Paper #5: The Debate about Intelligent Design

Length: 3-5 pages, double-spaced, less than 1 error per page!
Final paper due date: Friday, December 4, 5 p.m., Dr. Jadwin's office (note change)
First draft due: in class, November 30

Topic: summarize, providing evidence and appropriate citations for all quotations and paraphrased ideas, the debate on the teaching of "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolutionary theory in public-school natural-science classrooms. You will need to provide summaries of both theories (1-2 paragraphs each) and then contrast the differences between the two arguments. While your paper should have a clear thesis (you can take a position pro/con in either direction) it must include an accurate consideration of both sides of the argument. In class on November 30, we will go over forms of citation.

A videotape of the panel is available at Lavery Library (ask at the Circulation desk if you would like to view it). Additional resources (some handed out in class) include:

New York Times article on Dover, PA school board election (pdf file)
New York Times article on Kansas City school board decision (pdf file)
New York Times article, Evolution and Its Discontents (pdf file)
HowStuffWorks.com guide: Evolution (website)
Wikipedia guide: Intelligent Design (website)
Wikipedia guide: Evolutionary Theory (website)

Important terms/vocabulary that you should understand within the context of the debate about intelligent design/evolutionary theory (review your notes from panel discussion/look up in dictionary or on the internet by November 30):

peer-reviewed journal
deductive/inductive reasoning
the difference betweeen accepting and believing
way of knowing
supernatural forces
natural selection
irreducible complexity
optimal design