Kansas vs. Darwin: A Documentary

This darkly comic documentary explores the epic 2005 Kansas state school board hearings, in which a group of creationist politicians attempted to subvert the teaching of evolution in public schools. As the film shows, local scientists and educators sought to nullify the proceedings by staging a worldwide boycott, which subsequently backfired, resulting in an uncontested, all-out public attack on scientific orthodoxy. 

Featuring exclusive footage of the hearings as well as often-surprising interviews with participants on both sides, Kansas vs. Darwin is by turns hilarious, touching and disturbing. Its subjects tell their story with no narration, revealing the seemingly unprincipled opportunism of the religious conservatives as well as the unwitting role played by scientists in undermining their own authority. 

A discussion with American filmmaker Jeff Tamblyn, moderated by Dr Alexander Smith, Sociology, Warwick, follows the screening.

Watch the film trailer

Presented by the British Library Eccles Centre for American Studies