Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology 17/2012

The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Theory of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften«, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University's Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: »We want to establish a ,German' society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society...«. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was »quite willing« to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and »drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society«. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specific set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie« was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society's annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society's internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies.The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Theory of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften«, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University's Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: »We want to establish a ,German' society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society...«. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was »quite willing« to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and »drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society«. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specific set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie« was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society's annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society's internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology 21/2016

The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Philosophy of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften”, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University’s Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: “We want to establish a ‘German’ society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society…”. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was “quite willing” to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and “drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society”. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specifi c set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie” was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society’s annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, refl ecting the Society’s internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies.The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Philosophy of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften”, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University’s Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: “We want to establish a ‘German’ society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society…”. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was “quite willing” to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and “drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society”. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specifi c set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie” was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society’s annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, refl ecting the Society’s internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology 23/2018

The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Philosophy of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften”, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University’s Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: “We want to establish a ‘German’ society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society…”. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was “quite willing” to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and “drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society”. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specifi c set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie” was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society’s annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society’s internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies.The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Philosophy of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften”, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University’s Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: “We want to establish a ‘German’ society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society…”. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was “quite willing” to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and “drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society”. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specifi c set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie” was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society’s annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society’s internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology 17/2012

The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Theory of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften«, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University's Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: »We want to establish a ,German' society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society...«. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was »quite willing« to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and »drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society«. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specific set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie« was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society's annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society's internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology 23/2018

The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Philosophy of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften”, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University’s Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: “We want to establish a ‘German’ society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society…”. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was “quite willing” to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and “drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society”. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specifi c set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie” was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society’s annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society’s internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology 21/2016

The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Philosophy of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften”, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University’s Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: “We want to establish a ‘German’ society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society…”. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was “quite willing” to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and “drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society”. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specifi c set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie” was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society’s annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, refl ecting the Society’s internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Innovation und Tradition. Herbert Bachs Beitrag zur Anthropologie und Humangenetik

Softcover, 17x24Das Buch befasst sich mit dem Beitrag Herbert Bachs (1926 – 1996) zur Anthropologie und Humangenetik. Untersucht wurden seine wissenschaftlichen Leistungen auf diesen Gebieten, seine wissenschaftsorganisatorischen Aktivitäten, vor allem als Institutsdirektor, sein Wirken als Hochschullehrer und sein publizistisches Werk. Ausgehend von seinen Vorgängern im Institutsdirektorat, Hans Friedrich Karl Günther (1930 – 1935) und Bernhard Struck (1936 – 1960) wird der Erneuerung der Anthropologie in Jena nachgegangen. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass Bach immer vom Grundsatz der engen Verflechtung von Anthropologie und Humangenetik, insbesondere von der Möglichkeit der Kausalanalyse anthropologischer Befunde mit Hilfe der Genetik ausging. Innerhalb des Instituts legte er die anthropologischen Schwerpunkte auf die Entwicklungs- und die Prähistorische Anthropologie, während er die Humangenetik auf Weiterentwicklung und Anwendung der Labordiagnostik sowie auf die humangenetische Beratung konzentrierte. Seine persönlichen Arbeitsgebiete waren die Prähistorische Anthropologie sowie die humangenetische Beratung und deren Grundlagen. Die Lehre weitete er sowohl hinsichtlich des Inhalts als auch Adressatenkreises erheblich aus, wobei er sich unter anderem für die Integration anthropologischer und humangenetischer Lehrgebiete in das Medizinstudium engagierte. Als Direktor wandelte Bach das anthropologisch-völkerkundliche Institut in eine moderne anthropologisch-humangenetische Lehr- und Forschungsstätte um und prägte zugleich den Aufbau des humangenetischen Beratungsdienstes der DDR wesentlich.This book examines the contribution of the German biologist Herbert Bach (1926 – 1996) to physical anthropology and human genetics in Eastern Germany. It highlights his scientific achievements and publications, his work as director (1960 – 1993) and lecturer at the Institute of Anthropology in Jena (Germany). In order to trace his contributions, this work outlines the previous historical development of the Institute of Anthropology under Hans Friedrich Karl Günther (1930 – 1935) and Bernhard Struck (1936 – 1960). Bach fostered the cooperation between anthropology and genetics by examining anthropological data within a genetic framework. His major accomplishments included the prehistoric anthropology of former populations in central Germany and the implementation of genetic counseling services in Eastern Germany. As director of the Institute of Anthropology, he advanced anthropometrie and prehistoric anthropology and expanded teaching in content and scope. He elaborated new anthropological curricula of biologists, teachers and physicians. In addition Bach re-built the anthropological institute, shifting its focus from ethnology to genetics and expanding the scope of research and teaching. He also integrated the institute into a network of genetic counseling services

