Discovering Science History in “The Athens of the North”

4 Credits.

Empiricism, skepticism, reason – ideas central to modern science (and science writing)--flourished during the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th and early 19th centuries. At Scottish universities and intellectual societies, thinkers and scientists such as James Hutton, Joseph Black, Mary Somerville, and James Watt advanced the fields of chemistry, medicine, engineering, and others.This course will travel back through the centuries to visit key sites and figures of this seminal period. Home base will be Edinburgh, named in the 18th century as “The Athens of the North” for its Greek-inspired architecture and explosion of new ideas. Activities will include talks with historians of science and medicine and visits to sites important to science heritage, such as the Royal College of Physicians (est. 1681) and Arthur’s Seat volcano, where geologist James Hutton’s research helped reveal that Earth is billions of years old. The group will also contemplate more recent Scottish science history (e.g., the cloning of Dolly the Sheep).Discussions will explore science history’s place in today’s science writing: As science and science journalism move apace, why bother to investigate science history? How and when might looking backward enrich a story about a contemporary scientific development? Moreover, science history itself proffers a trove of fascinating untold stories – How can writers find such historical gems?Students will also critically examine the writer’s role in reckoning with historical events now perceived as negative. As we “fix our eye on the now distant point from which we have drifted” (Sir Walter Scott), what can we ascertain about that starting point, including its more troubling aspects? Finally, the course will provide practical guidance, including lessons on searching archives and pitching history-grounded science stories for publication. As a final assignment, students will write a science story that makes use of historical sources.