Pulitzer Prize Winning Author to Discuss Continuing Debate Over Teaching Evolution and Intelligent Design in American Schools
January 18, 2006

Tacoma, Wash. – In light of the firestorm of controversy surrounding the teaching of the Intelligent Design theory in public schools, an upcoming lecture by noted scholar and author Edward Larson, will likely bring  renewed debate on the issue to the region.  The Pulitzer Prize winning author will deliver a lecture titled, From Dayton to Dover: The Evolution Teaching Controversy in Historical Context on Thursday, Jan. 19, in the Rausch auditorium at 4:30 p.m.  The lecture is free and open to the public. Directions to campus and Rausch Auditorium are available at www.ups.edu/directions.xml 

The recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History, Larson is a professor of American history and law at the University of Georgia. He has written five books and over 80 published articles including, Trial and Error: The American Controversy over Creation and Evolution; Sex, Race, and Science: Eugenics in the Deep South; Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion; and Evolution’s Workshop: God and Science on the Galapagos Islands; and his latest book, Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Idea.

As one of the foremost experts in 19th and 20th century biology and genetics, he is a frequent commentator on the topics of history, law, science, and bioethics for academic, professional, and public audiences. He is frequently interviewed for broadcast and print media, including several appearances on PBS, the History Channel, Court TV, C-Span, and CNN. 

Prior to teaching, Larson served as associate counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, from 1983-89 and as an attorney with a major Seattle law firm from 1979-83. 

James Evans, who is co-director of Puget Sound’s Science, Technology and Society program, and one of the event coordinators, said, " It’s an honor to have Ed Larson present this lecture at the University of Puget Sound. As Americans we tend to have a short social memory, even for contentious issues, such as these. Larson is an engaging speaker and one who can bring historical context to the ongoing controversy over teaching evolutionary and intelligent design theories. Our hope is it will foster meaningful discussions in our community.”

Larson’s visit is part of the Chism Lectures in Humanities and Arts, which brings nationally recognized performers, artists, and scholars of the arts and humanities to Puget Sound. The series is named after Catharine Gould Chism, a Seattle businesswoman and patron of the arts. When Chism died in 1978, she left Puget Sound $1.25 million for an endowment that provides permanent support for the arts and humanities at the university.

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