Integrative Biology 24, Section 4
The Age of Dinosaurs: What Do We Know? (1 unit, LG)
Professor Kevin Padian
Tuesday 1:00-2:00, 5192 Valley Life Sciences Building, CCN: 43012

Dinosaurs were big funny animals, and "Jurassic Park" was cool. But what's behind all this? In this seminar we use dinosaurs to explore how we know what we know about extinct life, and the methods and approaches that scientists use to study evolution in general. We also explore common myths, such as the idea that dinosaurs were slow and slow-witted, and that an asteroid drove them to extinction. Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology is the largest collection of fossils in any university in the world, and we use it on a weekly basis in this course. A notebook, some writing, and strong initiative in participation are required. You don't need any preparation for this course except an interest in the subject and the desire to understand how science is constructed. This is a Beyond the Classroom Theme seminar.

Kevin Padian has been teaching at Berkeley for thirty years, mostly courses in evolution, paleontology, and the history of these fields. Research in his lab centers on how large-scale changes get started in evolution, particularly the major new adaptations in vertebrates such as flight, the emergence of dinosaurs, and the evolution of unusual structures and behaviors. He also spends a lot of time on the creation-evolution issue, educating the public about what science is and isn't.