'Darwin@Cornell' book collects contributions to evolution debate

Discussions from the first communitywide Darwin Day, held in Ithaca in February 2006, have been collected into a book, "Darwin@Cornell 2006: A Community Discusses Evolution, Creationism and Intelligent Design."

Cornell was one of a few universities to participate in international Darwin Day events along with more than 300 churches nationwide and other organizations, both pro- and anti-evolution.

Darwin Day 2007: Evolution and Human Nature will be observed Feb. 8 to 12 this year. Warren D. Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), will lead a discussion following a screening of the film "Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus," Feb. 11 at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre. For more information and a complete schedule of Darwin Day events, visit http://priweb.org/darwinday.html.

On Oct. 21, 2005, Cornell President Hunter Rawlings' State of the University address outlined the dangers of creationism and intelligent design to education, science and democracy. The speech served as a motivator for organizers of events held at Cornell, Ithaca College and PRI.

Rawlings' speech is reprinted in the book, along with a lecture he gave at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2006, "Intelligent Design and the Place of Religiously Based Ideas in American Politics." The transcripts of two Darwin Day panel discussions also are included: "Where Do We Go From Here? The Future of Darwinism in American Society" and "Evolutionary Biology: Present and Future."

The paperback book was co-edited by Allmon, who is also an adjunct associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell, and Linda Grace-Kobas, senior director of the university's Office of Humanities Communications. The book is available at PRI and the Cornell Store, or by calling (607) 273-6623, ext. 20.

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