Although John Scopes and his famous "Monkey Trial" strongly influenced the ongoing evolution-creationism controversy, relatively little is known about Scopes's post-trial life. Moreover, many questions about his trial remain unanswered (e.g., did he actually teach evolution in Dayton?). This paper answers these questions with new…

Evolution, due to its importance in science, holds a prominent place in national science standards and many state standards. Scientists nearly universally agree that the theory of evolution best explains the unity and diversity of life. Accordingly, numerous science, science education, and religious organizations support the teaching of evolution…

When a federal court in 2005 rejected an attempt by the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board to introduce intelligent design as an alternative to evolution to explain the development of life on Earth, it sparked a renaissance in involvement among scientists in K-12 science instruction. Now, some of those teaching programs, studies, and research…

Darwin's Theory of Evolution has stirred controversy since its inception. Public schools in the United States, pressed by special interest groups on both sides of the controversy, have struggled with how best to teach the theory, if at all. Court cases have dealt with whether states can ban the teaching of evolutionary theory, whether Creationism…

I explore Darwin and his Theory of Natural Selection from a Social Science perspective and a social studies approach of inquiry into contemporary issues. This approach augments the more common natural science focus on the mechanics of natural selection and evolution in favor of a focus on social issues, controversy, and dialog necessary to support…

To assess current trends of evolution instruction in high schools of the mid-South, we invited Arkansas high school biology teachers from across the state to respond to a survey designed to address this issue. We also asked students enrolled in a freshman-level, nonmajors biology course at a midsize public Arkansas university to recall their…

In "Kitzmiller v. Dover" (2005), a court defined science to decide the legitimacy of teaching intelligent design to high school biology students. This study analyzes "Kitzmiller" in light of the complex and interrelated tensions between judicial, scientific, and democratic decision making that lie at the heart of modern…

Last summer, Governor Bobby Jindal signed the Louisiana Science Education Act into law. Although the name of the bill sounds innocuous, it is backed by the intelligent-design movement and will no doubt lead to yet another court case on teaching evolution and creationism in school and college classrooms. After all, courts and classrooms have served…

The Federal District Court decision in "Kitzmiller v. Dover" halted a school board's attempts to introduce an "intelligent design" account of human origins into science classrooms as an alternative to evolution. The judge's opinion judged the Board members' actions by implicit standards of deliberative democratic discourse, which this article…

Approximately one-fourth of biology teachers in public schools include creationism in their biology courses. Most of these teachers 1) present creationism as a scientific alternative to evolution, and 2) present only the biblical (i.e., Christian) story of creation. State science-education standards, position statements from professional…

The Intelligent Design Movement has attempted to infuse Intelligent Design into the curriculum of public schools ever since the Edwards decision, which ruled that "creation science" was a violation of the the "Establishment Clause. Kitzmiller v. Dover" was the first legal case to challenge the teaching of Intelligent Design in…

College honors courses provide an opportunity to tackle controversial topics in an atmosphere that encourages active learning, critical thinking, and open discussion. This venue is particularly appropriate for examining the debate about teaching intelligent design (ID) in public school science classes. A one-credit honors enrichment seminar taught…

Maintains that unless judicial guidance is clear about the application of the First Amendment regarding the origin of life, religious freedoms and the vitality of public education may be jeopardized. (JOW)

This article analyzes the newest front in the creationist battle: intelligent design. I demonstrate how reactions to this challenge can be productively examined using social movements concepts in the area of repression, or protest control, arguing that vigorous repression of challenger demands often leads to a growing sense of solidarity and moral…

Examines the legal status of demands that "scientific creationism" be taught along with evolution in biology classes. (Author)