HPSC0139 History of Science 2
An investigation of a wide range of global locations and topics, which might come from any period between antiquity and the recent past.
History of Science 2
This course offers an in-depth exploration of current concerns and issues in the history of science. The course introduces students to recent work in the field through an investigation of a wide range of global locations and topics, which might come from any period between antiquity and the recent past. Indicative topics may include, for example, postcolonial approaches to the history of science; Islamic medicine; scientific instruments and material culture; historical anthropology and archaeology of science; relations of science and art; science and religion; and relations of science and the environment.
Aims:
The aim of the course is to offer an introduction to thinking about the global history of science in a variety of times and places, but with a focus on the early modern period (16th to 18th centuries). Students should gain a sense of different approaches, uses, and understandings of nature in different places around the world, and be able to reflect on the ways historians have come to appreciate and make sense of global histories of science in recent years.
Objectives:
By the end of the course, it is hoped that you will have acquired : *an understanding of different approaches to the making and use of natural knowledge in a variety of global contexts. * an in-depth knowledge of elements of this history, demonstrated in essay assessments. * key essay writing skills; the ability to select the most important facts, to marshal those in argument and an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of that argument. * historiographical skills; an awareness of anachronism and the methods of writing the history of science.