James MacAllister

"A View from the World Turned Downside Up" will be the topic of a talk by evolution geographer, James MacAllister. The program will be held at the Catskill Center on Tuesday, December 6 starting at 7pm. The program is free, but there is a $5 suggested donation.

Lynn Margulis championed the microcosmos and fundamentally changed science. She recognized how our "species specific arrogance" distorted science and resulted in our suicidal destruction of our life support system, the Earth system (Gaia). Explore her systems science from "bacteria to biosphere" that fostered the fields of Astrobiology and Earth systems science (ESS) and caused the paradigm shift underway in medicine, biology and evolution.

James MacAllister is an award-winning script writer and director of programs in medicine and science.  His documentaries cover an eclectic mix: art, biography, performance, extreme sport, pedagogy and pollution. He worked with visionary biologist/evolutionist Lynn Margulis for ten years creating teaching materials for her pioneering classes in Big Earth History and Earth systems science.  As one of her teaching assistants he earned his Masters of Science and became a Fellow of the Linnean Society. He is a volunteer archivist for the Lynn Margulis Digital Archive, produces the quarterly Environmental Evolution newsletter (www.envevo.org) and is collaborating with Bruce Scofield to present an online version of Margulis's Environmental Evolution course. He has spoken on the paradigm shift in science that Lynn Margulis provoked at the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and the European Society for Literature, Science and the Arts (SLSAeu).

The Catskill Center is located at 43355 Rt. 28 in Arkville, NY. For more information about the Catskill Center go to catskillcenter.org or call (845) 586-2611.