2008-2009
112 Images and Understanding
Topic: The Century of the Gene. We are not solely or only our genes, but we are not without them either. How do we understand talk of genes? This course is an historical, philosophical and sociological examination of the power, promises and perils of genetic research during the past 100 or so years. We will explore the changing relation of the gene concept, genetic theories and genetic experimental practices to other biological disciplines such as evolutionary theory, cytology, development and other biological practices such as genetic engineering. We will also examine the influence of genetic theories and perspectives in the larger culture. {H/N} 4 credits
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
Jeffry Ramsey (Smith College)
207/ENG 207 The Technology of Reading and Writing
An introductory exploration of the physical forms that knowledge and communication have taken in the West, from ancient oral cultures to modern print-literate culture. Our main interest will be discovering how what is said and thought in a culture reflects its available kinds of literacy and media of communication. Topics to include poetry and memory in oral cultures; the invention of writing; the invention of prose; literatauare and science in a script culture; the coming of printing; changing concepts of publication, authorship, and originality; the movements toward standardization in language; political implications of different kinds of levels of literacy.
[3e] {L} 4 credits
MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m.Douglas Patey (Smith College)
285/CLT 285 Mnemosyne: Goddess or Demon
For the ancient Greeks, Menmosyne (the Greek work for memory) was a goddess who gave them control over time and truth. More recently, the Western tradition has described memory rather as a source of uncertainty and chaos. However, whether in fear or in awe, the West has always described memory as central to the human experience. This course will explore literary and scientific descriptions of memory in several periods from antiquity to the present. Texts by Hediod, Pindar, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Petrarch, Marguerite de Navarre, Freud, Proust, Borges, and Kis, among others.
{L} 4 credits
TTH 1:10-2:30 p.m.
Nicolas Russell (Smith College)
*****************************************
Five College History of Science Courses
(2007-2008)
Amherst:
History 66, Disease and Doctors: An Introduction to the History of Western
Medicine
Fall 2007, John Servos
History 68, Science and Society in Modern America
Spring 2008, John Servos
Mt. Holyoke
Chemistry 250, History of Chemistry
Spring 2008, Donald Cotter
UMASS
History 180, The History of Science and Technology in the Western World, Part I: From the Greeks to Copernicus
Fall 2007, Larry Owens