Sponsored by the Office for History of Science and Technology (U.C. Berkeley)
And the History of Health Sciences Program (UCSF)
Alan C. Love
Department of Philosophy, U.C. Santa Cruz
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Comparative embryology and Evo-Devo history: Lessons from N.J. Berrill's embryological investigations of marine invertebrate evolution
In the present paper I investigate the work of Norman John (Jack) Berrill as part of an untold history of evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-devo). I motivate the focus on Berrill's embryological research by discussing the bias among many students of Evo-devo toward histories of tools rather than histories of problems. This had lead to an overemphasis on intellectual lineages relevant to the emergence of molecular developmental genetics. Berrill's studies on ascidians from the 1930s and his reexamination of evolutionary mechanisms involved in the origin of vertebrates show his theoretical and experimental juxtaposition of evolution and development. Looking more broadly at the contours of his research and teaching also yields potential insights into why his work has not received more attention. The conceptual themes of his investigative program included anti-genetic holism and the role of self-organizing processes during morphogenesis, both of which fell out of favor among developmental biologists in the 1970s. His commitment to general pedagogy evident in a number of different textbooks and popular science writings also appears to have contributed to the evanescence of his research. Considering Berril as part of a history for Evo-devo also has consequences for our understanding of the scope and limits of current theoretical perspectives.
4:00PM
Monday, November 28
140 Barrows Hall
UC Berkeley
Office for History of Science and Technology, 543 Stephens Hall #2350
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-2350
tel: (510) 642-4581, e-mail: diana@berkeley.edu
