[*History of Science 96. Academic Internship in History and Health Policy]
Catalog Number: 5204
Steven Shapin and members of the Department
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An opportunity to apply the methods and ideas of the history of health and medicine to understand the practical problems that have framed health policy in 20th-century America, and vice-versa, emphasizing the ways in which transformations in the epistemological and structural foundations of medical care have interacted with the broader public policy: the effects of the market upon standards of care; the rise of the clinical trial and Evidence-Based Medicine; and health-care reform.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Students are expected to produce substantial research papers based on their classwork and field placements, which are typically arranged with institutions in the Boston area.
*History of Science 97. Tutorial — Sophomore Year
Catalog Number: 5235
Elizabeth E. Yale
Half course (spring term). M., at 4, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 9
This introductory term of sophomore tutorial focuses on four or five key moments in the history of science, technology and medicine. We will explore how research, reading, and writing are done in this field. There will be opportunities to visit our Collection of Historic Scientific Instruments and to engage with historic documents.
Note: Required for undergraduate concentration in History and Science.
*History of Science 98 (formerly *History of Science 98r). Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 1120
Anne Harrington
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This half of the junior year is a research-oriented tutorial taken in small groups. Focuses on enhancing research and writing skills through the completion a directed research paper on subject matter of the student’s interest.
*History of Science 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 6619
Elizabeth E. Yale
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Faculty-led seminar and intensive work with an individual advisor, directed towards production of the senior honors thesis.
Note: Ordinarily taken by seniors as a full course. May be taken as a half course only if special permission is obtained. Students are expected to complete a thesis or submit a research paper or other approved project in order to receive course credit.
History of Science 106. History of Ancient Science
Catalog Number: 3958
John E. Murdoch
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
An examination of key aspects and issues in the development of ancient science, focusing on natural philosophy from the Presocratics to Aristotle as well as its relation to early Greek medicine and mathematics. Some consideration will also be given to the historiography of natural philosophy within this period.
[History of Science 107. History of Medieval Science]
Catalog Number: 5071
John E. Murdoch
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A study of the scope and nature of scientific thought in the Latin Middle Ages, with emphasis upon the relation of that thought to other aspects of medieval culture, in particular, religion, philosophy, and the universities.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 109. Science and Religion in the Middle East
Catalog Number: 9116
Ahmed Ragab
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
This course addresses the interactions, dialogues and debates of science and religion (with a focus on Abrahamic religions) in the Middle East from the medieval period to the present. It begins by focusing on ontological, epistemological and legal/ethical aspects of these interactions and trace how such debates were manifested in various economic and sociopolitical situations and in legal and philosophical debates. The course devotes a number of sessions to discuss case-studies representing questions of gender, sexuality and race. The materials and discussions in the course will be interdisciplinary in nature with some emphasis on social history, history, philosophy and sociology of science, religious studies, gender and sexuality studies and Middle East history.
[History of Science 112. Health, Medicine and Healing in Medieval and Renaissance Europe]
Catalog Number: 8576
Katharine Park
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10.
A survey of medical theory, organization, and practice in the context of other forms of contemporary healing, notably magical and religious. Topics include the gendering of healing and the body, the rise of hospitals and related institutions, and responses to "new" diseases such as syphilis and plague.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 114v. From Angels to Monsters: Cosmology, Anthropology, and the Ends of the World - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 89392
Nicolas Wey-Gomez
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Explores the medieval European understanding of the structure and workings of the cosmos in the context of medieval theology, physics, astronomy, astrology, magic, and medicine. Attention to the position of humans as cultural creatures at the intersection of nature and spirit; and the place of Christian Europeans in relation to non-Christians and other categories of ’outsiders’ within and beyond Europe. Readings include Hippocrates, Aristotle, Pliny, Ptolemy, Augustine, Bacon, Aquinas, Marco Polo, Mandeville, and Columbus.
[History of Science 117. Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages]
Catalog Number: 9172
John E. Murdoch
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11.
Consideration of how science and natural philosophy found itself both opposed to and used by Christian, Judaic, and Islamic religious traditions and, as a crucial test case, how these traditions handled the divide between creation and the eternal world.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[History of Science 120. History and Philosophy of Modern Physics]
Catalog Number: 5116
Peter L. Galison
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 10.
Philosophical questions raised by historical developments in 20th- and 21st-century physics, and conversely, historical-scientific questions raised by philosophical inquiry. Special and general relativity. Issues in quantum mechanics surrounding causality, determinism, realism, and probabilism. Atomic and thermonuclear weapons. Growth of large-scale experimental high-energy physics. What is meant by "unified" field theories? Is a reductionist theory of nature possible? Rise of string theory and nanosciences. Readings: scientific, historical, and philosophical texts.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Cannot be taken for credit by students who have already taken Physics 120.
