History of Science
Code: 100305 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | FB | 1 |
| Humanities | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jaume Sastre Juan
- Email:
- jaume.sastre@uab.cat
Teachers
- Jaume Valentines Álvarez
- Edward Isaac Somerville
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There are none.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The subject encourages Philosophy or Humanities undergraduates to develop their own vision of the history of science from Antiquity to the present, based on the problems and methods of the social sciences and the humanities.
The subject examines key issues of the evolution of science, trying to critically connect the different areas of knowledge. We consider science as a social and cultural practice, intimately related to politics, gender, health, technology, and the environment, and linked to the materiality of objects and spaces.
In the 1st part of the course we will approach the origins of science in Antiquity and its development up to the Enlightenment, in order to understand the transformations within natural philosophy and the use of instruments and experiments in the modern period.
In the 2nd part we will analyse the social and cultural relations of science and technology in the last two centuries. In this case, students should be able to understand contemporary technosciences as a global phenomenon.
The subject also aims at improving students’ oral and written skills.
Competences
- Philosophy
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Humanities
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
Learning Outcomes
- Accessing electronic information sources and producing and communicating this information in electronic format.
- Accurately using specific lexicon of science history.
- Accurately using the specific lexicon of science history.
- Analysing a contemporary fact and relating it to its historical background.
- Analysing historical cases about scientific facts.
- Carrying out a planning for the development of a subject-related work.
- Critically analysing the past, the nature of the historical speech and the social function of historical science.
- Critically taking part in classroom oral debates and using the discipline's specific vocabulary.
- Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
- Enumerating historical facts that could have affected the scientific development.
- Explaining aspects of the history of science by using the discipline's specific terminology.
- Explaining the specific notions of the Contemporary History.
- Explaining the specific notions of the History of Science.
- Explaining the specific notions of the Modern History.
- Identifying and analysing the specific vocabulary of every analysed social formations.
- Identifying and interpreting the several historical periods from Prehistory to the Late Modern Period.
- Identifying the characteristic methods of the history of philosophy and using them in the analysis of concrete facts.
- Identifying the context of the historical processes.
- Identifying the main ideas of a related text and drawing a diagram.
- Identifying the relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, and politics that derive from the sociocultural context.
- Identifying the specific methods of history and their relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
- Indicating political, artistic, literary, social and other movements that had an impact in an historic event.
- Interpreting the plurality and heterogeneity of the cultural development of Humanity.
- Properly using the specific vocabulary of History.
- Recognising the bases of the most appropriate bibliographic databases in order to obtain sources of a specific issue.
- Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
- Relating elements and factors involved in the development of scientific processes.
Content
1st part
Origins: Scientific Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean World
Medieval Science: Interactions, Universities and Theology
Scientific Revolutions? Machines, Universes, Experiments and Mathematics
2nd part
Enlightened Science: Electricity, Systems and Public Sphere in the Eighteenth Century
Science and Society in the Nineteenth Century: Industry, Empire and Evolution
Science in the Twentieth Century: Technoscience and Power
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 50 | 2 | |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Discussion and preparation of essays | 20 | 0.8 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Estudio, lectura y redacción de trabajos | 70 | 2.8 |
For each topic there are some reference texts, which the student must use to prepare for discussion in the classroom, as a complement of the lecturer’s presentation. Texts will be available in advance in the Virtual Campus, along with some guiding questions, power point presentations of each session, web links and additional readings.
The professor will devote 15 minutes in one of the sessions so that the students can answer the evaluation poll.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 1st part | 30 % | 2.5 | 0.1 | 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 16, 20, 22, 23, 27, 26, 24, 2, 3 |
| Exam 2nd part | 30 % | 2.5 | 0.1 | 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 17, 21, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 27, 26, 24, 2, 3 |
| Exercise 1st part | 20 % | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 5, 7, 10, 6, 11, 13, 14, 18, 17, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 9, 8, 25, 27, 26, 24, 3 |
| Exercise 2nd part | 20 % | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 5, 7, 4, 10, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 17, 21, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 9, 8, 25, 27, 26, 24, 3, 2 |
This course can only be assessed through continuous assessment, which will consist in:
1st part
30% from a partial exam, which will consist of questions, similar to those proposed in the Virtual Campus or those that we have raised and debated in the classroom.
20% from a written or oral exercise, the format of which will be annnounced in due course.
