# HISTSCI 1840: Science, Technology, and Medicine in South Asia Semester: Spring | Year offered: 2026 | Link: [Course Website](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/160323) Science is big in South Asia, and it has been for a long time. Today, the Constitution of India speaks of the duty of citizens to develop a “scientific temper” and of the responsibility of the government to finance “scientific or technical education.” Medicine, mathematics, astronomy, and other practical sciences have lengthy histories in the region, and these disciplines were used to theorize society and belonging in colonial and nationalist thought. This undergraduate seminar explores the changing and contested understandings of science, technology and medicine in South Asia from the precolonial to the present. No prerequisites or specialized knowledge required. Thursdays at 3:00-5:45 PM with Professor Eric Gurevitch --- [### Eric Moses Gurevitch ](/people/eric-moses-gurevitch) Assistant Professor of the History of Science Areas of Research: History of Technology, South Asia, Indian Ocean, Medieval History, and Early Modern History, Global History of Science Biography Eric Moses Gurevitch is a historian of science, technology, and medicine in the medieval and early modern... ![Eric Moses Gurevitch](/sites/g/files/omnuum9516/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/Final%20Headshot.png?itok=gQVOz8zl)