Course Descriptions and Information

3 credit hours  

Students explore the complex relationships between science, technology, and human societies in the Western world and are provided instruction in academic reading, research, and writing. Topics covered include the development and expansion of scientific inquiry and methodology, technological innovations, major developments and the cultural significance of science and technology.

3 credit hours  

Students examine the history of medicine, with an emphasis on Europe and North America. Topics considered include changing ideas of disease causation and treatment, the impact of pandemic, epidemic, and endemic disease, the role of practitioners and institutions, and concepts of public, international, and global health.

3 credit hours

Students examine the rise of modern science beginning in the sixteenth century. Topics covered include the shift to Newtonian physics, the development of the 'scientific method,' and the relationship between science and society. 

3 credit hours  

Students explore the complexities surrounding the problematic construction of the idea of 'race' from the Enlightenment to the twentieth century. Topics covered include the changing motives behind the classification of humans and the (mis)use of science as an instrument of racism.