STORIES OF SCIENCES AND CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGIES
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
No special prerequisites are required.
Learning assessment methods:
The exam consists of an oral interview aimed at ascertaining the acquisition of knowledge and the correct understanding of the contents of the texts which must be studied in full: on the basic contents of the two reference texts, two questions will be formulated, with particular attention to the skills of selecting, in analyzing and linking of the topics as well as their chronological classification. In addition, knowledge of the topics covered in class will be requested, also summarized in the teaching material that will be made available on the e-learning website in the sections "Lessons", "Texts" and "Educational Material" (a question). The answers to these first three questions must give an at least sufficient outcome, so that the exam can continue with a question on the text of choice and a question of ascertaining the capacity of critical interdisciplinary analysis and autonomy of judgment on the main topics of the course . The final grade will take into account the accuracy and quality of the answers (70%), as well as the communication skills shown during the interview (10%) and the ability to adequately motivate statements, analyzes and judgments (20%).
Procedure for the examination sessions:
- the exams (appelli) will take place following the enrollment order of the students, who will be asked to show their university card or other identification document;
- according to the number of students enrolled and who will answer the call, the exams may also continue in the following days, with the schedule which will be indicated by the teacher;
- students can request by e-mail to anticipate or postpone the examination time, but no later than the day or days scheduled for the exam.
Objectives and learning outcomes:
The course intends to contextualize the various elements inherent in the history of scientific disciplines during the contemporary age, between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, in relation to the technological applications developed to date. The aim of the course is the reconstruction and critical understanding of a historical path aimed at comparing and interpreting the present, with particular attention to the different types and methods of narration and dissemination of science, in a multidisciplinary context that includes the stories of the contemporary world, modern philosophical reflections and geographical study on the relationship between man and the environment.
Expected results include:
• knowledge of the contents of scientific theories, investigation methods and the role of the main characters and institutions, placed in their historical periods and in an interdisciplinary context, with particular attention to the role of physical, natural and environmental sciences;
• knowledge of the main potential and risks of technological applications in contemporary society, particularly in the IT area;
• ability to select the topics covered, with independent judgment and critical sense, indicating and comparing the different interpretations of the authors of the reference texts,
• ability to frame and evaluate scientists, works, events and issues specific to science and technology in a well-defined historical context, with particular attention to the most significant chronological references;
• ability to undertake the study of a subject with an open approach to interdisciplinary interactions;
Content and Course Program:
The course introduces the main elements of the historical course of science and technology in the contemporary age, from late 19tth century to date, also through the reconstruction of "stories" that analyze particularly significant case studies related to the relationships between sciences, humanities, types of communication, manipulations, errors and falsifications. The relationships between sciences, techniques, technologies and industrial activities will be analyzed, as well as the relationships between sciences and politics, economy, religion, war, to reach the examination of the social role of science through museums, academies, universities and laboratories. The evolution of technologies will be analyzed in relation to scientific developments and the social, political, economic and cultural context.
Within the general part of the course 12 hours of seminar lessons will be included (teacher: Alberto Vianelli) and they will focus on issues related to the birth of genetics, neo-Darwinism, the development of molecular biology, the applications of genetic engineering, questions related to genetically modified organisms and the history of the study of viruses and vaccines.
The following topics will be covered:
General part: (approximately 48 hours)
- Introduction to the course and basic definitions
- From science to sciences: scientific revolutions and the development of disciplines
- From techniques to technologies: tools, machines, inventions, patents
- The 'crisis' of Europe and the role of science and technology
- Social Darwinism
- The origins of Eugenics
- The study of the Earth and the origin of man
- Mendel and the birth of genetics (2 hours - seminar)
- The sciences before, during and after the 'Great War'
- The great epidemic of 'Spanish fever'
- Neo-Darwinism (1 hour - seminar)
- The new applied sciences: chemistry
- The rise of totalitarian regimes and the sciences: from Fascism to Nazism
- World War II: science, government and technologies
- The Manhattan Project and the 'big science'
- The post-war period, the cold war and the nuclear weapons
- The ways of scientific research in the second half of the twentieth century
- From applied chemistry to the birth of molecular biology (2 hours - seminar)
- Genetic engineering, cloning and genetically modified organisms (3 hours - seminar)
- Research, development, innovation, organization and funding of research
- The falsification of science: the Breuning case
- HIV and AIDS: history of an epidemic (2 hours - seminar)
- Viruses and vaccines: from Sars to Covid (2 hours - seminar)
- Innovation technologies: applications, potential, innovations
- Robot and cybernautics: automation, computer science, artificial intelligence
- Science in the age of knowledge and the "technological man"
Monographic part: History, science, narration (approximately 20 hours)
- Stories of communication and popularization of science: between popular science and fake news
- The "two cultures" and the narration of science: from Snow to Sokal
- The places of science and their narration: museums, laboratories, universities
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Teaching methods:
The course consists of 68 hours of lectures, including 12 hours of seminars, distributed within the general part of the course in order to study in deep specific topics. Moreover, symposia, conferences and meetings of particular interest will be reported to the students for the topics covered in class. During the lectures and the seminars, interaction with the students will be constantly encouraged, through moments of discussion and shared analysis of the problems faced, in order to stimulate curiosity and intellectual vivacity, in addition to developing the capacity for critical analysis and an interdisciplinary approach.
Office hours:
During the first semester the lecturer will receive the students on-line within the Microsoft Teams platform by appointment agreed by email. During the second semester the lecturer will receive the students at his office at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Campus Bizzozero, Padiglione Rossi, via O. Rossi 9 in Varese (ground floor), on Fridays from 18.00 to 19.00, except for suspensions and possible cancellations indicated on the website https://www.uninsubria.it/hpp/ezio.vaccari (please always check this web page before to go to the meet the lecturer).