Analysis of Creationism in the United States from Scopes (1925) to Kitzmiller (2005) and its Effect on the Nation´s Science Education System

Softcover, 17x24Der Kreationismus in all seinen Varianten geht weitgehend bis heute von der Annahme aus, dass die biologische Vielfalt nicht durch natürliche Ursachen, sondern durch Einwirkung übernatürlicher Kräfte entstanden ist (Einwirkung eines Schöpfer-Wesens). Nicht mehr hinterfragbare Begründungen sind dabei für kreationistisch geprägte Theorien charakteristisch, auch die ID-Bewegung setzt hier fort. In beiden Fällen (Kreationismus/ID) handelt es sich nicht um Theorien, da sie die Ansprüche, die man in der Wissenschaft an eine Theorie stellt, nicht erfüllen. Es sind vielmehr pseudowissenschaftliche, antidarwinistische Theoriengebäude die derzeit mit dazu beitragen, dass die „Religion“ generell in Misskredit gezogen wird. Diese Sichtweise kann sich auch negativ auf den naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht auswirken, wenn Kreationisten bspw. versuchen, übernatürliche Erklärungen für das Auftreten von Arten im Biologieunterricht zu propagieren. Diese „weltanschauliche“ Interpretation ist besonders stark innerhalb des naturwissenschaftlichen Unterrichtes in den Vereinigten Staaten zu finden, wo fast 75% der Bevölkerung die naturalistische Evolutionstheorie ablehnt. Zudem sind die meisten amerikanischen Schüler unfähig, erfolgreich an naturwissenschaftlichen Universitätskursen teilzunehmen. Vorliegende Arbeit liefert eine erste umfassende Bestandsaufnahme des „Kreationismus-Phänomens“ aus historischer, rechtlicher und pädagogischer Perspektive. Es wurden hierfür 24 Rechtsfälle, die auf anti-evolutionärer Grundlage basierten, im Detail analysiert und die strategischen Tendenzen der Kreationismus-Bewegung identifiziert. Hierbei wird verdeutlicht, dass die kreationistischen Strategien Großteils als Reaktion auf die jeweiligen Gerichtsentscheidungen entstanden sind. Weiterhin wurde die direkte Einflussnahme des Kreationismus auf das Bildungssystem mittels staatlicher Einflussnahme auf Lehrbuchinhalte und Bildungsstandards im Fachbereich Biologie analysiert. Da die Inhalte von Lehrbüchern und Bildungsstandards vorwiegend durch politische Prozesse und Gremien in den USA festgelegt werden, gelang es so den Kreationisten, durch entsprechende politische Einflussnahme, die Wissenschaftlichkeit der Evolutionsbiologie innerhalb der Lehrbücher und Bildungsstandards herabzusetzen, mit der Konsequenz, dass das Thema „Evolution“ nur noch marginal unterrichtet werden kann. Zusätzlich ergab eine Analyse frei wählbarer amerikanischer Lehr- und Lernmaterialien, dass die Kreationisten auch sehr erfolgreich darin sind, ihre Ideen entsprechend zu vermarkten (Bücher, Filme, Errichtung von Museen), um so ihre Ziele auch außerhalb des Klassenraumes zu stärken. Ebenso wurde die Kreationismus-Bewegung in Deutschland dargestellt. Dieser Vergleich zwischen den beiden Ländern soll mit dazu beitragen, die generellen Schlüsselkomponenten kreationistischer Bewegungen aufzudecken. Die Studie liefert hier neue, detaillierte Einblicke in die Kreationismus-Bewegung und zeigt, dass diese Strömung derzeit weiter sehr aktiv und erfolgreich ist. Überdies wird gezeigt, dass der Kreationismus (ID-Bewegung) sich nicht nur in den Vereinigten Staaten ausgebreitet hat, sondern auch zunehmend in europäischen Ländern zu finden ist.Creationism is based on a fundamental belief in the inerrancy of the bible and negatively affects science education because creationist proponents insist on the inclusion of supernatural explanations for the appearance of species, in particular the origin of humans. This detrimental effect on education is particularly relevant in the United States, where almost 70% of the population rejects the idea of naturalistic evolution and the majority of American students struggle to meet the college-readiness benchmarks in science and math. This dissertation provides a comprehensive look at the issue from historical, judicial and educational perspectives. Twenty-four legal cases in the United States regarding anti-evolutionary strategies were analyzed in detail. Strategic trends were identified ranging from the statewide banning of evolution in public schools to the required teaching of Creation Science. The exact effect of creationist political activity was discerned through the analysis of state science standards and textbook adoption processes, which illustrated the creationists’ ability to lobby for a diminished coverage of evolution in science standards and textbooks. It was found that despite attempts made by scientific and educational agencies to provide guidelines such as the Next Generation Science Standards, the majority of American state science standards continue to be sub-par and one of the major flaws of these standards is the overall attempt to weaken the coverage of evolution throughout the standards. A similar loss of quality occurs in textbooks since publishers engage in self-censorship in order to avoid controversial topics such as evolution in order to prevent their books from being rejected. An examination of the free-choice learning materials revealed that creationist proponents are very active and successful in producing books, films and museums for the sole purpose of promoting creationism. Moreover, a brief look at the creationist movement in Germany provided a powerful comparison to the United States and elucidated the key components necessary for a creationist movement to exist and flourish, namely the presence of fundamentalist willing to fight to get anti-evolutionary materials introduced into science classrooms. This study provides new insights into the creationist phenomenon, present not only in the United States but also increasingly present in European countries such as Germany. Understanding the detrimental link between creationism and science education will help the science community realize that this topic needs to be continually readdressed and that it is imperative that these creationist trends are not dismissed as inconsequential

