Revolutions in Science and Technology HSS 201 Fall 2009, KAIST Wednesday & Friday, 11:00 am -12:15 pm N4 Building 1124

Transcription

1 Revolutions in Science and Technology HSS 201 Fall 2009, KAIST Wednesday & Friday, 11:00 am -12:15 pm N4 Building 1124 INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Buhm Soon Park ( 박범순 ) parkb@kaist.edu Phone: Office: N4, 1423 Office hour: Before or after the class or by appointment Course website: TA: Youngkyu Kim ( 김영규 : , engkyu@kaist.ac.kr) COURSE DESCRIPTION A text book in science and technology chronicles great discoveries and inventions, but not all of them are seen as revolutionary. When and how do revolutions in science and technology occur? What are the consequences of the revolutionary events? How are they related to major social and political upheavals, such as the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, and World War I and II? This course explores the revolutions in modern science and technology and their impact upon the social structure and the industrial development by examining a variety of cases, including the Scientific Revolution, the Chemical Revolution, the Darwinian revolution, the Quantum revolution, the Computer revolution, and the revolution in biology. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING Class attendance: 10 % Participation in discussion (including voluntary presentation): 10 % 7 weekly worksheets: 30 % Team project: presentation (10 min) 15 %, and term paper (5 pages) 15 % Final exam: 20 % THE ASSIGNMENTS Participation in discussion: You are required to complete the reading assignment before the start of the class. To facilitate the student s participation, I will raise a general question about the reading or frequently ask the students to give their thought on it. You will be given an opportunity to give presentations on selected subjects. In short, you should be prepared for discussion in class. 8 worksheets (1-2 pages, single-spaced): To help you not to be drowned in the sea of facts, I will pose 3-5 questions to think about. You are required to write a paragraph-length answer to each question. Note: (1) The worksheet should be submitted in class on a due date (the late worksheet will get a penalty); (2) Do not plagiarize or make an exact copy of expression from texts or internet sources. Team project: This is intended to improve your presentation and writing skills. Each team of two members is required to choose and conduct research on one Nobel Prize in the past 20 years that is likely 1

2 to revolutionize scientific or technological fields in the future. You should investigate the intellectual and social context in which the Nobel laureates made path-breaking discoveries and think about the meaning of scientific revolution in society. Note: (1) Presentation: 10 min. presentation and 2 min Q &A; (2) Term paper: 5 pages, double spaced, TimesRoman12 font, reasonable margin, MS Word format, fully edited for spelling and grammar Final examination: It covers the whole semester. Weekly worksheets will be useful for your preparation. REQUIRED READINGS Text Peter J. Bowler and Iwan Phys Morus, Making Modern Science: A Historical Survey (University of Chicago Press, 2005) James McClellan III and Harold Dorn, Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999) Michel Morange, A History of Molecular Biology (Harvard University Press, 1998) Thomas J. Misa, Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the Renaissance to the Present (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004) Bruce Mazlish, The Fourth Discontinuity: The Co-evolution of Humans and Machines (Yale University Press, 1993) Text materials assigned for reading will be available to purchase at the copy room in the library Additional readings may be handed out in class or uploaded on the course website. REFERENCE WEBSITES Copernicus MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St. Andrews De Revolutions Galileo The Galileo Project at Rice University Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems Dialogue Concerning Two New Sciences Newton Newton Project Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy Opticks, or A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light Priestley The Priestley Society Lists of Priestley s works available online 2

3 Lavoisier Chemical Heritage Foundation Essays Physical and Chemical Elements of Chemistry Faraday The Royal Institute of Great Britain Experimental research in electricity On the various forces of matter, and their relations to each other James Clerk Maxwell Darwin The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online (including Darwin s work) Natural History Museum: Einstein Nobelprize.org Albert Einstein Online American Museum of Natural History: Bohr Nobelprize.org On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules Pauling Pauling Papers: Profiles in Science: Pauling Papers Watson & Crick Profiles in Science: The Francis Crick Papers The New York Times 50th anniversary series of articles 3

4 COURSE SCHEDULE Week 1: Introduction 2/3: Course preview: Science and technology in the modern world 2/5: Film: Light Fantastic Week 2: The Scientific Revolution 2/10: New foundations of knowledge (Worksheet #1 due) Reading: Bowler and Morus, Chapter 2: The Scientific Revolution Websites: Copernicus, Galileo 2/12: The culture of Newtonianism Reading: Voltaire, Letters on England, Letters 14 and 15 Website: Newton Week 3: The Chemical Revolution 2/17: Alchemy and chemistry (Worksheet #2 due) Reading: Bowler and Morus, Chapter 3: The Chemical Revolution Website: Priestly and Lavoisier 2/19: Elements and atoms Film: Part on Lavoisier Week 4: The Industrial Revolution 2/24: Industrialization and social change (Worksheet #3 due) Reading: McClellan III and Harold Dorn, Chapter 13: The Industrial Revolution 2/26: Film on the Industrial Revolution Week 5: Science of Energy 3/3: The conservation of energy (Worksheet #4 due) Reading: Bowler and Morus, Chapter 4: The Conservation of Energy Film: Part on Faraday Website: Faraday 3/5: Maxwell and Helmholtz Film: Part on Maxwell Website: Maxwell Week 6: The Darwinian Revolution (Worksheet #5 due) 3/10: The idea of evolution Reading: Bowler and Morus, Chapter 6: The Darwinian Revolution, pp Website: Darwin 3/12: Film on Darwin Week 7: After Darwin 3/17: The reception of Darwinism Reading: Bowler and Morus, Chapter 6: The Darwinian Revolution, pp /19: Social Darwinism and eugenics Week 8: Midterm Exam Period No Class Week 9: The Business of Science (Worksheet #6 due) 4

5 3/31: The chemical industry and the electrical industry Reading: Misa, Chapter 5: Science and Systems 4/2: Battle of the systems Film: Edison s Miracle of Light Week 10: The Boundary of Science 4/7: The nature of humans Reading: Mazlish, Chapter 6: Freud and Pavlov 4/9: Science, Engineering, and Politics: The Soviet case Special lecture by TA Week 11: The Quantum Revolution (Worksheet #7 due) 4/14: The giants of modern physics: Einstein, Bohr, and Heisenberg Reading: Bowler and Morus, Chapter 11: Twentieth-Century Physics Webiste: Bohr, Einstein 4/16: The new foundation of chemistry Webiste: Linus Pauling Week 12: The Revolution in Biology (Worksheet #8 due) 4/21: The double helix Reading: Morange, Chapter 11: The Discovery of the Double Helix Website: Watson and Crick 4/23: Manipulating genes Reading: Morange, Chapter 16: Genetic Engineering Film on the development of recombinant DNA technology Week 13: Team Project Presentation 4/28: 4/30: Week 14: The Computer Revolution 5/5: National Holiday (No class) 5/7: Computers and Internet Reading: Misa, Chapter 8: Toward Global Culture Week 15: Conclusion 5/12: Review of the course for the exam 5/14: Final Exam in class Week 16: Final Exam Period, no class ACADEMIC DISHONESTY I support KAIST s zero-tolerance policy on academic dishonesty, especially on cheating and plagiarism, and will enforce it strictly. I believe that an important part of academic life is to learn how to conceive your own ideas, not how to copy someone else s. You are welcome to discuss the subject materials with your friends and consult with reference books, but when you write an essay, you should organize your thoughts by yourself and make an argument in your own style. Ignorance is not an excuse. I will explain in class how to avoid plagiarism in writing. 5