SYLLABUS

History 2111: Technology and Science

in Society since the Industrial Revolution (VC)

Dr. Peter Thorsheim

 

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Tues. Thurs. 11:00-12:20 (Spring 2005)

 

Office: 136 Garinger; tel. (704)687-4874

Office Hours: Tues. and Thurs. 1-2, and by appointment

E-mail: pthorshe@uncc.edu

History Department Webpage: www.history.uncc.edu

 

Worker in Britain during World War II

 

Course Description

This course explores the history of science and technology since the eighteenth century. We will study the causes and consequences of industrialization, the ways in which society has shaped—and been shaped by—technologies such as steam engines, cars, pesticides, weapons, and computers, and the role of science in both fascist and democratic societies. No prior scientific or technical knowledge is needed.

 

This course also fulfills COGE goals V and C:

UNDERSTANDING VALUES

UNC Charlotte graduates should confront the dynamics of personal and community interrelationships by:

·          Recognizing the assumptions, beliefs, and values underlying one’s own conduct.

·          Recognizing the historical context and assessing the consistency of one’s own values.

·          Recognizing differences in the assumptions, beliefs, and values underlying the conduct of others.

·          Recognizing the implications of decisions made on the basis of values.

 

UNDERSTANDING THE INDIVIDUAL, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE

UNC Charlotte graduates should be able to:

·          Understand how institutions operate with societies in both contemporary and historical perspectives.

·          Understand internal and external influences which promote and inhibit human action.

·          Understand the patterns of change which individuals experience at various points in life.

·          Recognize the complex, integrated, and dynamic nature of human behavior and human experiences.

·          Understand the commonalities, differences, and interdependence among and within societies of the world.


 

Expectations

Your attendance is essential to your success in this course. In-class essays and quizzes based on the assigned reading will be given regularly at the start of class and cannot be made up. If you have a documented condition or emergency that results in excessive absences, you must petition the Dean of Students’ Office to be excused. If you have a cell phone or pager, keep it turned off during class. If you have special needs that need accommodation, it is your responsibility to discuss them with me at the start of the semester.

 

Grading (A = 90 to 100%; B = 80 to 89%; C = 70 to 79%; D = 60 to 69%; F = 0 to 59%)

Class Participation:                    20%

Midterm Exam:                          30%

In-class Essays and Quizzes:     20%

Final Exam:                               30%

 

Required Books (all are available for purchase; in addition, Cornwell and Weart are on reserve in the library)

Cornwell, John. Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil’s Pact. Penguin, 2003.

Smith, Merritt Roe, and Gregory Clancey, eds. Major Problems in the History of American Technology. Houghton Mifflin, 1998.

Weart, Spencer R. The Discovery of Global Warming. Harvard University Press, 2004.

 

Recommended Book (available for purchase)

Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 4th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.

 

Additional short required readings will be announced over the course of the semester and either distributed in class or placed on reserve in the library.

 

Course Schedule

 

Note: Except for the first week, you are expected to complete the week’s reading assignment before each Tuesday’s class

 

Week 1: Introduction (Major Problems, 1-13)

Jan 11   Overview

Jan 13   Science, Technology, and History

 

Week 2: The Factory Age (Major Problems, 103-130 and 144-190)

Jan 18   Industrialization

Jan 20   Work

 

Week 3: The Power of Steam (Major Problems, 191-232)

Jan 25   Railroads

Jan 27   Technology and Imperialism

 

Week 4: Science in the Nineteenth Century (Science and Technology in World History, 293-332 [on reserve] and Hitler’s Scientists, 38-46)

Feb 1    Physics and Chemistry

Feb 3    Biology and Medicine

 

Week 5: The Second Industrial Revolution (Major Problems, 233-266)

Feb 8    Technological and Economic Change

Feb 10  The Telephone

 

Week 6: Technological Utopianism (Major Problems, 267-311 and 355-372)

Feb 15 Taylorism

Feb 17 Wireless

 

Week 7: Automation (Major Problems, 312-354 and Hitler’s Scientists, 47-70)

Feb 22  Fordism

Feb 24  The First World War

Week 8: Science at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century

Mar 1    Relativity and Quantum Mechanics (Hitler’s Scientists, 71-123)

Mar 3    Midterm Exam

 

Spring Break

Mar 8    NO CLASS

Mar 10  NO CLASS

 

Week 9: Science in Nazi Germany (Hitler’s Scientists, 1-37 and 127-203)

Mar 15  Nazi Ideology

Mar 17  Hitler in Power

 

Week 10: Splitting the Atom (Hitler’s Scientists, 207-228 and 299-337)

Mar 22  Fission Research

Mar 24  The Bomb

 

Week 11: Total War (Hitler’s Scientists, 229-295 and 341-388)

Mar 29  Science and Technology in the Second World War

Mar 31  Engineering the Holocaust

 

Week 12: The Cold War (Hitler’s Scientists, 391-458 and Major Problems, 427-470)

Apr 5    De-Nazification

Apr 7    The Military-Industrial-University Complex

 

Week 13: Cyberspace (Major Problems, 471-519)

Apr 12   Computers

Apr 14   Surveillance

 

Week 14: The Natural Environment (Major Problems, 383-426 and Global Warming, vii-65)

Apr 19   Unintended Consequences

Apr 21   Ideas about Pollution

 

Week 15: The Climate Debate (Global Warming, 66-192)

Apr 26   Research

Apr 28   Consensus in Science

 

Week 16: Conclusions (Hitler’s Scientists, 459-67 and Global Warming, 193-201)

May 3   Science, Technology, and Values

 

FINAL EXAM: Tuesday 10 May, 12-2 pm (limited to two hours)