An overview of the scientific story of human origins from the "big bang" to the present day

Background

It's often said that we can't know where we're going without knowing where we've been. The need for a big-picture perspective on who we are, where we came from, and where we're going is perhaps more important now than ever, as we make decisions that affect the fate of our species and our planet. But this broad perspective is difficult to achieve. As David Christian writes in Maps of Time, "...from schools to universities to research institutes, we teach about origins in disconnected fragments. We seem incapable of offering a unified account of how things came to be the way they are." 

This lecture series, "Our Cosmic History," is designed to complement and support existing science education by combining a unified scientific account of how things came to be as they are, with guidance on how to incorporate these insights into classroom science units. The theme of the series is the scientific story of our human origins, from the beginning of the universe to our present technological society. This theme provides a way to organize a wide variety of scientific disciplines into a coherent story of deep human interest - our own origins. The common thread throughout the story is the emergence of structures of increasing complexity driven by the flow of energy - a story of interaction, change, and emergence.

Background References

Goals of the Series

Archive of 2008-9 Series

Details 

The 2010 version of the series will consist of 6 lectures on Thurs. evenings at 7 pm, open to the public and also available for PSU graduate credit. All lectures will be led by Dr. Todd Duncan.

Topics List and Schedule (Spring 2010):

1. Introduction: The Value of a Cosmic Perspective (7 - 8:30 pm Thurs., April 1, Portland State University, room TBD)

2. Early History of the Cosmos (7 - 8:30 pm Thurs., April 8, Portland State University, room TBD)

3. Earth: Geology, Chemistry, and Origins of Life (7 - 8:30 pm Thurs., April 15, Portland State University, room TBD)

4. Multicellular Life (7 - 8:30 pm Thurs., April 22, Portland State University, room TBD)

5. Human Society (7 - 8:30 pm Thurs., April 29, Portland State University, room TBD)

6. Connecting to a Cosmic Perspective (7 - 8:30 pm Thurs., May 13, Portland State University, room TBD)

• Note that we've skipped a week in case participants would like to attend the ISEPP lecture on May 6

* This lecture series is made possible by a generous grant from the Oregon Department of Education and The Center for Science Education at Portland State University.