HIST SCI/ENVIR ST/HISTORY 125 — GREEN SCREEN: ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH FILM
3 credits.
From Teddy Roosevelt's 1909 African safari to the Hollywood blockbuster King Kong, from the world of Walt Disney to The March of the Penguins, cinema has been a powerful force in shaping public and scientific understanding of nature throughout the twentieth and twenty-first century. How can film shed light on changing environmental ideas and beliefs in American thought, politics, and culture? And how can we come to see and appreciate contested issues of race, class, and gender in nature on screen? Explore such questions and come to understand the role of film in helping to define the contours of past, present, and future environmental visions in the United States, and their impact on the real world struggles of people and wildlife throughout the world.
HIST SCI/HISTORY/MED HIST 132 — BEES, TREES, GERMS, AND GENES: A HISTORY OF BIOLOGY
3 credits.
How did today's biology emerge out of the diverse traditions of agriculture and natural history (bees and trees), biomedicine and molecular biology (germs and genes), which stretch back into the eighteenth century? Examines classic texts and "game-changers" in the history of biology, putting them into broader scientific and social contexts to see how these different ways of knowing intertwined, competed, and yielded novel approaches to the study of life that still shape today's life sciences.
HIST SCI 133 — BIOLOGY AND SOCIETY, 1950 - TODAY
3 credits.
From medical advancements to environmental crises and global food shortages, the life sciences are implicated in some of the most pressing social issues of our time. Explores events in the history of biology from the mid-twentieth century to today, and examines how developments in this science have shaped and are shaped by society. Investigates the origins of the institutions, technologies, and styles of practice that characterize contemporary biology, such as the use of mice as "model organisms" for understanding human diseases. Examines biological controversies such as the introduction of genetically modified plants into the food supply. Explores how biological facts and theories have been and continue to be used as a source for understanding ourselves.
HIST SCI 150 — THE DIGITAL AGE
3 credits.
An introduction to the history of the computer from the 1940s to the present day, major developments in computer science and technology in their historical contexts, and recent trends in computing and society. We learn about machines, but emphasize the study of people: the institutions, scientists, workers, and social movements that invented, facilitated, and transformed digital technology in the 20th and early 21st century.
HIST SCI 160 — ENGINEERING INEQUALITY: TECHNOLOGY AND INEQUITY THROUGHOUT HISTORY
3-4 credits.
Offers an introduction to the history of technology centered around the relationship between technology and various forms of social inequality. Addresses: 1) how gendered, racial, and class-based disparities have shaped the history of technology; 2) how forms of engineered inequity have intersected with state-building, colonial projects, environmental degradation, and revolutionary programs; 3) how technology has been implicated in attempts to imagine a more just society. Introduces central themes and concepts in the histories of science, medicine, and especially technology. Examines case-studies that are transnational in scope and move chronologically from the 17th century to the present. Also gives significant attention to histories of technology that originated outside of the U.S. and Europe.
HIST SCI/HISTORY 171 — HISTORY OF MEDICINE IN FILM
3-4 credits.
Considers the social and cultural history of 20th and early 21st century American medicine through the depiction of health care practitioners and health care systems in Hollywood movies. View films that featured medicine, doctors, nurses, patients, and hospitals. Using these films as primary sources, seek to place these representations into a broader social and cultural context. Evaluate the extent to which popular understandings of medicine, health, and healing as portrayed in the films corresponded to actual practices of medicine and medical research at the time the films were first screened for mass audiences.
HIST SCI 180 — FRESHMAN HONORS SEMINAR: HISTORY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
3 credits.
Introduction to the history of science, technology and medicine through in-depth examination of a specific theme or topic.
HIST SCI 201 — THE ORIGINS OF SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT
3 credits.
Emergence of scientific method and scientific modes of thought out of ancient philosophical and religious traditions; the impact of ancient science on medieval Christendom; the origins and development of the Copernican-Newtonian world view.
HIST SCI 202 — THE MAKING OF MODERN SCIENCE
3 credits.
Major trends and developments in the sciences from the 17th century to the early 20th century. Emphasis on those with broad cultural and social implications.
HIST SCI/ASTRON 206 — HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY AND COSMOLOGY
3 credits.
The development of astronomical knowledge and cosmological views from the earliest times to the present, viewed in their social, philosophical, and technological contexts.
HIST SCI 211 — THE HISTORIAN'S CRAFT: SCIENCE, MEDICINE, AND TECHNOLOGY
3-4 credits.
Conduct original historical research in the fields of history of science, medicine, or technology and convey the results to others. Become historical detectives through engagement with archival materials and disciplinary methodologies in the histories of science, medicine and technology; practice defining important historical questions, collecting and analyzing evidence, presenting original conclusions, and contributing to ongoing discussions. Confer individually with and receive feedback from instructors to improve skills of historical analysis and communication in written and other formats. May not be repeated for credit.
