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Course Details

Fall 2014-2015
* HIS 391 (HA)   Graded A-F, P/D/F, Audit

History of Contemporary Science

Michael D. Gordin

More science has been done since 1970 than in the history of the world before that date--- combined. This course traces a series of developments in contemporary science across a broad array of disciplines, with the goal of illuminating the historical processes that have brought them about and providing students with a set of tools to understand the particular position of the sciences in today's world. Topics covered include AIDS, nuclear power, string theory, evolutionary psychology, brain drain, and genomics.

Sample reading list:
Bill Devall and George Sessions, Deep Ecology
Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
Michael Nielsen, Reinventing Discovery
Paul Rabinow, Making PCR: A Story of Biotechnology
Lee Smolin, The Trouble With Physics
Richard Wrangham, Demonic Males

Reading/Writing assignments:
150--200 pages of reading a week. There are six writing assignments associated with the precepts (500 words apiece, worth 20% of the final grade), of which students must turn in five. A "book analysis" will be due in week 7 of the course, comprising 10 double-spaced pages.

Requirements/Grading:
Paper in Lieu of Mid Term - 20%
Take Home Final Exam - 40%
Class/Precept Participation - 20%
Other (See Instructor) - 20%

Prerequisites and Restrictions:
None.

Schedule/Classroom assignment:

Class numberSectionTimeDaysRoomEnrollmentStatus
23447 L01 10:00 am - 10:50 am M W   McCormick Hall   101   Enrolled:56 Limit:80
23562 P01 1:30 pm - 2:20 pm W   McCosh Hall   B22   Enrolled:12 Limit:13
23563 P02 2:30 pm - 3:20 pm W   McCosh Hall   26   Enrolled:7 Limit:9
23564 P03 3:30 pm - 4:20 pm W   McCosh Hall   26   Enrolled:7 Limit:9
23565 P04 1:30 pm - 2:20 pm Th   Scheide Caldwell House   203   Enrolled:13 Limit:13 Closed
23566 P05 2:30 pm - 3:20 pm Th   Scheide Caldwell House   203   Enrolled:9 Limit:13
23567 P06 3:30 pm - 4:20 pm Th   Scheide Caldwell House   203   Enrolled:6 Limit:13
24659 P07 7:30 pm - 8:20 pm Th        Enrolled:2 Limit:3
23448 P99 TBA        Enrolled:0 Limit:0 Canceled