What does it mean for the history of science to have a history of its own? In this course, we explore historiography of science, medicine, and technology and learn how to make it work for us. In addition to acquainting ourselves with the oft-cited classics and the rising stars in the field, we will learn how to make the most of previous scholarship by identifying explicit and implicit research motivations, discussing how difference in topics necessitates different source materials and research questions, and learning about the relationship between the argument and the writing style, as well as the form, content, and organization of the work. Rather than treating historiography as a pesky obligation, we will learn how to take advantage of historiography to become more mindful of our own motives behind telling histories of science, medicine, and technologies, to forge our own scholarly identities, and begin developing our own scholarly voices.

• Days/Times: T 4:00PM - 6:30PM
• Instructor: Frumer, Yulia; Li, Lan
• Room: Gilman 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

This seminar introduces students to both classic works and more recent literature and trends in scholarship on the history of technology. We will be covering themes such as: innovation and maintenance; technology and the environment; technology, gender, and race; the history of engineering; technoscience; the histories of large technical systems; and the global histories of techniques and material culture. The final selection of topics and readings will take into account the interests and backgrounds of students enrolled in the course, for whom this seminar can (but does not have to) contribute to the completion of a field in the history of technology.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Mercelis, Joris Hans Angele
• Room: Gilman 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/10
• PosTag(s): CES-TI

Reports by faculty, students, and invited speakers.

• Days/Times: Th 3:00PM - 4:50PM
• Instructor: McManus, Alison L
• Room: Gilman 300
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course surveys major scientific developments from the mid-18th century to the present and related historiographical issues, with a focus on the physical and the life sciences. Topics include the chemical "revolution", evolution by natural selection, DNA, military science, and contemporary biotechnology. Throughout, the course highlights the intellectual and institutional foundations and broader techno-social contexts that have shaped scientific work. The class aims to train majors to undertake field exam in this area of expertise, but can also be taken by non-majors to expand their scholarly horizons into the field of history of modern science and technology. NB: Students are encouraged to attend lectures for 140.302, but seminar may be taken without attending those lectures.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: McManus, Alison L
• Room: Gilman 132
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Frumer, Yulia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jiang, Lijing
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: McManus, Alison L
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Leslie, Bill W
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mercelis, Joris Hans Angele
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Principe, Lawrence
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Portuondo, Maria M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Frumer, Yulia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jiang, Lijing
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: McManus, Alison L
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Leslie, Bill W
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mercelis, Joris Hans Angele
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Principe, Lawrence
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Portuondo, Maria M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course introduces basic computational techniques in the context of empirical humanistic scholarship. Topics covered include the command-line, basic Python programming, and experimental design. While illustrative examples are drawn from humanistic domains, the primary focus is on methods: those with specific domains in mind should be aware that such applied research is welcome and exciting, but will largely be their responsibility beyond the confines of the course. Students will come away with tangible understanding of how to cast simple humanistic questions as empirical hypotheses, ground and test these hypotheses computationally, and justify the choices made while doing so. No previous programming experience is required.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Lippincott, Tom; Sirin Ryan, Hale
• Room: Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course introduces substantial machine learning methods of particular relevance to humanistic scholarship. Areas covered include standard models for classification, regression, and topic modeling, before turning to the array of open-source pretrained deep neural models, and the common mechanisms for employing them. Students are expected to have a level of programming experience equivalent to that gained from AS.360.304, Gateway Computing, AS.250.205, or Harvard’s CS50 for Python. Students will come away with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different machine learning models, the ability to discuss them in relation to human intelligence and to make informed decisions of when and how to employ them, and an array of related technical knowledge.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Backer, Samuel Ehrlich; Messner, Craig A
• Room: Gilman 195
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent research for graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Frumer, Yulia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Reports by staff members, students, and invited speakers.

• Days/Times: Th 3:00PM - 4:50PM
• Instructor: McManus, Alison L
• Room: Gilman 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 2/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Leslie, Bill W
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Reading intensive seminar that studies the events and ideas that transformed western science from Medieval natural philosophy to the experimental sciences (1500-1720s). Lecture meets with AS.140.321.

• Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, W 1:30PM - 3:50PM
• Instructor: Allen, Meagan Selby
• Room: Krieger 170
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This research seminar explores how the production of space and place facilitates, promotes, and authorizes knowledge and practice in science, medicine, and technology. The course encourages awareness of how perceptions and lived experiences of space and place can be used in historical research. We will critically interrogate spatial categories of analysis, including space, place, scale, and mobility, and the influence of the so-called “spatial turn” on history. What affordances are offered to history by deploying spatializing terms such as “local,” “global,” “public,” “private,” “center,” and “periphery”? And how does a historical approach complicate understandings of space and place? Case studies include domestic spaces such as bedrooms and kitchens; public spaces like streets and taverns; institutional spaces such as laboratories, factories, and hospitals; mobile spaces, for instance ambulances and ships; and virtual spaces.

• Days/Times: W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
• Instructor: Mooney, Graham
• Room: Gilman 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Frumer, Yulia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mercelis, Joris Hans Angele
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 3/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jiang, Lijing
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Li, Lan
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Principe, Lawrence
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Frumer, Yulia
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Constructing histories of science, technology, and medicine is a craft. It is a practice of knowledge production, an engagement with empirical evidence, and an attentiveness to the limitations of our sources. As a graduate student, having a great topic and a brilliant mind is not enough. One needs to learn the tools of the profession, master disciplinary methods, and develop personal habits that make scholarly work effective, sustainable, and enjoyable. This seminar focuses on the how-to aspect of science, medicine, and technology studies. We will ask and answer questions such as: How do I find an archive? What if I don’t have an archive? What if questions I find interesting cannot be answered in an archive? Can I rely on digital databases? Should I do something with DH? How do I keep writing if my mind is blank? How do I find that quote I saw somewhere three years ago? We will take a deep dive into various histories of science, technology, and medicine created by scholars working with different kind of materials, different methodologies, and different theoretical underpinnings. We will learn about various sources available to scholars of science, medicine, and technology, explore methods to investigate those sources, master the practical skills of research, and develop individual practices of day-to-day scholarly work.

• Days/Times: T 4:00PM - 6:30PM
• Instructor: Cummiskey, Julia Ross; Frumer, Yulia
• Room: Gilman 300
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Leslie, Bill W
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Under the guidance of the faculty advisor, this course is for HST graduate students who are attending a directed readings course or preparing a dissertation.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Portuondo, Maria M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: McManus, Alison L
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mercelis, Joris Hans Angele
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Kargon, Robert H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Principe, Lawrence
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

For graduate students in the History of Science and Technology Department Only.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jiang, Lijing
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a