“This View of Life” is a year-long series of events coordinated by faculty and students across many units of the University of Oklahoma designed to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species.
The purpose of the Darwin 2009 activities is to provide a series of venues in which scholars and citizens of Oklahoma can learn and think about the ideas of Darwin, Darwinism, and evolution in many different disciplinary contexts, both historical and contemporary.
The opening ceremony for This View of Life will take place February 12 and will be hosted by the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. The opening address will be delivered by the historian and philosopher of science, John M. Lynch. Lynch is an Honors Fellow at Arizona State University and its Center for Biology and Society.
Other features of the commemoration include a number of special courses and events including a public lecture on March 6th from Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene, Climbing Mount Improbable and The God Delusion. Professor Richard Dawkins, the renowned evolutionary biologist, theorist and outspoken atheist, will visit the university to meet with students and deliver a public lecture sponsored by the OU departments of zoology and religious studies. Dawkins is Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, England, and this event will be a unique opportunity for students and the public alike to engage with one of the most talented and controversial figures in science today.
This View of Life will be one of the more significant Darwin Anniversary Year observances in the country. Many other events and resources related to This View of Life are found on the project’s web page.