Modern Biology and Social Implications

Course Number
STSC 135 920
Course Code
STSC135920
Course Key
60896
Day(s)
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Time
12:00pm-2:30pm
12:00pm-2:30pm
12:00pm-2:30pm
Instructor
Course Description
This course covers the history of biology in the 19th and 20th centuries, giving equal consideration to three dominant themes: evolutionary biology, classical genetics, and molecular biology. The course is intended for students with some background in the history of science as well as in biology, although no specific knowledge of either subject in required. We will have three main goals: first, to delineate the content of the leading biological theories and experimental practices of the past two centuries; second, to situate these theories and practices in their historical context, noting the complex interplay between them and the dominant social, political, and economic trends; and, third, to critically evaluate various methodological approaches to the history of science.