College Seminar - European History (101-7-24)

Topic

Scientific Lives

Instructors

Kenneth L Alder
847/467-4038
Harris Hall 307

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-335: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

What role has a humanist education played in the lives of scientists and physicians, and how has training in science and medicine fit into a liberal arts curriculum? The chemist/novelist C. P. Snow once claimed that science and literature formed two antagonistic cultures. On one side were scientists who dismissed literature as so much fluff, irrelevant for our technological age. On the other were literary figures like Tolstoy, who condemned science for not answering the all-important question of moral values: "What shall we do and how shall we live?" This course, by contrast, examines at the dialogue between science and literature since World War II. We will read memoirs by scientists, like Primo Levi's "The Periodic Table" and Hope Jahren's "Lab Girl." We will also read fictional portrayals of scientists and physicians, like Bertolt Brecht's "Life of Galileo" and Allegra Goodman's "Intuition." Along the way we will consider how science and the humanities have approached the question of a good education, and how their answers can align—and differ.

Learning Objectives

This course is designed to help students think across disciplinary boundaries in the sciences and humanities. It is especially apt for pre-med and STEM students interested in social problems; and for literary students interested in how the sciences contribute to knowledge. Its focus on education means that the course will also consider how American universities have come to be organized the way they are—and how they are changing.

Evaluation Method

Short essays, class participation

Class Notes

Concentration: Americas, European

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar