Very few people are scientists, but almost everyone knows something about science –– about what “the science says” about the world, who scientists are, and the role of science as an institution in society. In this course, we’ll think together about where these beliefs come from and why they matter, with a focus on the twentieth-century United States. Topics include the history of science education, including recurrent debates about teaching evolution; the popular science publishing industry and celebrity popularizers like Bill Nye; the “mad scientist,” the “troubled genius,” and other tropes in film and literature; and the history of “pseudoscience.”
Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:00-4:15 PM with Dr. Erik Baker