Leopoldo Maggi (1840-1905) and Ernst Haeckel´s naturalist philosophy in the Kingdom of Italy

Softcover, 180 S.: 20,00 €Softcover, 17x24The name DGGTB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie; German Society for the History and Theory of Biology) reflects recent history as well as German tradition. The Society is a relatively late addition to a series of German societies of science and medicine that began with the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften«, founded in 1910 by Leipzig University's Karl Sudhoff (1853-1938), who wrote: »We want to establish a ,German' society in order to gather German-speaking historians together in our special disciplines so that they form the core of an international society...«. Yet Sudhoff, at this time of burgeoning academic internationalism, was »quite willing« to accommodate the wishes of a number of founding members and »drop the word German in the title of the Society and have it merge with an international society«. The founding and naming of the Society at that time derived from a specific set of historical circumstances, and the same was true some 80 years later when in 1991, in the wake of German reunification, the »Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie« was founded. From the start, the Society has been committed to bringing studies in the history and philosophy of biology to a wide audience, using for this purpose its Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie. Parallel to the Jahrbuch, the Verhandlungen zur Geschichte und Theorie der Biologie has become the by now traditional medium for the publication of papers delivered at the Society's annual meetings. In 2005 the Jahrbuch was renamed Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, reflecting the Society's internationalist aspirations in addressing comparative biology as a subject of historical and philosophical studies

