Course Description

Join Dr. Rachel Phillips of the University of South Carolina for a concise yet powerful exploration of the five major mass-extinction events that have repeatedly reset the course of life on Earth. Across 26 minutes of vivid visuals and cutting-edge research, you will discover how volcanic cataclysms, asteroid impacts, climate swings, and oceanic anoxia wiped out up to 90 % of all species—only to open ecological space for explosive radiations of new life. Learn how each extinction altered atmospheric chemistry, ocean currents, and evolutionary pressures, ultimately shaping the complex biosphere we inhabit today. By the end, you will grasp why mass death is not merely an end, but a creative engine that drives the diversification and innovation of life through deep time.

Lecture Outline

• Earth’s Great Mass Extinctions – 26 min

A sweeping overview of the “Big Five” events (Ordovician, Devonian, Permian-Triassic, Triassic-Jurassic, and Cretaceous-Paleogene), their causes, global effects, and the remarkable recoveries that followed.