Mucci
Darwin
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(Editor’s note: Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday will occur on February 12, 2009; it will also be the 150th anniversary of the publication of his famous book, “On the Origin of Species.” Eighty years ago, William Jennings Bryan led a crusade to banish Darwin’s theory of evolution from American classrooms in the so-called “Monkey Trial,” “Tennessee v. John Scopes.”)
Since 1982, Bob Mucci has been a driving force behind the anthropology program at IU Northwest. IU Home Pages’ Lee Ann Sandweiss asked him to comment on the program’s popularity—even among non-majors—and the controversy inherent in the discipline itself.
Q: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Scopes trial. What are your thoughts on its significance? Is any special observance planned at IU Northwest?
A: As an historical event and legal case, the Scopes trial
is notable, but in the development of things, it’s not that
important: Scopes was convicted, and the law stood. It certainly
brought evolution into the open and drew attention to the
creation vs. evolution debate. I show an excellent film, a
PBS Nova production, God, Darwin and Dinosaurs, in
my intro Human Origins course, which succinctly covers the
debate.
Q: Is the controversy dormant?
A: Speaking from personal experience, I’d say not at all. Eight years ago, posters for my intro course, which had a picture of chimpanzees, were covered with threatening comments, like “You’ll burn in hell!” and “You do the work of the devil.” I ended up getting police protection, even though I didn’t think I needed it. More recently, a sociology professor was stalked and threatened, and there were notes left on my classroom lectern about anthropologists being grave robbers.
Q: What was the outcome?
A: I decided to turn the whole thing into a learning experience. First, I put up a letter to the scribblers in the form of a poster, pointing out that even religious schools teach evolution. I deliberately tried to evoke a response, and it worked—a lively dialogue ensued. I received everything from the “burn in hell” sentiments to strong statements of support from very religious people. My students and I made a permanent display of the materials in Marram Hall. It was up for a couple of years then mysteriously disappeared one summer. The campus police eventually found an employee who admitted to throwing away the display.
Q: Detractors aside, the Anthropology Club is one of the most popular organizations on campus. Why?
A: Aside from having no dues and excellent guest speakers, the club has two wildly popular events—the Darwin Day celebration, which draws at least 100 people, and the used book sale, which takes place over six days each semester. While the Darwin Day is just great fun, the book sale raises approximately $5,000 for scholarships and teaching materials each year. People come from as far as Cincinnati for the book sale. The university is so pleased with the event that they have given us more storage space for books and even helped move them.
Q: Under your leadership, the anthropology program at IU Northwest has flourished. That must feel pretty good.
A: It does. When I started teaching here in ’82, I was a part-time instructor, and that was the only anthropology class offered. Today, we have approximately 15-20 majors in the Sociology/Anthropology Department. There are multiple options open to students which they can tailor to meet their needs and interests. A minor in anthropology is possible with any major offered at IUN. Furthermore, ours is the only anthropology program in northwestern Indiana.
Q: What prompts a student to pursue a degree in anthropology, and what do they do with that degree once they have it?
A: Many of our students have a degree in something else—English, psychology, biology. They are mostly returning students who want to study anthropology because it helps put what they’ve learned elsewhere into perspective. People with degrees or minors in anthropology find jobs in a wide variety of venues. Over the years, six of our students with an associate’s degree have been hired by the Field Museum. People who can apply anthropological methods in nonacademic settings are finding work in government agencies, schools and the corporate sector. Quite a few anthropologists do archeological work, which is seasonal and short term. A degree in forensic anthropology makes one employable in coroner’s offices or law enforcement. There are only three graduate programs in forensic anthropology in the United States, and one of them is at University of Indianapolis.
For more information on the anthropology programs at IU Northwest, the Anthropology Club and a look at Bob Mucci’s interactive A105 syllabus, go to:
http://www.iun.edu/~anthronw/
Check out national and international Darwin Day 2005 activities at:
http://www.darwinday.org/
The Scopes trial and its attendant coverage are addressed at this University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law site:
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/scopes.htm
Related stories:
Anthropologists find 4.5 million-year-old hominid fossils in Ethiopia
IU reinstates overseas study archeology
program in Israel
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