History of Science 123. The Clockwork Universe
Catalog Number: 6517
Jimena Canales
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
During the tumultuous period of the French Revolution scientists ironically found the universe to be stable and constant. But this stability soon gave way to an uncertain future. New theories predicted its end, its uncontrollable expansion, and even the need for God to keep it going. How have we thought about the Universe and its inhabitants (from Laplace to Einstein and from astronomy to physics) through classic scientific texts.
History of Science 126. The Matter of Fact: Physics in the Modern Age
Catalog Number: 5319 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Jimena Canales
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 13
What is a scientific fact? What is a physical law? How are scientific facts and laws discovered, established, and, sometimes, overturned? These questions will be addressed by exploring important episodes in the history of facts, ranging from the Apollo moon landings to DNA evidence in the courtroom, with a special focus on the hard facts and laws of physics: electrons, molecules, X-rays, and the laws of thermodynamics.
[History of Science 131. History of Biology]
Catalog Number: 3073
Janet Browne
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11.
An introduction to the ways in which animals and plants have been examined, discussed and used from around 1650 to 1950. The course covers specimen collecting, classification, exploration, botanic gardens, museums, zoos and pets, plants as commodities, the environmental sciences, and the rise of laboratory biology. Visits to the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and local laboratories will be arranged.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 132. Environmental History
Catalog Number: 8673
Sarah Jansen
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Environmental sciences, politics, and polices in a global context. Topics to be covered: Pristine nature; built environments; managed forests, agriculture, biodiversity, population and environment in postcolonial contexts; the seas, GM organisms, global warming, environmental risk assessment, and narratives of nature. Course materials include films, novels, and policy papers, as well as scientific and other academic papers.
History of Science 133. Biotechnology and Society - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 36366
Hallam Stevens
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10.
Analyzes contemporary debates about stem cells, genetically modified organisms, patenting of life, and cloning using the tools of history and the social sciences. Locating the origins of biotechnology in agricultural and beer-brewing techniques of the nineteenth century, this class traces the recent history of attempts to control, manipulate, and utilize biology to further human ends. Understanding the political, economic, medical, and cultural histories of biotechnology will illuminate how contemporary biotechnologies are re-framing what we mean by ’natural,’ ’artificial,’ ’living,’ and ’human.’
History of Science 134. Nature on Display: Conference Course
Catalog Number: 4987
Janet Browne
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
We follow the work of naturalists and collectors from colonial times to the recent past as they opened up biological knowledge in North America and Europe. Our theme is to explore the cultural meaning of collecting, preserving, and displaying organisms. We look at the history of travel, museums, zoos, and shows, as well as early conservation work, animals in the movies, and the use of animals in modern laboratories. Our course will include a visit to the Museum of Comparative Zoology.
History of Science 137. Dogs and How We Know Them
Catalog Number: 3047 Enrollment: Limited to 25.
Sarah Jansen
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
Examines the history of dogs and how we conceptualized (wo)man’s best friend over time. Topics include the origins of dogs and the nature of domestication, breeding and dog breeds, mad dogs and rabies, learning theories and training methods, unwanted dogs and the humane movement, dogs as veterinary patients, dogs as experimental systems, dog emotion and social behavior, working and companion dogs, dogs as symbols, dog genomics.
[History of Science 140. Disease and Society]
Catalog Number: 4471
Charles E. Rosenberg
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 12.
A consideration of changing conceptions of disease during the past two centuries. We will discuss general intellectual trends as well as relevant cultural and institutional variables by focusing in good measure on case studies of particular ills, ranging from cholera to sickle cell anemia to anorexia and alcoholism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[History of Science 141. The Social Life of Pharmaceuticals]
Catalog Number: 8890
Jeremy Alan Greene
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
The evolution of the modern pharmaceutical industry over the long twentieth century--from its early intersection with the image and later the structure of scientific research, to its dramatic post-WWII expansion and late-century saturation of medical and marketing media--is tightly intertwined with broader social, cultural, economic, and political developments. This conference course engages primary and secondary works in the history and anthropology of pharmaceuticals to situation the prescription drug as cultural artifact.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
*History of Science 145 (formerly *History of Science 90m). Medicine and Deviance: Conference Course
Catalog Number: 2795 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Charles E. Rosenberg
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4.
