Biological evolution

General data

Course ID:	3700-WYK3-AL
Erasmus code / ISCED:	13.0 Kod klasyfikacyjny przedmiotu składa się z trzech do pięciu cyfr, przy czym trzy pierwsze oznaczają klasyfikację dziedziny wg. Listy kodów dziedzin obowiązującej w programie Socrates/Erasmus, czwarta (dotąd na ogół 0) – ewentualne uszczegółowienie informacji o dyscyplinie, piąta – stopień zaawansowania przedmiotu ustalony na podstawie roku studiów, dla którego przedmiot jest przeznaczony. / (0512) Biochemistry The ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) code has been designed by UNESCO.
Course title:	Biological evolution
Name in Polish:	Ewolucja biologiczna
Organizational unit:	Faculty of "Artes Liberales"
Course groups:
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores):	(not available) Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles: the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS; the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h; 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes; weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS; work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load. view allocation of credits
Language:	Polish
Type of course:	elective courses
Prerequisites (description):	In a high school biology - basic level.
Short description:	The course aims to familiarize students not specializing in biological sciences with the theory of evolution and the history of life on Earth. Issues of the social reception of the theory of evolution and its criticism will also be discussed.
Full description:	The lectures aim to present the foundations of contemporary evolutionism in an approach comprehensible to anyone without specialist knowledge of biology. The lectures will be supplemented by a list of required reading which will be discussed during class. Topics: - basic notions: defining the term “life”, the notion of metabolism, genetic information and its replication and expression - the meaning of “evolution” in biological sciences compared to popular meanings of the word - the history of views on the origins and evolution of life from antiquity to Darwin - foundations of Darwin’s theory of evolution, how it developed and how it was received initially - methods of studying evolution and evidence in support of the theory of evolution - contemporary evolutionism as a continuation of Darwin’s theory (synthetic theory of evolution, molecular evolution) - the origins of life (biogenesis) - a review of the evolution of life on Earth - evolution of humans and the future of our species - the importance of evolution for natural sciences: evolution as a subject of research and a research tool, ecology in molecular biology, evolutionary ecology, evolutionary medicine, evolutionary psychology - the perception of the theory of evolution in society - the dispute between evolutionism and creationism (history and contemporary trends), the attitude of different religions to the theory of evolution, the most frequent errors and misunderstandings in the reception of the theory of evolution. Biological evolution in culture.
Bibliography:	Richard Dawkins „The greatest show on Earth: The evidence for evolution” i „Selfish gene” (fragments) Jerry A. Coyne „Why evolution is true”
Learning outcomes:	Upon completing the course students should be able to: - explain the notion of biological evolution and juxtapose it with other, popular meanings of the word evolution - present the main ideas of Darwin’s theory - synthetically present the achievements of evolutionism from Darwin’s time to the present day - present evidence of the truth of the theory of evolution, critically analyse the arguments of opponents of the theory of evolution, and take a stand in the dispute between evolutionism and creationism based on scientific arguments - explain the importance of the theory of evolution for contemporary science - present the history of life on earth, compare the timescale of biological evolution with the timescale of historical processes - explain evolutionary processes which led to the appearance of humans and their civilization - compare biological evolution with the development of human civilization
Assessment methods and assessment criteria:	Attendance register (maximum 3 absences per semester) Written exam

This course is not currently offered.

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