HIST SCI/MED HIST 212 — BODIES, DISEASES, AND HEALERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE
3 credits.
A survey of different conceptions of how the body as a site of sickness has been understood from Antiquity to contemporary medicine. Includes consideration of the origins and evolution of public health, the changing social role of healers, and the emergence of the modern "standardized" body in health and illness.
HIST SCI/ENVIR ST 213 — GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY INTRODUCTION
3 credits.
Provides an introduction to the intersections of health and environment on a global scale. Exposes students to a range of problems in global environmental health, including climate change, disease ecology, and the globalization of disease.
HIST SCI 218 — HISTORY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN MEDICINE
3 credits.
Introduction to the development of the modern American medical care system.
HIST SCI 222 — TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN HISTORY
3 credits.
Topics in the history of technology. Themes include the social basis of technical change, the impact of technology on everyday life, and ethical issues in technology in the last four centuries.
HIST SCI 250 — SPECIAL TOPICS IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE (INTRODUCTORY)
3 credits.
Special topics in the history of science, medicine, and technology.
HIST SCI/AFROAMER 275 — SCIENCE, MEDICINE, AND RACE: A HISTORY
3-4 credits.
Surveys the medical and scientific constructions of categories of race, placing the development of racial theories in a broad social and political context. Pays particular attention to the importance of racial science in slavery and colonialism.
HIST SCI 280 — HONORS SEMINAR: STUDIES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MEDICINE
3 credits.
Intensive exploration of issues in the history of science. Emphasis on developing critical thinking about science through formal and informal writing.
HIST SCI/MED HIST 284 — PHYSICIAN IN HISTORY (HONORS)
1 credit.
A survey of different conceptions of how the body as a site of sickness has been understood from Antiquity to contemporary medicine. Includes consideration of the origins and evolution of public health, the changing social role of healers, and the emergence of the modern "standardized" body in health and illness.
HIST SCI 286 — HONORS SEMINAR: STUDIES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, MEDICINE
3 credits.
Intensive exploration of issues in the history of science. Emphasis on developing critical thinking about science through discussion of readings and written exercises.
HIST SCI/HORT 301 — (HORTI)CULTURAL ROOTS: HUMAN HISTORIES OF PLANTS AND SCIENCE
4 credits.
Dig into the history of plant sciences to understand why plants and humans have the relationships they do today. Focus on the experiences of Indigenous Americans and People of Color to understand the roots of inequities in horticulture, agriculture, and other plant sciences. Practice skills as a translator of science and history through engagement with scientific publications, library resources, and archival materials. Define important societal questions, collect and analyze evidence, present original conclusions, and contribute to ongoing discussions about the relationship of people and plants. Includes intensive writing and oral presentations.
HIST SCI/ECON 305 — DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
3-4 credits.
Development of economic thought from the middle ages to the present; emphasis on major schools of thought including Classical, Marxian, Neo-Classical, and Keynesian schools.
HIST SCI/MEDIEVAL 322 — ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL SCIENCE
3 credits.
Scientific ideas and institutions from the beginnings of Greek philosophy to the Renaissance.
HIST SCI/HISTORY 323 — THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: FROM COPERNICUS TO NEWTON
3 credits.
An introduction to the formative period of modern science, including major ideas and events in the physical and life sciences from Copernicus to Newton.
HIST SCI/HISTORY 324 — SCIENCE IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT
3 credits.
Development and triumph of Newton's gravitational law; the conceptual revolution in chemistry; earth history and the move from religious to natural cosmologies.
HIST SCI/MED HIST/RELIG ST 331 — SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND RELIGION
3 credits.
Introduction to the study of religion, science, and medicine. Focus on how religion, science, and medicine have shaped practices of knowledge production and meaning making with respect to human life, by considering theories of human history and racial progress; how logics of contagion structure human relationships and communal boundaries; the variety of ways of understanding and caring for bodies; and the place of humans within broader ecologies.
HIST SCI/MED HIST 333 — HISTORY OF MODERN BIOLOGY
3 credits.
Exploration of major developments in biology and related sciences ca. 1700. Topics may draw from morphology, embryology, and cell biology; evolution, ecology, and genetics; physiology, microbiology, and recent experimental biology.
HIST SCI 343 — THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
3 credits.
Scientific, social, religious and related dimensions of the evolution hypothesis from predarwinian speculation and Darwin's own work to later support, criticism and continuing investigation. Coverage reaches into the twentieth century.
HIST SCI 350 — SPECIAL TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE
2-3 credits.
