18123 - History of Science and Technique

Learning outcomes

The history of science is by now a discipline present in almost all Italian universities and part of many degree courses of study, both in the humanities and sciences.  The central role this course plays in university education is principally based on two fundamental motivations:

1)  the recognition of the history of science as an ideal discipline in order to surpass the problematic fracture between humanist culture and scientific culture

2)  the evidence that the development of science and technology is the most decisive and apparent aspect of the contemporary world.

The history of science and technique course is therefore firstly characterised by its highly interdisciplinary content and by the possibility to offer outlooks of analysis and study that differ from and are alternative to the traditional approach of fields of knowledge, both in the humanist and scientific worlds.

Course contents

First lesson: 26 settembre 2016

Lunedi' 11-13 (aula I); Giovedi' 11-13 (aula IV); Venerdi' 11-13 (aula IV). Dipartimento di Filosofia, Via Zamboni, 38.

Course title:  "Science and science fiction, magic and fantasy"

Science has always been a major source of inspiration for literature (and also for cinema and comics). Literary texts, in their turn, had an important role in promoting or critiquing science and technology. In the first part the course will examine the relationships between science, magic and fantasy, analysing a long series of texts and authors, since the 17th century to nowdays. The course will also show how many authors can present successful pseudoscientific theories in the name of science. The second part of the course will be devoted to the history of science fiction and to the exam of relationship between science and science fiction. Topics considered: Galileo Galilei, Kant, Coleridge, Mary Shelley, Atlantis, Spiritualism, Alchemy, Science fiction, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.

Readings/Bibliography

For the first part of the course (also devoted to the students of 8493 -ANTROPOLOGIA, RELIGIONI, CIVILTA' ORIENTALI (L) (12152 - STORIA DELLA SCIENZA E DELLA TECNICA (1)

1) M. Ciardi, Terra. Storia di un'idea, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2013. 

2) M. Ciardi, Galileo e Harry Potter. La magia puo' aiutare la scienza?, Roma, Carocci, 2014. 

3) P. Rossi, The Birth of Modern Science, John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

For the second part:

4) P. Vidal-Naquet, The Atlantis Story: A Short History of Plato's Myth, Exeter, University of Exeter Press, 2007.

5) http://www.rickdeckard.net/didattica/testi/storia-della-fantascienza/

Foreign students are not engaged in writing texts.

Teaching methods

The teaching method may vary in relation to the number, demands and inclinations of students.  It may therefore shift from the traditional lecture to open discussion involving participants, and the presentation of papers

Assessment methods

The exam will take the form of an oral discussion and the student will be assessed according to the knowledge he has acquired, his ability to provide a clear summary of the topics covered and his critical handling of the material. He will be expected to refer to both the exam bibliography and the texts read and discussed during the lectures.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the sources and material in the exam bibliography and his ability to find and use information and examples to illustrate and correlate the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the subject;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology. A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Teaching will use power point, both for the specific indication of themes and works, both for viewing images (artwork, maps, etc.).
There will be a wide consultation of texts and materials on the Web.

Links to further information

http://www.unibo.it/docenti/marco.ciardi

Office hours

See the website of Marco Ciardi