The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 18, 1990 Page: 1 of 8
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Volume 84
January 18
Issue 14
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Sharir Dance
Company
Brown Symposium
Punctuated
Evolution
The evolution of life on earth —
and how it has been "punctuated"
by catastrophic events — will be
the topic of Brown Symposium
XII, Feb. 19-20, at Southwestern
University.
Featured speakers will be
foremost authorities in
paleontology and natural history,
Dr. Stephen Jay Gould, professor
of zoology at Harvard University;
Dr. David M. Raup, professor of
geophysical sciences at the
University of Chicago; and Dr. J.
William Schopf, professor of
paleobiology and director of the
Center for the Study of Evolution
and Origin of Life at UCLA.
Entitled "Punctuated Evolution:
The Slender Thread of Life," the
symposium will explore how
some life forms were made extinct
by sudden catastrophic events.
These "punctuations" of biological
life derailed the train of evolution
from the beginning of life on earth
through the age of the dinosaurs.
"Our understanding of evolution
has expanded from once believing
it was a ’straight arrow' process to
developing the 'punctuation'
theory," said Robert L. Soulen,
symposium organizer and holder of
the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair in
Science at Southwestern.
Symposium lecturer Stephen
Jay Gould (along with colleague
Niles Eldredge of New York's
American Museum of Natural
History) first proposed the
hypothesis of "Punctuated
Equilibrium" in 1972 suggesting
that evolution of a specie to better
adapt to a new environment is not
a constant driving force within
life. Instead, once a specie has
gradual change, initially rejected
the Gould-Eldredge theory.
However, recent evidence from
fossil records and mathematical
models support the basic tenets of
punctuated evolution, Soulen said.
Analysis of the fossil record by
symposium lecturer David Raup
and his colleague, Jack Sepkoski,
shows a 26-million year cycle of
massive extinctions of life on
earth. Gould sees this as a major
change in the rules governing who
is most fit, who becomes extinct,
and who survives.
Dr. Gould will provide an update
on evolutionary theory and give a
paleontological view of the basic
pattern of life’s history. Dr.
The Sharir Dance Company
will perform at Southwestern
University at 8 p.m., Saturday,
Jan. 27, in the Alma Thomas
Theater. The performance is free.
Founded in 1982 by Yacov
Sharir, the company is an Austin-
based repertory troupe of
professional dancers performing
new and post modern works.
In 1988, the Sharir Dance
Company was selected by the
National Endowment for the Arts
as a participant in its four-year
Advancement Program for
"emerging organizations of artistic
excellence." Only 37
organizations were chosen
nationwide.
Members of the troupe will
perform works by artistic director
Yacov Sharir and resident
choreographer Jose Bustamante.
The program will include de la nuit
... le jour, STATE OF
INDEPENDENCE, DISSO-
NANCE AND HARMONY, and
MEZZALUNA: Moon Dances.
A member <5f the Texas
Commission for the Arts touring
roster, the Sharir Dance Company
was selected for the 1989-91
touring roster of the Mid-America
Arts Alliance which includes
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska,
Kansas, and Missouri as well as
Texas.
been formed, it will remain
unchanged even through changes
in environment. When
evolutionary change does occur, it
is a sudden and swift process.
Evolutionary biologists, holding
to the Darwinian concept of
Schopf will speak on the earliest
records of life and the rise and fall
of earth’s early ecosystem. Dr.
Raup will discuss the catastrophic
events endured by earth and their
influence on the development of
life.
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The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 18, 1990, newspaper, January 18, 1990; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634425/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern University.