69350 - STORIA E STUDI SOCIALI DELLA SCIENZA

Course contents

At the end of this course, the student: ˗ will understand the role that science and technology have played in the economic and social development of Western culture; ˗ will be able to discuss aspects of the relationships between science and society; ˗ will not feel uneasiness towards science, since s/he will be able to recognize the social and cultural aspects of it, handling science with curiosity and skepticism; ˗ will know the origin and meaning of the concept of gender, and s/he will be able to use it appropriately depending on the context; ˗ will be able to compare the main stages in the history of women's access to higher education in Italy, Europe, and the US; ˗ will have knowledge of the main relevant episodes in the history of the relationships between men, women, and the culture of science since the Enlightenment; ˗ s/he will recognize the social and economic cost of gender inequality in science .

Readings/Bibliography

1. Texts and PowerPoints posted (during the course) on the e-learning platform.

2. Bruno Latour, La scienza in azione. Introduzione alla sociologia della scienza, Edizioni di Comunità, Torino, 1998, “Introduzione” e capitolo 1 (pp. 1-81). Italian edition out of print; with the author's permission, a pdf copy of chapter I will be available on the e-learning platform.

3. Eredi di Laura Bassi. Docenti e ricercatrici in Italia tra età moderna e presente, a cura di Marta Cavazza, Paola Govoni e Tiziana Pironi, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2014, capitolo introduttivo (pp. 9-37); parte II (pp. 127-174) e Parte III (pp. 177-211).

Teaching methods

Inquiry-based learning.  An active participation is highly recommended, and students are invited to prepare a paper that will be discussed by the group.

Assessment methods

Oral exam.
For office hours, please, see  Paola Govoni's website.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint; videos; articles and books; e-learning tools; museums.

Office hours

See the website of Paola Govoni