printer friendly pageHISTORY 341G: Science and Religion in Western History since 1500 (HISTORY 241G)
Contemporary arguments concerning the relationship between science and religion often emphasize their differences, either as incompatible modes of thought in conflict, or as equally valid but "non-overlapping magisterial," which is to say inherently separate domains of inquiry. Such stark distinctions are a relatively recent development. The story of the relationship between science and spiritual belief is one of historically intimate connections and mutual influences. In this class we will examine forms of engagement of scientific and religious ideas in the West from 1500 to the present day.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
Instructors:
Daly, J. (PI)
HISTORY 342: Darwin in the History of Life
Origins and impact of evolutionary theory from the nineteenth century to the present. Early theories of fossils, the discovery of deep time and uniformitarian geology, debates over evolution vs. extinction, the origin of life, and human origins; the rise of anthropology and racial theory; the changing challenge of creationism, the abuse of evolution in eugenics and Nazi racial hygiene; and new discoveries in the realm of extreme life, evo-devo, neocatastrophism, and the new technological frontier of biomimicry. Attendance at the lectures of
HISTORY 142 is required.
Last offered: Spring 2013
HISTORY 342F: Medicine in an Age of Empires (HISTORY 242F)
This course connects changing ways of understanding the body and disease in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the business of empire. How did new ideas and methods of selling medicine relate to the rise of state-sponsored violence, resource extraction, global trade, and enslaved labor? Following black ritual practitioners in the Caribbean, apothecaries in England, and scientists abroad reveals the diversity of medical traditions and knowledge production in the early modern period that formed the basis of modern medicine today.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
Instructors:
Dorner, Z. (PI)
HISTORY 343C: People, Plants, and Medicine: Colonial Science and Medicine (HISTORY 243C)
Explores the global exchange of knowledge, technologies, plants, peoples, disease, and medicines. Considers primarily Africans, Amerindians, and Europeans in the eighteenth-century West but also takes examples from other knowledge traditions. Readings treat science and medicine in relation to voyaging, colonialism, slavery, racism, plants, and environmental exchange. Colonial sciences and medicines were important militarily and strategically for positioning emerging nation states in global struggles for land and resources.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
Instructors:
Schiebinger, L. (PI)
HISTORY 344: Narrative Knowing (PHIL 344)
Philosophers and historians have been debating the status of narrative explanation for well over 50 years. Until quite recently, a supposed dichotomy between natural science and history has shaped the discussion. Beginning from the origins, history, and limitations of the dichotomy, this seminar will explore how claims for narrative understanding and explanation have come to occupy an increasingly important role in the natural sciences as well as the social sciences. Some classic contributors are Hempel, Danto, Mink, Kuhn, White, Ricouer, Geertz, and Ginzburg. Current authors include Roth, Rheinberger, Kitcher, Beatty, Morgan, and (yes) Wise.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
HISTORY 344F: Beyond Pink and Blue: Gender in Tech (FEMGEN 344F, HISTORY 244F)
This d-school seminar prototypes concepts and methods for "inclusive" design. From the moment we arrive on the planet, gender shapes our perception of the world. Examples of products (including objects, services, and systems) gone awry will serve as prompts for design activities, challenges, and discussions on gender issues to illustrate the different needs of women, men, and gender-fluid people. Class sessions mix use case explorations with design methodology, design thinking abilities, and guest speakers from technology, design, and academia. Students will be asked to work in interdisciplinary teams on several design challenges, culminating in the development of a toolkit for inclusive design. Methods will interact in crucial ways to create "intersectional thinking" (i.e., to consider how gender, ethnicity, sexuality, socio-economic status, etc. work together to require new solutions in design). Topics include: algorithms, media, seat belts for pregnant women, robotics, assistive technologies, tech for developing worlds, video games, urban/rural design, software development, and many more.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
HISTORY 345A: Africa in the Era of the Slave Trade
The slave trade, including the trans-Saharan, Indian Ocean, and trans-Atlantic trades, constituted nearly a millennium of interaction with the wider world and set in motion transformations in African societies, polities, and cultures. Topics include the debates about slavery in Africa, the impact of the slave trade on African societies, state formation, economic change, religious change, and household change in the period before the scramble for Africa in the late 19th century.
Last offered: Winter 2016
HISTORY 345B: African Encounters with Colonialism
This colloquium is a broad sweep of some of the main themes in the history of the colonial period for Africa. A course of this nature can not help but be a selective sample of the field. For example, topics on the end of slavery in Africa, on the social history of law in colonial Africa, Islam and religious conversion, nationalism and decolonization are not included here because they are covered by more specialized courses. This course is designed to let students sample different approaches to the history of the colonial period.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
Instructors:
Roberts, R. (PI)
HISTORY 346: The Dynamics of Change in Africa (AFRICAST 301A, HISTORY 246, POLISCI 246P, POLISCI 346P)
Crossdisciplinary colloquium; required for the M.A. degree in African Studies. Open to advanced undergraduates and PhD students. Addresses critical issues including patterns of economic collapse and recovery; political change and democratization; and political violence, civil war, and genocide. Focus on cross-cutting issues including the impact of colonialism; the role of religion, ethnicity, and inequality; and Africa's engagement with globalization.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
Instructors:
Roberts, R. (PI)
HISTORY 347J: History and Memory in Africa (HISTORY 247J)
Scholars, like the English social historian H. Trevor-Roper and the philosopher-historian Georg Hegel, once denied that Africa even had a history worth telling. We know better. Rich accounts of African pasts have been constructed by historians who pioneered linguistics, oral tradition and folklore research, documentary analysis, archaeology, and other methods. At the same time, Africans' own accounts of the past are often passed down through memories and commemorations that are shared, disputed, and memorialized within their communities. In many cases, historians and African communities manage to work together to construct shared understandings of the past, but sometimes their interpretations conflict with each other. In this course, we will look at the ways that history and memory overlap in Africa, beginning with the Atlantic slave trade and focusing on two particular events -- the Ethiopian victory over Italy at the Battle of Adwa and the abortive 19th century West African attempt to construct an independent state known as the Fante Confederation. We will work with all kinds of primary sources from the past as well as music videos, architecture, documentaries, official celebrations, museum exhibitions, and performances to construct arguments that take into account methodology, ethics, and philosophy within and beyond the discipline of history.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
Instructors:
Getz, T. (PI)
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