Spring 2007 Info

JUNIOR/SENIOR-LEVEL COURSES: BASIC SURVEY COURSES
 

3013 - History of Science to the Age of Newton: The Origins and Early Development of Science

Prerequisite: Junior standing or above or permission of instruct
    Section 100   MTWRF   9:20-11:15   PHSC 212   Instructor Melissa Rickman

A survey of understandings of the natural world from Antiquity to the Seventeenth century. This course explores how people in different times and places have explained such phenomena as the motions of the planets and the workings of the human body. Throughout we will pay particular attention to the cultural settings in which theories about the natural world were produced. We will also examine the impact of scientific ideas and discoveries upon human societies and cultures.

3023 - History of Science since the 17th Century: The Foundation and Growth of Modern Science

Prerequisite: Junior standing or above or permission of instructor
    Section 200  MTWRF  9:20-11:20    PHSC 212  Visiting Assitant Professor JoAnn Palmeri
     
A survey tracing the development of major concepts, discoveries, and methods in physical, biological, and earth sciences, as well as the interaction between science and other institutions, in the early modern and modern periods. Emphasis is given to the growth of scientific thought in modern times, to the effects of increasing respect for science among 18th- and 19th-century Europeans and Americans, and to the emergence of pure and applied science as major forces in modern civilization.

JUNIOR/SENIOR-LEVEL COURSES: INTERMEDIATE TOPICS COURSES

3823 - Science in Medieval Culture

Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of instructor
    Section 100   MTWRF   10:30-12:30  PHSC 212    Professor Steven Livesey

The middle ages had a profound impact on the subsequent development of the West, including its scientific development. They may also be studied for their unique and idiosyncratic positions that failed to become part of the Western scientific heritage. This course will attempt to assess both strands within the period, focusing on topics that include the relationship between science and religion, science in its institutional context, the impact of Greek and Arabic science in the High Middle Ages, the social context of science, and medieval assumptions about the nature of science. The second half of the course will be devoted to discussions of primary source materials from the period, placed within the framework of modern historical criticism.