04462 - History of science and technology

Learning outcomes

The course provides an introduction to the history of science and technology and aims at reconstructing the main material, intellectual and institutional factors of the development of science since Renaissance Europe

Course contents

Course title: "The Italy of scientists: protagonists, events, institutions in Italy between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries " The course aims to recount some significant events involving scientists and researchers from various disciplines from the Unification of Italy on the eve of the Second World War, with special regard to the relationships between science, technology and the civil, economic and political reality of the country"

Participation in the lessons is strongly recommended. Non-attending students will be able to recover what was said in class using the texts in the program and the material uploaded on the digital platform. The program for non-attending students is the same.

On the first day of class the teacher will verify that this program has been read and understood in all its parts. Students are advised to obtain teaching materials before classes start.

Main topics(for each topic about 120 minutes of lesson):

•  The pre-Risorgimento Italian scientific panorama. The first attempts to build a national scientific community: The Congresses of Italian Scientists (1839-1847).
• Between science and politics: the Risorgimento generation. The mathematician and engineer Francesco Brioschi, the engineer and mineralogist Quintino Sella and their research policy. The Milan Polytechnic and the Lincei National Academy.
• A people of inventors. Antonio Meucci, Antonio Pacinotti, Galileo Ferraris: the mirage of technology transfer.
• Some excellences: Pietro Blaserna and the Physics Institute of Via Panisperna; Giovanni Battista Guccia and the Mathematical Circle of Palermo
• The first Nobel Prizes: Camillo Golgi, Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1906 and Guglielmo Marconi Nobel Prize for Physics (1909)
• Mister Italian Science: the physicist-mathematician Vito Volterra and the Italian Society for the Progress of Sciences (1907).
• Science and the First World War. The birth of the National Research Council (1923)
• The advent of fascism: science and autarky.
• The Academy of Italy Vs. the Accademia dei Lincei
• Enrico Fermi and the boys of Via Panisperna.
• The racial laws of 1938 and the Italian scientific community.
• And the women? 

 

Readings/Bibliography

The following textbooks are indicated as reference study material, that is, they constitute the teaching material.  Students must take care of these texts before the beginning of the lessons.

 

Guerraggio, P. Nastasi, L'Italia degli scienziati. 150 anni di storia nazionale, Mondadori, 2010, pp. 1-240.

S. Linguerri, Tempi e forme dell’associazionismo scientifico, in Storia d’Italia. Annali 26 Scienze e cultura nell’Italia Unita, Einaudi, Torino, 2011, pp. 83-101.

R. Simili, E. Reale, Nella città di Ipazia. Donne di scienza, in Storia d’Italia. Annali 26 Scienze e cultura nell’Italia Unita, Einaudi, Torino, 2011, pp. 895-921.

M. Focaccia, L’Istituto di Fisica di Roma. Un ideale realizzato, “Giornale di Fisica”, Vol. LXII, 2014, pp. 309-338

Further bibliographical information will be provided during the lessons. For students who cannot attend these indications they will be available on the IOL platform.

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons.

Active participation is encouraged, including asking questions and discussing issues to be expanded on. Lectures will alternate with seminars; students will have the opportunity to attend conferences given by experts, to watch videos and explore websites, and to visit museums and/or libraries. At the end of each lesson, 15 minutes will be dedicated to questions, requests for clarification, etc.

Assessment methods

Oral exam of the duration of 30-40 minutes approximately.

The oral examination aims to evaluate the critical and methodological abilites developed by the student.

The exam will be structured in 2 parts: 1) Some brief notional questions, to check the careful reading and the knowledge of the exam texts; 2) Two / three open questions of more general-interpretative cutting.

The assignment will be marked on the basis of the student’s ability to gather and select the appropriate information to be able to effectively illustrate and link topics and issues

Specifically :

The achievement of an organic and articulate view, the detailed knowledge of the sources, the ability to critically analyze the arguments put forward and the appropriate use of language will result in excellent marks (28-30L). A correct knowledge of the sources, but no critical analysis, and an appropriate use of the language, but at times imprecise, will result in a good mark (25-27). Mnemonic learning of the subject, ability to synthesize but inability to critically elaborate on the topic, appropriate use of language but no use of specific language will result in a fair mark (22-24). Minimal knowledge of the course and/or inappropriate use of language will result in low marks (18-21). Severe lack of knowledge, severely inappropriate use of language and lack of critical thinking and organization skills will result in a fail.

The use of textbooks, notes or any electronic device is not allowed during the examination.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint (they constitute an aid to the lesson and not educational material and therefore will not be distributed. The teaching material is the one indicated under the heading Texts / Bibliography ), DVD and scientific documentaries, website.

Office hours

See the website of Sandra Linguerri