Sociologists and historians have described what they call the medicalization of deviance: explaining certain behaviors as the consequences of disease rather than culpable choice. I refer to a variety of behaviors ranging from homosexuality to substance abuse, from chronic fatigue syndrome to premenstrual syndrome. This course will focus on the interrelated legal, medical, policy, and professional history of such problematic “diseases” during the past century and a half.
History of Science 147v. Eugenics: Comparative Histories: Conference Course - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 44071
Alison Bashford
Half course (fall term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
This course will compare the history and historiography of eugenics in the US, Australia, and Britain, 1860s to 1970s. Situated between natural sciences and social sciences, nineteenth century eugenicists presented some of the first faltering attempts to apply evolutionary ideas to human populations. The course will examine how eugenics came to flourish globally as part of early twentieth century modernity, and trace later scientific enterprises which were linked to eugenics. It will explore how local demographic, political as well as scientific contexts shaped different national histories of this controversial applied science.
History of Science 148. History of Global Health - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 21054
Jeremy Alan Greene
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 13
A survey course for undergraduates and graduate students exploring the interrelated histories of public health, international health, and global health from the 19th to the 21st centuries, with attention to the relationship between Western and non-Western forms of scientific practice and health systems. This course will trace the role of health and medicine in mediating the relationships between metropolis and colony, state and citizen, North and South, public welfare and private interest, research practices and human subjects, the commodification of health and the body, and human rights discourse. The course will be divided chronologically into four parts, tracing imperial health formations in the long 19th century, the nascent internationalism of the interwar period, the construction of bureaucracies of development in the postwar and postcolonial era, and configurations of public- and private-sector actors in late 20th and early 21st century global health practices. This course will meet twice weekly for lectures and once a week in small group sections; graduate students can enroll in a separate graduate seminar section.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Historical Study A.
History of Science 150. History of Social Science
Catalog Number: 0135
Rebecca M. Lemov
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Examination of the growth and development of social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, psychoanalysis, psychology, political science, and economics from the Enlightenment to the present. Innovators devised these fields to provide new, scientific ways to gain insight into age-old philosophical and religious questions, such as, What is the nature of the "self" or the "soul"? What binds human beings to one another? What is free will? What are the limits of social control, behavioral engineering, and the possible reach of techniques for adjustment and manipulation?
History of Science 151. Modern Pasts and Postmodern Futures - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 22763
Jimena Canales
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 13
This course analyzes the modern age through three complementary perspectives. First, it offers a historical perspective focusing on landmark changes of the period, particularly focusing on science (Pasteur, Darwin, Charcot, Maxwell) and technology (steam engines, rail, telegraphy, photography). Second, it analyzes the work of important writers on modernity and civilization (focusing on Marx, Bergson, Freud). Third: it studies theorists of postmodernity (mainly Lyotard, Jameson, Habermas) who describe the benefits, dangers and/or alternatives to modernity.
[*History of Science 152. Filming Science]
Catalog Number: 8254
Peter L. Galison and Robb Moss
Half course (fall term). M., W., 12–3.
Examination of the theory and practice of capturing scientific practice on film. Topics will include fictional, documentary, informational, and instructional films and raise problems emerging from film theory, visual anthropology and science studies. Each student will make and edit short film(s) about laboratory, field, or theoretical scientific work.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[History of Science 153. History of Dietetics]
Catalog Number: 1409
Steven Shapin
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
A survey of the relationships between medical expertise and human eating habits from Antiquity to the present, giving special attention to the links between practical and moral concerns and between expert knowledge and common sense.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[*History of Science 154. Science and Business in Modern America]
Catalog Number: 7942 Enrollment: Limited to 25.
Steven Shapin
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4.
A survey of the relationships between the practice of science and the world of commerce in the United States since the beginning of the 20th century. Topics covered include the conduct and image of science in academia and industry, ideas about the connections between science and technology, and the development and understanding of entrepreneurial science.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 157. Sociology of Science
Catalog Number: 2434
Steven Shapin
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
An introduction to a series of sociological topics concerning the scientific role, the scientific community, and scientific knowledge that are of special interest to historians. What are the social conditions for the institutionalization of science and for the support of the scientific role? What are the possibilities for a historical sociology of scientific knowledge? What social pressures have historically been exerted on our overall understanding of science and its relations with society?
History of Science 160. Intellectual Property in Science
Catalog Number: 8570
Mario Biagioli
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
We examine different forms of credit for scientific and technological innovation, comparing publication credit in science and use of patents to protect technoscientific work. Readings range from history of technoscience to legal and literary studies.
