The Darwin 2009 Festival, 5-10 July 2009, celebrated the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth and the sesquicentenary of the publication of his most famous book, On the Origin of Species. About 1500 people attended the core Festival and at least the same number again attended the related exhibitions, tours and fringe events during the week. The programme comprised over 70 separate events and included 110 outstanding speakers. Intended to appeal to a broad audience, from academics to teenagers, the Festival covered a highly varied range of topics. The Festival encapsulated the current state of...
Darwin imagining others: observation and language. Professor Dame Gillian Beer (University of Cambridge, UK). Summary: Darwin was a famously attentive observer, responding to movement, gesture, and the invisible thrust of desires in an array of life forms from oysters and climbing plants to human...
Published 10/15/09
How could Charles Darwin have all these impacts?
Dr Jon Hodge (University of Leeds, UK) Summary: Were Darwin the English parson naturalist of legend, his vast impact would be paradoxical. See the young Darwin, not as failed Anglican cleric, but successful Scottish (and French and German)...
Published 09/30/09