Readings/discussion of varying topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.
HIST SCI/ENVIR ST 353 — HISTORY OF ECOLOGY
3 credits.
The development of the science of ecology and related scientific issues and social attitudes, with a primary emphasis on developments from the late nineteenth century to the present.
HIST SCI/ENVIR ST/RELIG ST 356 — ISLAM, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
3-4 credits.
Survey of Muslim religious understandings of science, technology, nature and environment. Gain a global perspective through case studies, covering sources such as the Qur'an, theology and law, and traditions of esoteric piety (mysticism), and historical and contemporary issues like medical ethics, virtual realities, and environmental change, challenge and crisis.
HIST SCI 360 — HEALTH INEQUALITIES IN THE LONG 20TH CENTURY
3 credits.
Analyze historical factors impacting healthcare cost, access, and services with focus on social determinants of health in the United States across the long 20th century. Evaluate current state of the field through literature reviews and conversations with guest lecturers. Apply historical analysis in consideration of current disparities in health resources. Produce original research project and policy proposal at intersection of public health, medical history, and health law and policy.
HIST SCI/HISTORY/MED HIST 394 — SCIENCE IN AMERICA
3 credits.
From the colonial period to the present; emphasis on the development of scientific institutions and the influence of science on American life.
HIST SCI/S&A PHM 401 — HISTORY OF PHARMACY
2 credits.
Pharmaceutical field, from antiquity to modern medical care; professional; structuring in principal countries of the West.
HIST SCI 404 — A HISTORY OF DISEASE
3-4 credits.
What is disease? Who decides? What are the consequences of labeling a behavior a disease? Can disease be a tool of liberation? Can disease be an instrument of oppression? How do race, class, and gender affect our understandings of and experiences with illness? How have diseases shaped American history? Illustrates the various ways disease operates in America and examines the role of disease on at least four levels--political, social, cultural, and personal--to demonstrate that diseases are not merely bodily afflictions; they are also participants in the body politic. Each disease covered is chosen to illustrate a different point about the social and cultural lives of disease in the history of the United States. Though diseases are covered in a chronological fashion, this coverage is not meant as a narrative history of disease.
HIST SCI/MATH 473 — HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS
3 credits.
An historical survey of the main lines of mathematical development.
HIST SCI/HISTORY/MED HIST 507 — HEALTH, DISEASE AND HEALING I
3-4 credits.
Medicine in Europe from antiquity to the 18th century, investigating changes in medical ideas, institutions, practices, and organization.
HIST SCI/HISTORY/MED HIST 508 — HEALTH, DISEASE AND HEALING II
3-4 credits.
Medicine in Europe from the 18th century to mid-20th century, investigating changes in disease and demography, state interest in health care, the medical professions, and both scientific and alternative medical ideas.
HIST SCI/MED HIST 509 — THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN AMERICA
3 credits.
Health problems in the U.S. from the colonial period to the twentieth century; efforts made toward their solutions.
HIST SCI/GEOSCI 514 — HISTORY OF GEOLOGIC THOUGHT
3 credits.
Major concepts from earliest to modern times.
HIST SCI/AFROAMER/MED HIST 523 — RACE, AMERICAN MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH
3 credits.
Provides historical perspectives on current dilemmas facing black patients and health care professionals.
HIST SCI/ENGL/MED HIST 525 — HEALTH AND THE HUMANITIES
3 credits.
Explores how a humanistic perspective can broaden our understanding of health and medicine. Specifically, we will examine the role of language and culture in the creation and circulation of biomedical knowledge; our lived experiences with illness (physical and mental); the intricate intersections of race, gender, sexuality, disability and medicine; the political dimensions of diagnosis, disease, and epidemics, and the role that fiction, creative non-fiction, comics, and film play in shaping our experiences with health and medicine as health care providers and as patients. The course does not assume any background in science or medicine. One of our recurrent topics, in fact, will be to consider how non-experts interact with medicine and its technical vocabularies. Although the primary objective of the course is to understand the cultural, social, and political dimensions of health and medicine, a secondary objective is for students to become more savvy patients and, for the few students who might emerge on the other side of the stethoscope one day, more well rounded health care professionals.
HIST SCI/GEN&WS/MED HIST 531 — WOMEN AND HEALTH IN AMERICAN HISTORY
3 credits.
Women as patients and as health professionals in America from the colonial period to the present.
HIST SCI/GEN&WS/MED HIST 532 — THE HISTORY OF THE (AMERICAN) BODY
3 credits.
This course demonstrates that human bodies have social and cultural histories. It will highlight the social values placed on different bodies, the changing social expectations bodies create, and the role of science and medicine in creating the cultural meanings of bodies.
