Robert A. Hatch
Department of History
History of Science - Origins to Newton
Modern science is an international affair. In my survey course, History of Science - Origins to Newton, topics span almost four millennia over real-estate often claimed as "Western Civilization". Running from 1800 BCE to 1750, this survey course traces the unfolding of "science" across Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Near East, and finally, Europe-Italy, France, Germany, Poland, France, Holland, and England. Cutting across geographical and cultural boundaries, the course uses "science" to understand national differences, particularly patterns of cultural appropriation. Most students assume science is singular. An international perspective shows this false; science is a plural noun if not a verb. National differences-cultural, religious, philosophical, political-serve as the back-drop in dismantling standard views about the unity of nature and the naïve belief that "Science" is essentially "Western". To escape the boundaries of textbooks, I have increasingly aimed to use more primary sources--now available in electronic texts. So far as possible, I want students to read what "they" said. Employing primary readings (beyond what is commonly available in print) I integrate primary texts into my course by means of my website. In the end, I want to "teach research" rather than depend on standard narratives and "cooked" textbooks. Ideally, "international" is served fresh. Primary texts bring out the flavor of historical change, they help students experience difference as good -- not just different.