Only a Theory? Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul

Kenneth R. Miller

Monday, 07 Nov 2011 at 8:00 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union

Winner of the 2011 Stephen Jay Gould Prize and a repeat guest on The Colbert Report, biology professor Kenneth R. Miller, is a passionate defender of evolution and the scientific method. He has served as a key witness in several high-profile evolution-creationist court cases, including the 2005 Dover "Intelligent Design" case, which ultimately forestalled further attempts to mandate the teaching of intelligent design in high school science curricula. Miller is well known for his widely used high-school textbook Biology, coauthored with Joseph Levine. He has also written about the relationship between science and religion in Finding Darwin's God. His most recent book is Only a Theory - Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul. Miller received his PhD in biology from the University of Colorado and taught at Harvard University before joining the faculty at Brown University. Part of the National Affairs Series.

An audio recording of this presentation is not available due to equipment malfunction during the taping process.

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Kenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry Department at Brown University's of the Division of Biology and Medicine. His research work on cell membrane structure and function has produced more than 60 scientific papers and reviews in leading journals, including CELL, Nature, and Scientific American. Miller is coauthor, with Joseph S. Levine, of four different high school and college biology textbooks which are used by millions of students nationwide. He has received the Presidential Citation of the American Institute for Biological Science, and the Public Service Award of the American Society for Cell Biology. He was been honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for Advancing the Public Understanding of Science, and by the Society for the Study of Evolution with their Stephen Jay Gould Prize to recognize individuals whose sustained and exemplary efforts have advanced public understanding of evolutionary science and its importance in biology, education, and everyday life. He is the author of Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution, and Only a Theory:Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul. Dr. Miller received his PhD in Biology from the University of Colorado and taught from 1974 to 1980 at Harvard University.

Additional Bio:
While at Harvard he frequently interacted with and was inspired by Stephen Jay Gould. He first became aware of antievolutionism as a beginning professor at Brown University. His passion and skill at rebutting the claims of creationists eventually led him to serve as a key witness in several important and high-profile evolution-creationist court cases, including the well-known Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case in 2005, the decision for which effectively forestalled further attempts to mandate the teaching of intelligent design in high school science curricula. Dr. Miller is also well known for his widely used high-school biology textbook, Biology, co-authored with Joseph Levine. With its strong unifying theme of evolution, this book was at the heart of court cases in 2004 and 2005 and has been defended from creationist inroads through Miller's several debates with school board members and other decision-makers, helping to educate them as to the importance of the inclusion of evolution in their standards and curricula. He has written insightfully about the relationships between science and religion in his book Finding Darwin's God. His most recent book Only a Theory - Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul was named to Amazon's list of Best Science Books of 2008 and was a finalist for the National Academy of Sciences' Communication Award.


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This lecture was made possible in part by the generosity of F. Wendell Miller, who left his entire estate jointly to Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. Mr. Miller, who died in 1995 at age 97, was born in Altoona, Illinois, grew up in Rockwell City, graduated from Grinnell College and Harvard Law School and practiced law in Des Moines and Chicago before returning to Rockwell City to manage his family's farm holdings and to practice law. His will helped to establish the F. Wendell Miller Trust, the annual earnings on which, in part, helped to support this activity.

Cosponsored By:

• Bioethics Program
• Biological Sciences Club
• Biomedical Sciences
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology
• Genetics, Development and Cell Biology
• Interdepartmental Genetics Program
• LAS Miller Lecture Fund
• Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
• National Affairs
• Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)