History of Science 161. The Scientific Revolution
Catalog Number: 2868
Mario Biagioli
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Examines the interrelated transformations in 16th- and 17th-century astronomy, cosmography, mathematics, medicine, and natural history. Places works of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Descartes in the context of the scientific traditions of ancient Greece and medieval Islam as revived by Renaissance humanists. Analyzes recent historiographical criticisms of the Scientific Revolution as "grand narrative" versus the particularism of micro-history. Adopts contemporary divisions of knowledge and differentiates concepts, practices, and rates of change within each scientific field as alternative interpretation.
History of Science 162. Science in the Enlightenment
Catalog Number: 7570
Adelheid Voskuhl
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 13
Explores practices of scientific theory, experimentation and observation in Europe and North America, 1681-1815. Topics include: Chemistry, Electricity, Astronomy, Mathematics, Natural History, Newtonianism, Science and the Public Sphere, Science and the State, Science and Rationality, Science and Utility, and Science and the Industrial Revolution.
[History of Science 163. Imagined Worlds: Utopia in the Age of the Scientific Revolution and Beyond: Conference Course]
Catalog Number: 5095 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Katharine Park
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4.
Explores the relationship between the "new science" of thinkers such as Copernicus, Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes and the new worlds imagined by writers such as More, Shakespeare, Cavendish, and Swift. The course is expected to make use of the online virtual world Second Life.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Prerequisite: History of Science 100, History of Science 161, or another course on the Scientific Revolution.
[*History of Science 171. Narrative and Neurology]
Catalog Number: 3222
Anne Harrington
Half course (spring term). Th., 12–2.
An exploration of the complex relationship between the making of brain science and the human stories/experiences of brain damaged people. Topics include iconic cases of brain damage like Phineas Gage and H.M (and who speaks for them), the emergence and historical function of neurological case histories, the study of brain-damaged soldiers in WWI, the "neurological novels" of Alexandr Luria, the popular writings of Oliver Sacks, the brain-injured patient as author, and internet-based writings celebrating "neurodiversity."
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[History of Science 172. Managing the Mind]
Catalog Number: 1216
Charles E. Rosenberg
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4.
Focuses on efforts to prevent, cure, and manage emotional and behavioral ills. The readings and discussion examine relationships between law and medicine, efforts to prevent mental illness ("mental hygiene"), and efforts at therapeutic management ranging from institutional care to lobotomy.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Prerequisite: HS A-87 ("Madness and Medicine") provides good background for this course, but is not a requirement.
History of Science 174. Critical Experiments in the Human Sciences
Catalog Number: 1750
Rebecca M. Lemov
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
This course focuses on high-impact experiments - among them, the Milgram "Obedience" experiments and the Stanford Prison Experiment - carried out in the twentieth-century human sciences by anthropologists, sociologists, social psychologists, and/or experimental psychologists. Many dreamed of a "technology of human behavior" and conducted experiments toward this end. What were the results, and how do they continue to affect our thinking and daily lives today?
*History of Science 176. Brainwashing and Modern Techniques of Mind Control - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 76277
Rebecca M. Lemov
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
This course examines the phenomenon of "brainwashing" as a modern set of techniques that can apparently force a subject radically to alter her beliefs against her will. The Cold War roots of ’brainwashing’ - both the myth and the reality -- lie in the politics of twentieth-century anti-Communism and the deeper fear that people’s most strongly held thoughts, ideas, and ideological commitments could be vulnerable to powerful infiltration. In order to understand the dynamics of this process we will examine case studies beginning with the Korean War-era emergence of the term ’brainwashing’, the American interdisciplinary science of "coercive persuasion" that arose in response, and successive waves of technological, political, and sociocultural developments. We will also look at how brainwashing and analogous persuasive techniques may operate among larger groups, crowds, organizations, and mass societies.
[History of Science 177. Stories Under the Skin: The Mind-Body Connection in Modern Medicine]
Catalog Number: 4338
Anne Harrington
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11.
An analysis of the making of modern mind-body medicine as a system of interacting (and partly conflicting) narratives. Why do we believe that certain illnesses have roots in childhood traumas? That the stress of modern life can kill? That positive attitude can heal? That the “East” possesses secrets of mind-body balance that the West has lost? Analytic emphasis on the relationship between scientific research, clinical practice, popular culture, and experiences of illness and recovery.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 181. Technology and the Circulation of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 49481
Klaas van Berkel
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
In the early modern period, nature came to be seen as both a subject of passive contemplation and an object of active manipulation. Technology therefore increasingly defined man’s relationship to nature. This course explores this development in early modern Europe, with special attention to the Dutch Republic, technologically speaking the most advanced country in the seventeenth century. Topics discussed will range from the technologies of war and land reclamation to scientific instrumentation.
