Events/Courses - Event View

This course beckons readers to discover who they are and where they came from. The Origins of Human Evolution is a narrative, interactive experience that uses dynamic, informative biological stories woven into a chronological journal of life on Earth. The class introduces the reader to Darwin’s powerful theories involving natural selection and the transition of species across vast epochs. The course narrates the progression of cursory animals into the extraordinary zoological diversification found both in living fauna and by way of the fossil record. Throughout each section, we analyze clues as to how organic entities interact — to invoke startling new layers of self-organizing complexity. The final parts of the course trace potential human evolutionary avenues to analyze whether there are lessons to apply to human societal dynamics. Class Limit: 18

Instructor Bill Portela has backgrounds in systems engineering, human systems integration, and highly technical learning environments. He is a Maine certified science teacher, wildlife rehabilitator, trainer of draft horses, and Court Appointed Special Advocate, Guardian ad Litem. Bill has delivered curriculum including nuclear physics, high-voltage electric grid operations in North America, biology, evolution, and information technology. He has designed and delivered classes in Maine public institutions at all levels, including elementary, middle, and high school, as well as being an adjunct faculty at the college level.