October 13, 2009

Events to explore ideas from 'Finding Darwin's God'

The bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth is being marked at Purdue by several events based on the book "Finding Darwin's God" by Kenneth Miller. The Religious Studies program and the Purdue Religion and Science Group are co-sponsors.

Three Wednesday events in this "miniseries" will be bagels-and-book discussions of the book, which is written for general audiences. Tom Ryba, continuing lecturer in the College of Liberal Arts, will be discussion leader. The events are set for 1:30-2:30 p.m. Oct. 21, Nov. 4 and Nov. 18 in Room 1284, Beering Hall.

On Nov. 1, the sponsors will provide free bus transportation to the University of Notre Dame for a lecture by Miller. The lecture's title is "Darwin, God, and Design-Evolution and Battle for America's Soul." To reserve a spot on the bus, contact Ryba at ryba@purdue.edu.

Matthew Ashley of Notre Dame is to come to Purdue in February to present a lecture as a conclusion to this miniseries. Details of that lecture will be forthcoming.

Angelica Duran, director of religious studies and associate professor of English, says, "This 'miniseries' commemorates the bicentennial of Darwin's birth. Miller's book should be a good starting point for finding common intellectual interests and a 'common language' for discussing topics that are important to the liberal arts, sciences, and engineering."

To obtain a free copy of the book and join the discussions, contact Duran at duran0@purdue.edu by Thursday (Oct. 15).

More is at www.cla.purdue.edu/religious-studies/events and in a PDF document.