The course is aimed at students of all majors;  no scientific knowledge is presupposed.  Basic familiarity with U.S. history will be helpful, as the course is as much about U.S. history as about the history of science.

Ronald L. Numbers and Charles E. Rosenberg, ed., The scientific enterprise in America (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1996).  ISBN 0226068387, $17.95. 

Edward J. Larson, Summer for the gods:  the Scopes trial and America's continuing debate over science and religion (Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press, 1997).  ISBN 0674854292, $15.95.  Pulitzer prize winner!

Thomas P. Hughes, American genesis:  a century of invention and technological enthusiasm 1870-1970 (New York:  Penguin, 1989).  ISBN 0140097414, $17.95.

Class meetings

For each class meeting, a brief outline and a list of names and terms will be posted as a link from the schedule .  These are designed to supplement, not substitute for, notetaking.  I will try to make them available before class.  If I cannot, they will be posted afterwards.  Classes will include a substantial amount of material not covered in the reading.

This is a history course.  It requires a substantial amount of reading.  You need to complete each assignment before coming to class, as we may refer to the selections.  Each reading assignment has preparatory questions available in the reader and as links from the schedule.

You will have three sorts of short writing assignments. 

• Reading responses to primary and secondary sources in the course reading.  Each reading response is a 1½-page paper.  Each half of the semester (before and after the midterm), you will write two essays on primary plus two essays on secondary sources.  You are strongly encouraged not to wait until the very last assignments permitted.  Essays on primary sources are due in class on the day for which the reading is assigned and will be graded check/check-plus/check-minus.  Essays on secondary sources are due at the next class and will receive letter grades.
• A short essay (3 pages) due September 16 analyzing the earliest U.S. scientific periodical.
• A short essay (3 pages) due December 6 in preparation for the final exam.

The webpage on the short writing assignments describes the assignments in detail.

You will write a research paper of 9-12 pages on a topic of your choice, due the Monday before Thanksgiving.  The research paper website gives guidance.  I will help you through the stages of research, in part by giving you intermediate assignments: 

• First thoughts on the paper, after reviewing the research paper website, are due to me by e-mail by 6 p.m. on Friday, September 20.  No attachments!  Put your message in the body of the e-mail.
• Your topic (or topic ideas) are due by the same means by 6 p.m. on Friday, October 4.
• A list of your sources is due by the same means by 6 p.m. on Monday, October 28.
• An abstract (1-paragraph summary) is due by the same means by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6.
• The paper itself is due in hard copy, not e-mail, at the beginning of class on Monday, November 25.

Your grade will reflect these assignments as well as the final paper.

The midterm will be given in class on Friday, October 11.  It covers the first three units of the syllabus. 

The final exam will be given during the time scheduled for Exam Group 1, Wednesday, December 11, 8:00-11:00 a.m.  It covers the entire semester. 

My exams tend to emphasize questions requiring answers one paragraph in length;  sometimes I add a few longer options.  I generally give you a choice of which questions to answer.  This semester I may experiment with short-answer questions as well.

Grades will be assigned according to the following weighting:

Any work not completed will be counted as an F.  In individual cases (e.g., marked improvement over the course of the semester) I may choose to deviate from this scheme.

Written assignments:  All written assignments are to be typed, double-spaced in normal-sized fonts with reasonable margins.  They may not be submitted by e-mail or in any other electronic form.  Proper writing (grammar, organization, citation format) definitely counts.  All assignments for this course are formal pieces of writing, including the reading response papers:  your thoughts may be tentative or exploratory, but your writing should be polished.  Papers are due at the beginning of class and late papers will be penalized:  each day (or fraction thereof) that a paper is late will reduce its grade by 2/3 of a mark (e.g., A to B+, B- to C). You have been forewarned.

Discussion section:  There is no discussion section.  If you are looking for classmates to compare notes with, please contact me.

ECHO Science and Technology Virtual Center
History of Science Society reading list (guide to printed resources)
History of science reference sources

History of science and technology database (from on campus)
America: history and life database(from on campus)

History of science and technology at the Bancroft Library
Online Archive of California
Pathfinder (online UCB catalog)

Introduction to the UCB libraries
Library instruction and tours
Library research guides
Guide to primary source research
Assistance from library reference staff
Introduction to citation styles (you may use either Turabian or MLA's version of footnotes/endnotes)
Student Learning Center drop-in writing tutoring

Last modified 1 September 2002
Copyright © Cathryn Carson 2002