Search University Experts
Click whether you would like to search by topic, name or department, and then enter a keyword for your search.
Experts on topics currently in the news
150 Years After ‘Origin of the Species’, Science and Religion Remain in Conflict Over Evolution
Southwestern University Experts Available to Discuss This Topic
2009 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s landmark book, On the Origin of Species. Several experts from Southwestern University are available to discuss various aspects of this story:
Elizabeth Green Musselman,associate professor of history, is an expert on the history of science, particularly in 19th century Britain. Green Musselman says Darwin, who originally trained to be an Anglican minister, is "a very misunderstood person." She can talk about how he spent decades writing On the Origin of Species, which was his first major publication.
At Southwestern, Green Musselman teaches a class on the history of the controversy between evolution and intelligent design.
Green Musselman may be reached at 512-863-1595, 512-577-7504 (cell) or greenmue@southwestern.edu
Ben Pierce, holder of the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair in Biology, can discuss statistics that point to the continued disconnect between what science says and what the public believes when it comes to the topic of evolution. For example, Gallop Polls conducted between 1982 and 2004 consistently found that 44 to 47 percent of Americans do not believe in evolution. Instead, they believe that humans were "created by God pretty much in their present form less than 10,000 years ago." Meanwhile, a recent survey of more than 400 university professors in Texas, a generally conservative state, found that nearly 90 percent believe modern evolutionary biology is largely correct. Pierce is an evolutionary biologist and teaches a course in evolution at Southwestern. He also is organizing one of the first events in 2009 that will mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Darwin book. The symposium, titled "Science and Religion: Conflict or Convergence," will be held at Southwestern University Feb. 5-6 as part of the university’s annual Brown Symposium series. For more information on the symposium, click here
Pierce can be reached at 512-863-1974 or pierceb@southwestern.edu
Phil Hopkins, associate professor of religion and philosophy, has expertise in both the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science. He teaches topics such as intelligent design, creation science and fundamentalist views of Darwin in his philosophy classes at Southwestern. He also follows where debates on science vs. religion are taking place, such as the courts and school boards. Hopkins has taught a First-Year Seminar class at Southwestern in which students re-enacted the Kansas School Board debate.
Hopkins may be reached at 512-863-1882 or hopkinsp@southwestern.edu
Laura Hobgood-Oster, professor of religion and philosophy, can discuss the resurgence of the "Biblical literalism" movement. People who believe in Biblical literalism believe the creation stories in the Bible must be true, which means that the theory of evolution can’t be true. While fundamentalism globally is on the increase, Hobgood-Oster notes that the United States is unique because it has such a widespread system of public education. Thus, debates on the teaching of evolution vs. creationism in the public schools are much more prevalent in the United States than in other countries.
Hobgood-Oster specializes in religion and ecology, which necessarily addresses issues of evolution, ecosystems and religious beliefs.
Hobgood-Oster may be reached at 512-863-1669 or hoboster@southwestern.edu
How will President-Elect Obama do when it comes to implementing public policy?
Barack Obama ran a spectacular presidential campaign, but how will he do when it comes to actually implementing public policy?
"Implementing public policy will not be much easier for President Obama, even though he has a Democratic Congress to work with," says Gilbert St. Clair, visiting professor of political science at Southwestern University. "There is a greater variation of ideologies and interests within the Democratic party than there is among the Republicans. There are still Southern Conservative Democrats who want to reign in spending, which is counter to the progressive Democrats who want to spend money."
To be effective, St. Clair says Obama will have to prioritize his campaign promises and focus on proposals such as the economic stimulus package that have widespread support.
"The economic stimulus package is likely to be the new president’s number one success story,"St. Clair says.
St. Clair says some policy proposals, such as those relating to public education and financing health care delivery, should probably wait until a second term, because they will take a lot of preparation. Proposals in other areas such as energy policy and financial industry reform are likely to get bogged down due to heavy pressure from lobbyists.
"The international situation may derail all domestic initiatives except the stimulus package,"St. Clair predicts.
Since 1900, St. Clair says only a handful of presidents have actually been successful in achieving policy goals. These include Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.
"Obama will need to be a skillful politician to get anything done, but if he takes the advice of his advisors, he will be reasonably successful,"St. Clair predicts.
Professor St. Clair holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Mexico and is co-author of the 1999 book The Image is Everything Presidency: Dilemmas in American Leadership. He is teaching a public policy class at Southwestern this semester, and will be working with his students to track campaign promises against public policy proposals.
Professor St. Clair may be reached at 512-863-1648 or stclairg@southwestern.edu.Recent Experts Leads
Southwestern University Professors Available to Discuss Financial Crisis