Evolutionsbiologie im Biologieunterricht der SBZ/DDR

Softcover, 17x24Erkenntnisse aus den Bereichen der Evolutionsbiologie prägten wissenschaftliche und öffentliche Debatten der letzten 200 Jahre. Bereits 1877 forderte Ernst Haeckel ihre Einbindung in den Schulunterricht und stieß damit auf heftigen Widerstand (vgl. Hoßfeld, 2010, S. 56). Wie Lässig (2010, S. 199) darlegt, wird Wissen gesellschaftlich vorstrukturiert. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die Genese von Stellenwert und Darstellung evolutionsbiologischer Inhalte im Biologieunterricht der SBZ/DDR aufzuzeigen sowie diese in den jeweils herrschenden Kontext politisch-gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen einzubetten. Ausgangsmaterialien sind relevante Lehrpläne sowie Schullehrbücher als „konkreteste Kodifizierung des in den Lehrplänen fixierten Inhalts“ (Neuner, 1989, S. 411). Eine primär deskriptive Examensarbeit dient der Untersuchung als Grundlage, da die Geschichte des Schülerbuches bisher nur in wenigen Fachbereichen gründlich erforscht ist (vgl. Rommel, 2006; vgl. Pöggeler, 2003, S. 37). Darauf aufbauend wird ein Analyseraster vorgestellt, welches einem multidimensionalen Forschungsansatz folgend, Aspekte der Bezugssysteme Design, Fachdidaktik und Fachwissenschaft Biologie beinhaltet. Die Auswertung der Quellen erfolgt produktorientiert in Einzel- und vertikalen Gruppenanalysen unter dem Primat der Interdisziplinarität mittels inhaltsanalytischer Methoden. Bei der abschließenden Diskussion der Ergebnisse wird die Rückwirkung soziokultureller Veränderungen auf die Schulbücher verdeutlicht. Es wird gezeigt, dass evolutionsbiologischen Inhalten im Biologieunterricht der SBZ/DDR eine exponierte Stellung zukam, deren Darstellung divergenten Ansätzen und Präferenzen folgte. In diesem Zusammenhang erfolgt die Einordnung der Lehr- und Lernmaterialien als Informatorium, Pädagogikum und Politikum (vgl. Stein, 1991).The scientific and public discussions over the last 200 years were shaped by findings from the field of evolutionary biology. Back in 1877, when Ernst Haeckel asked for the inclusion of evolutionary biology into class, he was met with fierce resistance (see Hoßfeld, 2010, p. 56). As Lässig (2010, p. 199) argues, knowledge is socially shaped. The aim of this study is to reveal the development of the significance as well as presentation of evolutionary biological contents in biology class within the SOZ/GDR and to embed it into the context of the respective prevailing political and social developments. Relevant curricula and schoolbooks as the most precise codification of the curricula fixed contents (see Neuner, 1989, p. 411) were used as raw material. For most subjects the history of schoolbooks is barely studied (see Pöggeler, 2003, p. 37). Therefore, as basis for this study, only one primary descriptive thesis about evolutionary biology in class (Rommel, 2006) could be used. Based thereupon an analytical framework will be introduced which follows a multidimensional approach of research by containing aspects of the three reference systems design, subject didactics and subject discipline. Product oriented separate and group analyses were used to evaluate the sources. This was carried out under the primacy of interdisciplinarity via analysis by content. The feedback of sociocultural changes on school books will be clarified in the concluding discussion. It will be shown that evolutionary contents occupied a significant position in biology classes within the SOZ/GDR and that the expression of those contents followed divergent approaches and preferences. The classification of teaching and learning material as an informational, pedagogical and political issue (see Stein, 1991) is taking place in the same context