SEMINAR PROFILE

S09 -
In Pursuit of the Gene

By focusing on original papers and the social dynamics of the scientists who wrote them, this seminar will trace the origins of the concept of the gene. We begin by examining Darwin�s deeply flawed �provisional hypothesis of pangenesis� (1869) and its transformation by his cousin Francis Galton. We then follow the evolution of the gene concept over the next thirty years until the world caught up with Gregor Mendel, who had managed to divine the essence of modern genetics in 1865 working alone in a monastery in Moravian Silesa. We end with the synthesis of Mendel and Darwin that took place in the Fly Room at Columbia University in the years 1912-1915. Although the course will cover a fair amount of genetics, it is designed to be understood by non-specialists.

Scholar:

Jim Schwartz

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

10/23/2009, 10/30/2009

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S09 -	In Pursuit of the Gene

	By focusing on original papers and the social dynamics of the scientists who wrote them, this seminar will trace the origins of the concept of the gene. We begin by examining Darwin�s deeply flawed �provisional hypothesis of pangenesis� (1869) and its transformation by his cousin Francis Galton. We then follow the evolution of the gene concept over the next thirty years until the world caught up with Gregor Mendel, who had managed to divine the essence of modern genetics in 1865 working alone in a monastery in Moravian Silesa. We end with the synthesis of Mendel and Darwin that took place in the Fly Room at Columbia University in the years 1912-1915. Although the course will cover a fair amount of genetics, it is designed to be understood by non-specialists.

		Scholar:	Jim Schwartz
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	10/23/2009, 10/30/2009