Revolutions in Science: Plato to NATO
An introduction to the formative steps in the scientific tradition as well as philosophical investigations of the nature of science.
Learn more about this courseFall 2025
The Science of Sex and Race: Theories of Biological Differentiation, 1775 to the Present
A survey of the history of diversity in the U.S. from the point of view of the history of science, asking how biologists explained and debated the origins of racial or sexual differences and how the debates reflected the interplay between science and culture.
Learn more about this courseScience and Culture
An introduction to the study of science as a human activity that both contributes to cultural change and responds to it. A thematic, rather than a chronological survey, the course presents and compares recent and historical issues and events, and brings out some of the complex relations between science (also medicine and technology) and the arts, literature, commerce, religion, philosophy, sports, food, and changing conceptions of gender, race, health, the human body, the human mind, and the order of nature.
Learn more about this courseIssues in Biological and Medical Ethics
The course will discuss ethical and philosophical issues that arise in biomedicine especially now with the rise of AI technologies. After introducing AI to the students, we will learn about its integration in the medical profession, and about the challenges and benefits it may give rise to.
Learn more about this courseThe Scientific Worldview in Antiquity.
From the cryptic fragments of the Presocratics to Aristotle's encyclopedic vision and Ptolemy's intricate celestial machinery, this course dives into the minds that first dared to explain the universe free from the gods. Along the way, students will encounter eccentric theories, curious characters, and the originsof ideas that still shape science today.
Learn more about this courseScience and Democracy
Can a human scientist be truly objective? If not, why do we trust science? This course examines these questions, using both philosophical texts and historical cases to consider the complex role of science in society.
Learn more about this courseCritical Medical Humanities
Critical medical humanities offer an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach to research the psychological and social effects of illness and treatments. The recent prominence of medical humanities in the academia aims at cultivating “medical citizens” in shaping the future medical culture as a democracy, where deep understanding of the less technical or measurable facets of medicine support fairness, individual and social justice, and a clinical rather than a business or sheer scientific framework.
Learn more about this courseScientific Reasoning
Science is the most successful way humans have found to produce knowledge of the world. But the success of science lies in the fact that it is not just a collection of facts and theories -- science's success comes from critical attitudes and methodologies.
This course covers topics essential for understanding scientific reasoning. By the end of the course, students will understand the concepts of logical validity and soundness, laws of nature and scientific models, causation, principles of statistical reasoning, experimental design, and pseudoscience. Other topics may include ethics in science, decision theory, and scientific realism.
Learn more about this courseIntroduction to Medical History
This class covers the history of Western medicine from Hippocrates in Ancient Greece to the present. As we are seeing in our own time, medical history shaped human history, often in dramatic ways. We will study changing concepts of disease; past epidemics, including the Black Death, which killed about a third of Europe’s population; efforts to understand human anatomy and physiology; the history of vaccination and the germ theory of disease; the role of medical images in anatomy and pathology. There are no pre-requisites to take this class.
Learn more about this courseScience and Values
This course explores epistemic, pragmatic, and social values and their roles in scientific practice and theory. Topics will range across historical and philosophical assessments of scientific explanation to the explicit and implicit roles values play in actual scientific research.
Learn more about this courseHPSC-X 340: Scientific Methods: How Science Really Works
Scientific knowledge is often taken to be reliable because it arises from using “the scientific method”. But it is by no means easy to explain what “the scientific method” is and what the distinct rules and procedures are that make inquiry scientific.
Learn more about this courseBoom! Who's Afraid of Nuclear Power and Radiation
Who isn’t afraid of atomic weapons, nuclear plants, radioactive materials or X-rays? But, why? The course offers an introductory look at the uses and fears of atomic radiation and nuclear power. We will examine the multi-disciplinary history of uses and fears of nuclear power and radiation.
Learn more about this courseHistory of Science Since 1750
This course provides an advanced introduction to and survey of the history of Western science since 1750. Emphasizing recent secondary literature on canonical episodes, the course will consider the physical, biological, and earth sciences, science in international comparison and in social, political, intellectual, and institutional context, as well as the history of technology and medicine. There are no prerequisites, but some knowledge of modern science or modern European or American history will be helpful.
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The College of Arts