HSSC 519 Topics in the Social History of Knowledge
Offered:Previous Semesters
Tresch
This reading seminar will cover writings on the social history of knowledge that are often mentioned by historians of science but less often read; it will give students a chance to read and discuss authors who are neglected, trendy, difficult, and/or foundational in this field. We will begin with Lovejoy’s Great Chain of Being and critiques brought against it, moving to classic histories of scientific ideas with a focus on “mechanical philosophy” followed by recent rethinkings of “the Scientific Revolution.” We will then visit major schools of historical interpretation: Foucault’s genealogies of knowledge and power, Marxist criticism and the Frankfurt School, Max Weber’s analysis of rationalization and the values of science, along with philosophical approaches to technoscience, biopower, the state of exception, and artificial life. Throughout, our guiding questions will be the relationship between scientific knowledge and institutions, practices, technologies and values, as well as the connection between local case studies and the “big picture” of science and technology in the modern world. The seminar is open to graduate students from any discipline who want to engage critically with these works.
Syllabus
