COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course we intend to challenge ourselves with an episodic perspective that views the history of Western Civilization at times when the understanding of material life was confined, shifting, or expanding in particularly significant ways. Especially, we will examine the idea of 'science' and how the emergence of science dramatically altered our understanding of - and power over - the material earth. In addition to our primary text we will use sources ranging from primary documents to popular media views of some of the key events we are studying. Although the lectures are organized by chronology and biography, it is really the change in world view to which we direct our attention.
