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Minors

OU Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, The University of Oklahoma wordmark
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Minor in History of Science or History of Medicine

The department has two minors, History of Medicine and History of Science.

All it takes to earn the minor is fifteen credit-hours: a total of five courses, three at the upper-division level. Handpick the five courses that match your goals and interests, and the major you graduate with will have the added distinction of a specialized field to support it. Whatever your future plans, gaining insight into the past & present of science, technology and medicine empowers each of us to meet the challenges of the modern world.

Not only this, but you can complete your Gen Ed requirements (including the non-western civ requirement) at the same time that you are gaining one of the most useful minors OU offers. In fact, it’s a minor that works with every major!

paperwork:   minor checksheet (pdf)  ||   declare a minor formally 

No room for a minor? How about a "course cluster"?

By thinking in terms of "course clusters," you can bring two or three related gen ed courses into a concentration that allows you to gain a deeper understanding of an area that matters to you, even if you can't free up enough time to earn a formal minor. Here are just a few of the possible groupings:

Medicine/Biology

  • the Darwinian revolution (HSTM 2213) 
  • race & science (HSTM 3253) 
  • history of public health (HSTM 3263) 
  • indigenous and non-Western medicine in perspective (HSTM 3273) 
  • disability studies (HSTM 3283) 
  • history of ecology and environmentalism (HSTM 3473) 
  • biomedical ethics (HSTM 3413) 
  • history of modern medicine (HSTM 3423)

Ethics

  • social & ethical issues in science, technology, medicine & the environment (HSTM  2423) 
  • biomedical ethics (HSTM 3413) 
  • history of ecology and environmentalism (HSTM 3473)

Global Issues

  • science & religion in a modern global perspective (HSTM 3443) 
  • science & technology in Asian history (HSTM 3313) 
  • science, exploration, and empire (HSTM 3353) 
  • technology, politics, and international development (HSTM 3483)

"Classic" History of Science

  • lives in science (HSTM 2223) 
  • history of science to Newton (HSTM 3013) 
  • history of science since the 17th century (HSTM 3023) 
  • science in medieval culture (HSTM 3823) 
  • the scientific revolution (HSTM 3833)

Technology

  • inventing the modern world (HSTM 3333) 
  • technology, politics, and international development (HSTM 3483) 
  • the history of media (HSTM 3493)

Religion

  • science & religion in a modern global perspective (HSTM 3443) 
  • God and nature in the pre-modern world (HSTM 2453) 
  • science in medieval culture (HSTM 3823)

Society, Media, and Culture

  • science, nature, and society (HSTM  1113) 
  • science and popular culture (HSTM 2133) 
  • the history of media (HSTM 3493)

Politics

  • science & global politics in the modern era: cross-cultural perspectives (HSTM 3533) 
  • technology, politics, and international development (HSTM 3483) 
  • gender issues in science, technology & medicine: historical perspectives (HSTM 3223) 
  • Cold War science (HSTM  3463)