[History of Science 182. Science, Modernity, and Discontent]
Catalog Number: 4322
Jimena Canales
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 11.
Examines theories of modernity (Marx, Freud, Bergson) vis-à-vis postmodernity (Habermas, Lyotard, Jameson) in the context of modern science and technology. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of the steam engine, telegraphy, rail, photography and cinematography and their impact on art, history, psychology, medicine, and urbanism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 186. Technology in the Social World
Catalog Number: 2147
Adelheid Voskuhl
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Explores technological systems in a variety of social and historical contexts in Europe, North America, and Asia in early modern and modern periods. Topics include warfare, agriculture, communication technologies, labor, transportation, consumerism, urbanization, and colonization. Special emphasis on the interrelations between technological artifacts and other forms of "cultural production" such as government, commerce, philosophy, and art.
History of Science 189. Speech, Print, Television, Blog: The History of Communications Technologies - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 87683
Elizabeth E. Yale
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Communications technologies - from the printed book to the Blackberry - are fundamental features of modern life. This course examines the relationships between communications technologies, culture, and the production of knowledge. Our investigation will be organized around a set of inter-related questions: how do communications technologies shape patterns of thought and culture? How is communication embedded in human relationships and conveyed through technologies? What is the relationship between our own historical moment - the digital communications "revolution" - and the way in which we understand the history of communications technologies? More generally, what is the relationship between any given historical moment and its theories about the history of communications technologies?
*History of Science 206r. The Continuum of Motion, Space and Change in Aristotle and the Aristotelian Tradition: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 2410
John E. Murdoch
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
A study of the later books of Aristotle’s Physics as well as the extension and development of key contentions of these books received in the fourteenth century.
*History of Science 207r. Science, Philosophy and Religion in the Middle Ages and The Renaissance: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 8468
John E. Murdoch
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
The primary texts in these periods expressing reserve, opposition and outright condemnation of Aristotelian natural philosophy, in particular its contentions of the eternity of the world; its future contingency and the doctrine of free will, together with the historiography of these developments.
Note: Reading knowledge of Latin is not required.
[History of Science 212. The Sciences of Life, Medicine and the Body in Medieval Renaissance Europe: Proseminar]
Catalog Number: 0640
Katharine Park
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Graduate colloquium for students preparing for general examinations in the fields covered by the course, as well as other students wishing to develop a comprehensive knowledge of the subject through extensive reading of secondary sources.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 214v. The Old Science in the New World: Nature, Culture, and Empire in the Age of Exploration: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 52977
Nicolas Wey-Gomez
Half course (spring term). W., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
Studies how Spain’s exploration and conquest of the Americas tested European understandings of the natural world; of nature’s bearing on human psycho-physiology and, thereby, on culture; and of the balance between normalcy and deviance in natural and human domains. Topics range from changing theories about the distribution of land and life around the globe to ’natural ’ and ’moral’ histories implicated in a debate over Spain’s rights to the Americas and its peoples. Readings: Aristotle, Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, Columbus, Vespucci, Oviedo, Las Casas, and Acosta.
History of Science 215r. Science and Culture in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Seminar
Catalog Number: 4568
Katharine Park and Susan Dackerman
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Topic for 2009-10: Prints and the Production of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe. Explores the overlapping knowledge projects of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century artists, artisans, and scientists and the role of printed images in those projects. An important focus of the seminar will be planning a special exhibition to be mounted in the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.
Prerequisite: Some familiarity with the history of early modern European art or science and reading knowledge of at least one European language in addition to English.
[*History of Science 222r. Research in the History and Philosophy of Physical Sciences: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 4178
Peter L. Galison
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Students advance their chosen research with the aim of producing a publishable paper. Open to students working in 19th- to 21st-century sciences and technologies, or boundary work within science, art, and architecture.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
*History of Science 233. Computers and Organisms: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 51473
Hallam Stevens
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6.
Humans have long been fascinated by the connections between living things and mechanical automata. From nineteenth century human ’computers,’ to Norbert Wiener’s conception of a cybernetic organism as a feedback machine, to more recent research on artificial intelligence and artificial life, this class traces the history of the analogy between biology and machines. Understanding how and why computers and organisms have become so intimately connected sheds light on how technology has displaced and re-figured conceptions of ’aliveness’ and human subjectivity.
