Department of English

Beginning with selections from Darwin's writing, this course will trace the visions of human origins and destinies that interpretations of his work have incited in American writers. Since versions of nineteenth-century Darwinism have been sustained through the twentieth century, writers are likely to range from Crane, London, and Dreiser to Wharton, Hemingway, Faulkner, Wright, and others. Critics of biological determinism, such as Stephen Jay Gould, writings about DNA and the human genome, and naturalism in the visual arts will also engage our attention.