2nd part
30% from a partial exam, which will consist of questions, similar to those proposed in the virtual Campus or those that we have raised and debated in the classroom.
20% from a written or oral exercise, the format of which will be annnounced in due course.
All assessment activities will have the opportunity to be revised. On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
To pass the subject through continuous assessment, a minimum of 5 is required.
The student will be given the grade of “non-assessable” if less than 30% of the assessment activities are submitted.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity,
regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
For their admission to reassessment, students must have been previously assessed from a set of activities that are equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 parts of the whole qualification. The minimum average grade of the assessed activities cannot be inferior to 3 nor higher than 5.
The assessment activities in which irregularities have been committed cannot be reassessed.
Reassessment will consist in repeating the failed partial exams and submitting again the exercices in which the student failed. The format will be announced with enough anticipation.
It is possible that the Department of Philosophy will establish (as will be done during the first semester) a period dedicated to evaluative tests. The teaching staff will indicate whether such a period exists or what the test dates are at the beginning of each course.
Any change related to assessment, methodology, etc., will appear at the Virtual Campus in due course.
Bibliography
Agar, John. Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Cambridge: Polity, 2012.
Biagioli, Mario (2008). Galileo cortesano: La práctica de la ciencia en la cultura del absolutismo. Buenos Aires: Katz.
Bowler, Peter J.; Morus, Iwan Rhys. Panorama general de la ciencia moderna. Barcelona: Crítica, 2007.
Collins, Harry; Pinch, Trevor. El gólem. Lo que todos deberíamos saber acerca de la ciencia. Barcelona: Crítica, 1996.
Crawford, Kate, (2023). Atlas de IA : poder, política y costes planetarios de la Inteligencia Artificial, Ned.
Dear, Peter. La revolución de las ciencias. El conocimiento europeo y sus expectativas, 1500-1700. Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2007.
Edgerton, David. Innovación y tradición: historia de la tecnología moderna. Barcelona: Crítica, 2007.
Fara, Patricia. Breve historia de la ciencia. Barcelona: Ariel, 2009.
Fox Keller, Evelyn. Reflexiones sobre género y ciencia. València: Alfons el Magnànim, 1991.
Gould, Stephen J. La falsa medida del hombre. Barcelona: Crítica, 1997.
Gribbin, John. Historia de la ciencia, 1543-2001. Barcelona: Crítica, 2004.
Hessenbruch, Arne (ed.). Reader's Guide to the History of Science. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
Kragh, Helge. Introducción a la historia de la ciencia. Barcelona: Crítica, 2007.
Krige, John; Pestre, Dominique (eds.). Companion Encyclopedia of Science in the Twentieth Century. London & New York: Routledge, 2013.
Kuhn, Thomas S. L'estructura de les revolucions científiques, traducció de Josep Batalla. Santa Coloma de Queralt: Obrador Edèndum, 2007. La estructura de las revoluciones científicas, traducción de Carlos Solís. Madrid;México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2006;
Kuhn, Thomas S. El camino desde la estructura: ensayos filosóficos, 1970-1993. Barcelona: Paidós, 2002.
Lindberg, David C. Los inicios de la ciencia occidental. Barcelona: Paidós, 2002.
Morus, Iwan Rhys (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Netz, Reviel (2022). A New History of Greek Mathematics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nieto-Galan, Agustí (2011). Los públicos de la ciencia: Expertos y profanos a través de la historia. Madrid: Marcial Pons.
Pestre, Dominique. Ciència, diners i política: assaig d'interpretació. Santa Coloma de Queralt: Obrador Edèndum, 2008.
Pickstone, John (2000). Ways of Knowing: A New History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Poskett, James (2022). Horizontes: Una historia global de la ciencia. Barcelona: Crítica.Principe, Lawrence M. La revolución científica. Madrid: Alianza, 2013.
Proctor, Robert; Schiebinger, Londa, Agnotología : la producción de la ignoracia. Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza.
Robson, Eleanor (2009). Mathematics in Ancient Iraq: A Social History. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rossi, Paolo. El nacimiento de la ciencia moderna en Europa. Barcelona: Crítica, 1998.
Schiebinger, Londa, (2004). ¿Tiene sexo la mente? : las mujeres en los orígenes de la ciencia moderna. Ediciones Catedra.
Shapin, Steven. La revolución científica. Una interpretación alternativa. Barcelona: Paidós, 2000.
Software
None.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |