructor upon oral notification in class.  Changes may involve additions, deletions, substitutions, or changes in sequence or due dates.

FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS SYLLABUS COULD CAUSE YOU TO GET A POOR GRADE IN HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL IDEAS

The cover: Pre-Linnean illustration of the South American freshwater dolphin Inia geoffrensis by P. Löfling (See Romero 1997).

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Students' evaluations for Fall 2007

"Dr. Romero is the best professor I've ever had. I really wish he would teach more classes. I learned more in this class than I have in a lot of other classes combined"

"Awesome course. Wish we had more time to go over more stuff and have more discussions"

"Great class! I loved discussion classes. I get much more out of the class discussions. They are very thought provoking! I loved it"