Note: Open to advanced undergraduates.
[History of Science 238. Rethinking the Darwinian Revolution: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 9533
Janet Browne
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Taking Charles Darwin as a well-documented case study, we will explore the historiography of evolutionary ideas from 1900 on, covering the political , social, and scientific commitments involved in the concept of a "Darwinian Revolution."
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[History of Science 240. The Body in Health and Disease: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 6821
Charles E. Rosenberg
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6.
“Sickness” and “health,” notions of inappropriate and appropriate behavior, are determined by conceptions of the body and its proper management. Discussion will focus first upon secondary studies and subsequently upon students’ research.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 241. Representing Patients, Doctors, Illness: The Social History of Medicine explored through Literature
Catalog Number: 5778
Janet Browne
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
This intensive reading course addresses the social history of medicine as expressed in literature (fiction, drama, and memoirs) mostly from the 19th century to the present day, with some attention paid to Shakespeare. Key themes are illness as metaphor, relationships between patients and doctors, representations of mind and body, and medical imagery.
[History of Science 242. Caring and Curing: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 6304
Charles E. Rosenberg
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4.
The body and its management in health and disease. Discussions of representative texts, underlining historiographical and substantive issues in the history of medicine, followed by student progress reports and drafts.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[History of Science 243. The Making of Modern Medicine: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 5572
Charles E. Rosenberg
Half course (spring term). W., 4–6.
Focus on key works in the history of medicine, illustrating historiographical trends in the past half-century as well as the substantive aspects of the field that have attracted the historical concern.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[*History of Science 244. Research in the History of Medical Ethics: Seminar ]
Catalog Number: 6301
Allan M. Brandt
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Course provides a framework for the historical examination of debates concerning medical ethics, and seeks to identify social, cultural, political, and economic forces that have shaped value conflicts in clinical medicine and health policy. Students are expected to write a research paper utilizing primary and archival source materials.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 245v (formerly History of Science 247v). Contagion and Colonialism: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 59178
Alison Bashford
Half course (spring term). M., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
From tropical medicine to international health, infectious disease management and history of colonialism have been closely linked. Focusing on US and Australian history in particular, this course will examine the history of "medicine at the border" in the modern era of imperialism and globalization: the science, politics, and public health benefits and costs of quarantine and health screening; the connections between health interventions and territorial expansion; between disease, citizenship, and governance. Management of particular diseases will form a focus: smallpox, yellow fever, cholera, tuberculosis. We will work closely through the large historiography on national, colonial, and racial dimensions of tropical medicine and international health.
History of Science 247. Current Issues in the History of Medicine: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 28251
Allan M. Brandt
Half course (fall term). M., 4–6.
Explores new methods for understanding disease, medicine, and society, ranging from historical demography to cultural studies. Topics include patterns of health and disease, changes in medical science and clinical practice, the doctor-patient relationship, health care systems, alternative healing, and representations of the human body. The course will focus on historical problem-framing, research strategies, and writing.
History of Science 249. Historical and Anthropological Perspectives: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 43358
Charles E. Rosenberg and Arthur Kleinman (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6.
In every time and place women and men have become ill and sought care. This course is organized around ethnographic and historical studies of caregiving, providing a framework for thinking comparatively about the illness experience in a variety of cultural and historical contexts. We will be examining the spectrum of care from local and family through highly bureaucratic and specialized settings. We will examine chronic as well as acute illness and disability and interrogate rationales for – caregiving including the moral and emotional as well as the operational and instrumental.
History of Science 251. Whither History of Science? - Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 74285
Jimena Canales
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
From the history of ideas to history scientific practices. From focusing on books to studying labs. From thinking about theories to revaluating objects. How we think about science and why.
*History of Science 253. Bioethics, Law, and the Life Sciences
Catalog Number: 4500
Sheila S. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Seeks to identify and explore salient ethical, legal, and policy issues – and possible solutions – associated with developments in biotechnology and the life sciences.
Note: Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as IGA-325. May not be taken for credit by students who have already taken IGA-325 (KSG).
[History of Science 255. Sociology of Scientific Knowledge: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8911
Steven Shapin
Half course (fall term). F., 12–2.
Surveys themes and achievements in the sociological study of scientific knowledge and practice, focusing on the historical and cultural contexts in which this work developed and its usefulness in writing the history of science.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
History of Science 256. Culture, Personality, and Self
Catalog Number: 5086
Rebecca M. Lemov
Half course (fall term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
Examines the history of the culture and personality movement, considered narrowly and broadly, as well as technologies and techniques developed in the social and human sciences for measuring the self and its socialization processes.
