Revolutionary Ideas in Chemistry ((3))

Catalog description

This course is a survey of chemical history from the early Renaissance period to the present including some philosophical analysis of those historical developments. Our main focus will be on understanding how past chemists thought about and understood the world around them and how they used this understanding to develop new (although not necessarily correct) theories and practical methods. Attention will also be paid to the practical applications of chemistry and the broader social, economic and cultural contexts in which chemistry developed, as well as its relation to other fields such as physics, biology and medicine.