From Frankenstein to Einstein: Literature and Science from 1800 to 1950

Catalog description

Science and literature as interrelated ways of knowing and learning, focusing on questions of language, observation, interpretation, and value. Themes include utopias and dystopias, evolution and degeneration, man and machine, entropy and chaos, and the relationship between literary imagination and scientific creativity. Readings include poems, plays, novels, and essays (Shelley, Arnold, Doyle, Poe, Wells, Kafka, Stoppard) alongside a range of scientific writing (Darwin, Huxley, Freud, Gould, James Watson) and philosophy of science (Popper, Feyerabend, Kuhn). Enrollment limited to 20 juniors and seniors. Banner registrations after classes begin require instructor approval.