Science and Technology in East Asia

4 units

The aim of this graduate course is to provide a broad introduction to Science and Technology Studies (STS) in East Asia that has recently been undergoing momentous transformations. How did STS in East Asia change from the early twentieth century onward? What are the main historiographical trends in writing East Asian sciences? And what kinds of questions are left unexplored? This course will in particular focus on the transformation from the early modern to the modern period (ca. 1600 to 2000), during which the organization of natural knowledge in East Asia witnessed a significant reconfiguration. Situating historical change at the intersection of local and global dynamics, this course will introduce a variety of subjects including histories of epistemology, technologies of governance, global circuits of knowledge transfer, the uneasy ties between colonialism and modern science, and issues around energy, infrastructure, and environment. Apart from familiarizing themselves with the history of science and technology, students will also obtain a firm grasp of historiographical and methodological problems that pertain to STS in East Asia from Joseph Needham's groundbreaking works to post-Needham critiques, to more recent debates around capitalism, science, and technology.