History of Science

1.5 credits · Undergraduate

Surveys the history of science, with emphasis on its relationship to social, political and cultural factors. Case studies span the Ancient World, through the “Scientific Revolution” and “Age of Exploration,” to twentieth-century “Big Science” and beyond. Topics include the new worldviews and technologies spurred by exploration and empire, the emergence of chauvinistic views on race and indigeneity and the challenges posed by astronomical, geological, biological and chemical innovations for established authority.