History of Science 257. Post-Human Science Studies
Catalog Number: 9269
Mario Biagioli
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
We discuss recent science studies questioning dichotomies between society and nature, human and non-human agency, and between the human and the animal. Readings include Latour, Rheinberger, Rabinow, Haraway, Rotman, Murphy, and Pickering.
[History of Science 258. The Normal and the Abnormal]
Catalog Number: 0817
Charles E. Rosenberg and Arthur Kleinman (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). M., 4–6.
We examine case studies and theoretical readings from history, cultural anthropology, and social theory, to compare notions of the normal and abnormal. We ask how do norms bridge the moral, the political, and the body.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Open to undergraduates with the permission of the instructor. May not be taken concurrently with Anthropology 2655.
*History of Science 259. The History of the History of Science - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 68494
Steven Shapin
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4.
A critical survey of conceptions of the history of science over the past hundred years or so and an interpretative engagement with why what’s been said about science and its history have mattered so much.
[History of Science 273. Freud and the American Academy]
Catalog Number: 5828 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Anne Harrington
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Freud himself and Freud as used, adapted, and denounced in the academy. Freud himself on hysteria, dreams, the unconscious, sex, religion, and aggression. Appropriations and polemics within psychiatry, philosophy, literary criticism, psychohistory, feminism, and brain science.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Intended to function as a graduate seminar, but advanced undergraduates with appropriate background in psychology or history of science (e.g., HS 175) will be considered.
History of Science 281. Flat Science: Picturing Knowledge through Print, Photography, and Cinematography
Catalog Number: 2387
Mario Biagioli
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Examines imaging techniques from the Scientific Revolution to the twentieth century in astronomy, physiology, and criminology; interactions between art history (Benjamin, Krauss), philosophy (Bergson, Foucault, Deleuze), and science studies; the epistemological status of pictures.
[History of Science 284. Technology and the Text: Machines and Discourse in Historical and Literary Inquiry]
Catalog Number: 6779
Adelheid Voskuhl
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Investigates historically and theoretically the relationship between textuality and technology in recent works as well as in "classics" of the history of technology, cultural theory and literary criticism. Readings include studies in media history, media theory, and theories of materiality and textuality; case studies in history of technology and literary history; and literary and cultural analyses of the mechanical reproduction of poetry and of works of art from 19th- and 20th-c. German and French Social and Cultural Theory.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
*History of Science 285a. Science, Power and Politics I
Catalog Number: 5124
Sheila S. Jasanoff
Half course (fall term). W., 2:10–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
This is the fall term of a year-long seminar that introduces students to the major contributions of the field of science and technology studies (S&TS) to the understanding of politics and policymaking in democratic societies.
Note: Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as IGA-313. May not be taken for credit by students who have already taken IGA-313 (KSG). Either 285a or 285b may be taken as a separate course, but only with permission of the instructor.
*History of Science 285b. Science, Power, and Politics II
Catalog Number: 5291
Sheila S. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2:10-4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Introduction to major methodological approaches in the field of science and technology studies (S&TS), particularly focusing on the analysis of science politics and policymaking in democratic societies.
Note: Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as STP-292. May not be taken for credit by students who have already taken STP-292 (KSG). Either 285a or 285b may be taken as a separate course, but only with permission of the instructor.
History of Science 286. History of Technology: Reformation to the Present
Catalog Number: 0767
Adelheid Voskuhl
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Survey of history of technology during early modern and modern periods in Europe, North America, and Asia. Readings include social and cultural histories of technology, classics in the theory of technological modernity, and primary sources.
[History of Science 287. Heidegger and Technology: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 2819
Peter L. Galison and Peter E. Gordon
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4.
An advanced seminar focusing on Heidegger’s assessment of modern technology and the relation of scientific and/or technological practices to human experience, history, and philosophy.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with History 2471.
History of Science 288. History and Philosophy of Technology: Proseminar
Catalog Number: 6645
Adelheid Voskuhl
Half course (spring term). Th., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 18
Graduate-level seminar on classic and recent influential works in the history and philosophy of technology, covering the early modern, modern, and late modern periods; industrial-technological, information-technological, and bio-technological systems; as well as philosophical accounts from the analytical and the continental traditions. Literature covers authors such as Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger, Jurgen Habermas, Thomas Hughes, Donna Haraway, Donald MacKenzie, David Landes, Hayden White, Emily Thompson, and Ken Alder.
