Course Information

The evolution of the universe, the Earth, and life, woven together.  Themes of complexity, scale, energy and entropy applied to the Big Bang, origin of matter, formation of the Earth, geological history, origin of life, and evolution of species.  We will also explore the implications of the epic for philosophy, religion, global polity, and environmental ethics.

	Email	Phone	Office	Office Hours
Professors:
Ursula Goodenough	ursula@biology.wustl.edu	5-6836	McDonnell 215A	Thursdays 3-5, McDonnell Hall 215A
Clifford Will	cmw@physics.wustl.edu	5-6244	Compton 375	Thursdays 11-1 or by appointment, Compton 375
Michael Wysession	michael@seismo.wustl.edu	5-5625	Geosciences 385	By Appointment, Geosciences 385
Teaching Assistants:
Erica Emry (EPS)	ericae@seismo.wustl.edu	5-6619	Geosciences 394	TBA
Carlo Lapid (Biology)	cmlapid@artsci.wustl.edu	5-6867	TBA	TBA
David Morton (Physics)	dmorton@physics.wustl.edu	5-7507	Compton	TBA

TTh 1-2:30 PM: Brown 100. 

Each week you will be asked to complete 2 one-page assignments, one of which we call the  "Homework Question" and the other the "Evolutionary Narrative."

Homework Question (due Thursdays)

By Thursday of each week, the lecturer for that week will post on the website, and send out via all-class email, a question relating to the material in his/her lectures for that week.  You are asked to turn in an answer to that question, no more than one page in length (double-spaced typing; it can be shorter), at the beginning of class on the following Thursday. This assignment will be worth a maximum of 2 points, meaning that the cumulative number of possible points is 24 (of 100 for the course total).   The first response will be due Thursday, February 4, and will be on the material in Weeks 1 and 2 of the course;after that your answer to the homework questions will be due on the Thursday of each week, based on the previous week's lectures. Note the late policy, below. Mark your calendars now!

The weekly questions and their answers can be found HERE.

Evolutionary Narrative (due Tuesdays)

After each set of lectures, you are asked to turn in a work, usually of no more than one page, in which you present or respond to the scientific material of the previous week as a narrative.   This can take many forms.  For example, you might write a story as you would tell it to a parent or a younger sibling.  You might choose to include your own feelings about the material from e.g. a philosophical or religious perspective.  You might write it in prose or poetry, or include some fantasy or art (simple but careful drawings fine!).  The point is to give you the opportunity to take what you have heard the previous week and work with it.   The 12 narratives will be graded largely on a pass-fail basis: We plan to give full credit (2 points) for every reasonable, on-time effort.  (Last time we offered the course, approximately 70%  of the narratives fell into this category).  However we reserve the right to give a grade of 0 or 1 for work that shows little or no evidence of thought or effort, and to give up to 3 points for work that is especially interesting or creative.  The first narrative (on the first unit, Weeks 1 and 2) will be due in class on Tuesday, February 2.  After that, narratives will be due in class each Tuesday and should be based on the previous week's set of lectures. Note late policy below. Mark your calendars!

Questions for Response (2% each)		24%
Evolutionary Narratives (2% each)		24%
Midterm Exam (Tuesday, March 18, in class)		24%
Final Exam (Tuesday May 11, 1 - 3 PM pm; Note that the exam is on the last day of exam period!)		28%
(Note: Students taking the class pass/fail need a C- or better for a passing grade)

The Crow observatory is open to anyone in the University Community. We urge you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to see a bit of the cosmos. Weather permitting, the observatory is open Monday through Friday from 7 PM (or whenever it gets dark, whichever is later) until 10 PM. Hours are posted on the bulletin board opposite Crow 201. If in doubt about whether the telescope will be operated on a given night, phone in the evening 935-6278 (935-obsv). See further information for directions to the observatory and suggestions for what to look at.