I don't normally blog about work or related
matters, but it's the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin
(or CD
as we call him) in a few hours, on 12 February 2009.
While this in itself is not terribly significant, it has brought a great deal of media coverage to bear on CD and fields related to his work; coverage of which I am now, with this blog post, responsible for a small part. The coverage has, mostly, been very positive. The public relies on the mass media for an understanding of scientific and historical issues: relatively few people actively seek detailed historical or scientific information on a frequent basis. An increase in media coverage for a topic that combines these two subjects is therefore welcome.
One benefit of the increased coverage appears to be a shift away from clichés, as journalists compete to expose the less well-known details of CD's life and work - or at least, those less well-known details that have mass appeal. I haven't followed all the coverage (who could? It's international, voluminous and ongoing) but my perception is that it has been more nuanced and informed, especially on the topic of religion, than Darwin coverage I remember from a few years ago.
Darwin remains an oft-misappropriated rallying point for many stripes of demagogue. To
some, he is a hate-figure; for others, an almost sublime leader. But the discussions I
have been seeing in the press recently have tended to eschew these extremist and
anti-historical positions in favour of important details of Darwin's intellectual
development, its context, and its immediate repercussions. By largely foregoing wild
speculations about Darwin's responsibility - or otherwise - for social Darwinism
,
eugenics, modern atheism, etc., and by focusing instead on what scholars have been able
to firmly establish from primary historical sources, the latest round of coverage
instead largely portrays Darwin as the immensely thoughtful, lively and hard-working
naturalist, family man and citizen that those sources reveal him to have been. Long may this continue! And happy birthday, Charlie 
PS. This post was written entirely of my own volition 