HIST SCI/GEN&WS 537 — CHILDBIRTH IN THE UNITED STATES
3 credits.
Using a reproductive justice framework, analyze contexts, experiences, practices, ideologies, and historiographies of childbirth in the United States from roughly the 17th century to the present, with the heaviest emphasis on the 20th and 21st century. Examines the ways that colonization, genocide, enslavement, racism, capitalism, heterosexism, patriarchy, and ableism have shaped all of these aspects of childbirth. Inquire how key movements and groups resisting some of these forms of oppression have had the power to reshape birth, as well as locating in birth a source of transformational power.
HIST SCI/MED HIST/POP HLTH 553 — INTERNATIONAL HEALTH AND GLOBAL SOCIETY
3 credits.
Major problems in international health from 1750 to the present. Focus on disease epidemiology and ecology; political economy of health; migration; quarantine; race, ethnicity, and health care; international health research; cross-cultural healing; mental and maternal health; growth of international health organizations.
HIST SCI 555 — UNDERGRADUATE SEMINAR IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE
3 credits.
Advanced research in History of Science.
HIST SCI/HISTORY/MED HIST 564 — DISEASE, MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
3 credits.
Examines the history of illness and medical practice in Latin America and the Caribbean from the colonial era until the present. Using an interdisciplinary set of sources, students will explore the different meanings of disease, body normativity, medical practice, and ideas about public health across different historical circumstances in the region.
HIST SCI/ENGL/MED HIST 599 — DIRECTED STUDY IN HEALTH AND THE HUMANITIES
1 credit.
Offers students enrolled in the Health and the Humanities certificate an opportunity to conduct independent research under the guidance of a faculty member. It allows students who have enrolled in or completed a Health and the Humanities Capstone an opportunity to go into greater depth on a topic covered in the capstone course. In consultation with a faculty member, students will design a project that builds on lessons learned or work completed as part of their capstone experience.
HIST SCI 623 — STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN SCIENCE
1 credit.
Advanced readings in primary and secondary literature of the history of the 16th-17th century European science, with emphasis on current historiographic issues.
HIST SCI/MED HIST 668 — TOPICS IN HISTORY OF MEDICINE
3 credits.
Upper-level special topics course in the history of medicine.
HIST SCI 681 — SENIOR HONORS THESIS
3 credits.
Honors thesis on topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.
HIST SCI 682 — SENIOR HONORS THESIS
3 credits.
Honors thesis on topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. Continuation of HIST SCI 681.
HIST SCI 691 — SENIOR THESIS
3 credits.
Senior thesis on topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.
HIST SCI 692 — SENIOR THESIS
3 credits.
Senior thesis on topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. Continuation of HIST SCI 691.
HIST SCI 698 — DIRECTED STUDY
1-3 credits.
Directed study under the supervision of a faculty member on topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. Graded on a Cr/N basis.
HIST SCI 699 — DIRECTED STUDY
1-3 credits.
Directed study under the supervision of a faculty member on topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. Graded on a lettered basis.
HIST SCI 720 — PROSEMINAR: HISTORIOGRAPHY AND METHODS
3 credits.
Philosophies, methods, and sources in the history of science, and their relations to the current state of scholarship.
HIST SCI 903 — SEMINAR: MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE, AND 17TH CENTURY SCIENCE
3 credits.
Readings and/or research on the history of medieval, Renaissance, and/or 17th-century science. Topics vary.
HIST SCI 907 — SEMINAR: HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY
3 credits.
Research and readings on a topic of current interest in history of technology.
HIST SCI 909 — HISTORY OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
3 credits.
Readings and/or research on the history of biology and medicine. Topics vary.
HIST SCI 911 — SEMINAR-EIGHTEENTH CENTURY SCIENCE
3 credits.
Readings and/or research on the history of science in the 18th century. Topics vary.
HIST SCI/MED HIST 919 — GRADUATE STUDIES IN MEDICAL HISTORY
3 credits.
Analyzes the scientific and social aspects of the development of modern medicine and public health in Europe and America.
HIST SCI 921 — SEMINAR-SPECIAL TOPICS
3 credits.
Readings and/or research on the history of science, medicine, and technology. Topics vary.
HIST SCI 925 — SEMINAR: RESEARCH AND THESIS
1-3 credits.
Readings and/or research on History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.
HIST SCI 950 — HISTORY OF SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM
0-1 credits.
Readings/discussion of varying topics in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.
HIST SCI 990 — RESEARCH AND THESIS
1-3 credits.
Independent research and writing of a thesis under the supervision of a faculty member.
HIST SCI 999 — INDEPENDENT WORK
1-3 credits.
Directed study under the supervision of a faculty member.