American science
Hist 280S.001/280D.004
Fall 2005

W 10-12, 108 Wheeler Hall

Cathryn Carson
Department of History, UC Berkeley
e-mail: clcarson@berkeley.edu
home page: http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/Carson/

Basic course data

• Purpose
• Readings
• Assignments
• Schedule
• Full calendar

Purpose

American science is a Johnny-come-lately. Historically, it was long in a position of backwardness. Historiographically, it has remained relatively unself-conscious. And yet the American way of doing science, for better and for worse, has become a global model. Its historians may not have kept up.

This reading seminar serves as both an introduction to the field and a consciousness-raising exercise. It looks for ways in which historians of U.S. science have contributed innovatively to the writing of history of science in general, as well as approaches to the history of U.S. science that have been revitalized by developments in related fields.

While we will aim for some breadth of coverage, we will mostly follow our noses to interesting or original work. We will pick out readings that have set agendas, offered synoptic views, or formulated new problems. The point is to read scholarship with implications that go beyond its subject matter. Along the way, we will highlight prospects for innovative future study.

The seminar includes studies that take their lead from "regular" U.S. history and from science studies. My own specialty is the history of German science, but I regularly teach and direct dissertations on the U.S. The seminar is meant to be relevant to students interested in the present (i.e., science studies / STS).

Readings - general

The backbone of the reading list is monographs. We will typically read one or two books a week. The texts are available in the bookstores — with four exceptions: one book that is being published this fall, and three more that are out of print or unavailable in paperback. (You may want to check Amazon for second-hand copies.) In any case, all are on 1-day reserve in Graduate Services in the main library. For a list, see the detailed calendar.

Some weeks will have articles (in one case, a dissertation) as well. They can be printed from the photocopier in the Office for History of Science and Technology, 543 Stephens Hall. You can pay for the photocopies as you go, or arrange to be billed at the end of the semester (speak with Kate Moser in OHST). If you have difficulty getting up to OHST, we can make other arrangements.

Assignments and expectations

Discussion

Each week’s reading assignment is meant as preparation for discussion. Doing the reading is a sine qua non. So is active, engaged participation in seminar. If you are not contributing relevantly to discussion, miss too many meetings, or miss without good cause, you will not be permitted to continue or will fail the course. I expect you to contact me by e-mail whenever you are absent.

Each week you should come with general questions for discussion. As I may ask you to read them aloud or give them to someone else, you should write them down. I will also ask each of you to launch us on discussions of particular readings. You will have a choice of which weeks you present. We will work out the details in the second class meeting, so look over the schedule and see what interests you most. Preparation for and participation in discussions will be one-half of your course grade.

Book reviews

During the semester, you will pick any three books from the reading list about which to write professional-style reviews. These should be 750 words long. The purpose of a review is first and foremost to make plain the book’s approach, thesis, construction, and evidence. The audience is interested scholars who have not read the book. You may and must work your assessment of its success into this framework. For models look in Isis or the American historical review. Turn in each review at the class meeting when we discuss the book; late reviews will not be accepted. The book reviews will be one-sixth of your grade.

Final essay

Taking off from the seminar’s theme, you will follow up with reading on a topic of your choice. This should be a related literature (most likely U.S., but possibly not) that you would like to get acquainted with on your own. Primary historical research is not the goal; familiarity with a literature is — in the service of primary research that you may do later.

To pick your topic, come see me in office hours in the first half of the semester. I have notes on dozens of possibilities and will be glad to help brainstorm. On Wednesday, December 14, you will turn in an essay of 20 to 25 pages (double spaced, standard fonts and margins, etc.). How exactly you construct the essay will depend on your topic. If you have questions, ask. The essay will be one-third of your grade.

Schedule

A general overview is provided below. For details see the calendar.

Week 15 is left open, with readings to be decided by consensus. I will consider just about any topic, as long as there is a big-picture question and a good book (or books) to read. Options could include:

• Big science: Galison/Hevly, Heilbron/Seidel, Westwick, McCray
• Science advising: Jasanoff, Hilgartner
• Environment/ecology: Smith, Buhs
• The social/human sciences: Pandora, Hermann
• Sciences of sex: Clarke