[History of Science 293. Experts, Politics and Public Policy]
Catalog Number: 4043
Sheila S. Jasanoff
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course takes a critical look at the assumptions underlying the use of expertise in policymaking and asks how our growing reliance on experts affects the quality, effectiveness, and accountability of public policy and governance. Case studies and theoretical readings are used to explore the basis for claims of expertise, the reasons for expert controversies, the relations between lay-people and experts, and the measures used to hold experts accountable in diverse decisionmaking frameworks.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Jointly offered with PAL-145 at the Kennedy School of Government.
[*History of Science 294. Tools, Instruments, and Extended Cognition]
Catalog Number: 3303
Peter L. Galison and Peter Godfrey-Smith
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6.
Examination of the relation between external tools and cognition. Can the boundaries of a thinking agent extend beyond the skin? Perspectives from philosophy of mind and history of science, including Clark, Wilson, Galison and others.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[*History of Science 295r. Scientific and Legal Doubt: Inter-School, Faculty-Student Workshop]
Catalog Number: 8360 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Peter L. Galison and Martha L. Minow (Law School)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Is climate change due to human intervention? What are the effects of tobacco, asbestos, and low-level radiation? Is Darwinism "just a theory"? We will produce a student-faculty-guest expert "commission report" on doubt in science and law.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Open to graduate students, undergraduates, law students, and others by permission of the instructors.
History of Science 297r. Topics in the History of Medieval Latin Science
Catalog Number: 5050
John E. Murdoch
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Topic to be announced.
Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of Latin.
*History of Science 298r. The Establishment of Medieval Latin Scientific and Philosophical Texts: Seminar
Catalog Number: 4893
John E. Murdoch
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Latin, but no previous experience with paleography required.
*History of Science 301. Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 5641
Mario Biagioli 1756, Allan M. Brandt 3031, Janet Browne 5511 (on leave spring term), Jimena Canales 5070, Peter L. Galison 3239 (on leave 2009-10), Owen Gingerich 1159, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Jeremy Alan Greene 6155, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Anne Harrington 1895, Steven James Harris 4081, Erwin N. Hiebert 1187, Gerald Holton 1883, Sarah Jansen 4107, Sheila S. Jasanoff 2248, Arthur Kleinman (Medical School) 7473, Shigehisa Kuriyama 5269, Andrew Lakoff (University of California, San Diego) 6152, Rebecca M. Lemov 5570, Everett I. Mendelsohn 2700, Martha L. Minow (Law School) 2617, John E. Murdoch 1877, Katharine Park 2974 (on leave 2009-10), Antoine Picon (Design School) 4295, Charles E. Rosenberg 3784 (on leave fall term), Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz 3651, A. I. Sabra 2702, Steven Shapin 3984, and Adelheid Voskuhl 5569
Half course (fall term). .
Individual work in preparation for the General Examination for the PhD degree.
*History of Science 302. Guided Research
Catalog Number: 5282
Mario Biagioli 1756, Allan M. Brandt 3031, Janet Browne 5511 (on leave spring term), Jimena Canales 5070, Peter L. Galison 3239 (on leave 2009-10), Owen Gingerich 1159, Peter Godfrey-Smith 3338, Jeremy Alan Greene 6155, Evelynn M. Hammonds 4545, Anne Harrington 1895, Erwin N. Hiebert 1187, Gerald Holton 1883, Sarah Jansen 4107, Sheila S. Jasanoff 2248, Arthur Kleinman (Medical School) 7473, Shigehisa Kuriyama 5269, Rebecca M. Lemov 5570, Everett I. Mendelsohn 2700, Martha L. Minow (Law School) 2617, Robb Moss 1392, John E. Murdoch 1877, Katharine Park 2974 (on leave 2009-10), Antoine Picon (Design School) 4295, Charles E. Rosenberg 3784 (on leave fall term), Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz 3651, A. I. Sabra 2702, Steven Shapin 3984, and Adelheid Voskuhl 5569
Through regular meetings with faculty advisor, each student will focus on research and writing with the purpose of developing a publishable research paper.
*History of Science 310. History of Science Salon Evening
Catalog Number: 1047
Katharine Park 2974 (on leave 2009-10)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
What is history of science all about as a discipline and profession? This half-course meets evenings throughout the academic year to introduce first-year graduate students in the history of science to the range of debates, questions and research practices currently shaping the field.
Note: The course is required for first year students in the PhD program and students in the AM program in the History of Science. Offered in 2009-10 in lieu of HS 201 and, for the purpose of degree requirements for AM students and students entering the PhD program in 2009-10, fulfills the HS 201 requirement.