Science, Culture, and Politics

Catalog description

What is science? Who has the authority to determine what qualifies as science? Is all scientific knowledge inherently political? This class will focus on the human dimensions of science. We will examine a number of topics, including Social Darwinism and contemporary global climate change discourse. Drawing from recent scholarship in the history of science, the class will explore debates about the meaning and origins of scientific modernity. Did 'modern science' originate in the 'West' before diffusing elsewhere? We will also focus on questions of identity and representation in the making of scientific cultures. 001768