Nikola Tesla's laboratory in Colorado Springs, 1901 (Image: Wellcome Library)

Module Convenor: Dr James Poskett
Lecture Times: TBC
Seminar Times: TBC

Science is strange. It is accessible only to a small group of specialists, but it has an enormous impact on the lives of ordinary people across the globe. From climate change and pharmaceuticals to GM crops and the internet, we live in a society which places enormous trust in science. But how did this come to be? And is it always for the best? To answer these questions, we tell the story of modern science through the eyes of the people who produced and consumed it.

This module begins in the early nineteenth century and moves right through to the present. Key episodes in the history modern science are explored in relation to social, political, and global history. These include the conflict between evolution and religion in the ninteenth century, the development of atomic weapons in the twentieth century, and the rise of climate science in the twenty-first century.

Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on exploring the history of science as part of global history. Science in Europe is studied alongside that in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

No scientific knowledge is needed to study this module.

This 15 CAT module can be taken either on its own or paired with Science in the Early Modern World (HI2F6-15).

Further Information

• Timetable
• Bibliography
• Assessment