18123 - History of Science and Technique

Learning outcomes

Students are taught to read primary and secondary sources critically concerning the history of science and technology, in relation to philosophy and literary culture, as well as to the political, social and institutional context of their time. By the end of the course they will be able to describe specific instances of scientific-cultural interaction, as well as to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different cultures and viewpoints, spotting tie-ups among the different disciplines.

Course contents

The first part of this course is an introduction to the history of western science and medicine and their main methodological aspects. It aims at reconstructing the main material, social, political, intellectual, and institutional factors that have characterized the emergence of European scientific thought since the Renaissance. The history of scientific instruments, of naturalistic collections, of the social, gender, cultural, colonial, and economic roots of scientific knowledge, of the medical perception of the body, of the developments of technology and the relationships between arts and the sciences are the major themes.

The second part of the course, shorter than the first, is titled History of Food Knowledge and Power: Dietetics, Gastronomy, Nutritionism. In European and global history food organized a number of discourses and forms of problematization that concern ethics, sciences, and politics. We will read an anthology of texts from classical antiquity to the 21st century in order to study some topics related to: the relationships between scientific and non-scientific knowledge regarding food; the expression of power relations among different species, classes, races and genders through food; the relationships between ethical ideas of a good life and the sciences of food. 

Classes will begin September 15: Monday 3-5pm aula III (Via Zamboni 38); Tuesday 9-11am aula V (Via Zamboni 38); Wednesday 3-5pm aula V (Via Zamboni 38). 

 

   

Readings/Bibliography

First part

Marco Beretta, Storia materiale della scienza, (terza edizione riveduta e ampliata) Roma, Carocci, 2025 [new edition out in September 2025]

Joan Scott, "Il genere: un'utile categoria di analisi storica" in Id., Genere, politica, storia, Roma, Viella, 2013, pp. 31-66 [on Virtuale].

 

Second part

Anthology of texts that will be published on Virtuale.

 

• Galeno, La salute (De sanitate tuenda) [II secolo]

• Pantaleone da Confienza, Trattato dei latticini [1477]

• Castore Durante, Il tesoro della sanità [1586]

• José de Acosta, Istoria naturale e morale delle Indie [1590]

• Baldassarre Pisanelli, Trattato della natura de' cibi e del bere [1587]

• Agostino Gallo, Le vinti giornate dell'agricoltura et de' piaceri della villa [1572]

• Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Delle cagioni delle febbri maligne [1649]

• Antonio Cocchi, Del vitto pitagorico [1743]

• Francesco Luigi Fanzago, Istruzione catechistica sulla pellagra [1816]

• Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Fisiologia del gusto, o meditazioni di gastronomia trascendente [1825]

• Pellegrino Artusi, La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene [1891]

• Karl Marx, Il capitale (libro I e libro III) [1867-1894]

• Carol Adams, Carne da macello. La politica sessuale della carne [1990]

• Carlo Petrini, Buono, Pulito e Giusto [2005]

 

Students non-attending classes can read David Gentilcore, Cose rare e ammirevoli del nuovo mondo (Marsilio, Venezia, 2023), pp. 9-53; Massimiano Bucchi, Il pollo di Newton. La scienza in cucina (Guanda, Parma, 2013).

 

Optional interesting reading

Steven Shapin, Eating and Being. A History of Ideas about our Food and Ourselves (The University of Chicago Press, 2024).

Teaching methods

Lectures; participation and discussion will be encouraged.

Assessment methods

Oral exam.

Top marks (28-30) will be given to students who demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the material discussed in class and contained in the texts, critical and analytical skills, and the ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and cogently. Those students who will demonstrate a good knowledge of the material but tend to repeat it mechanically rather than demonstrate full understanding and the ability to build connections and present an argument will be rewarded with average to high marks (23-27). Students who demonstrate superficial knowledge, gaps in preparation, poor critical and analytical skills and difficulties of expression will receive average to low marks (18-22). Severe lacunae in one or more areas listed above could lead to the student repeating the exam.

Exam sessions

During the 2025/26 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled for the following months: December, January, March, April, June, July, September. 

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)
Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments. For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

 

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special accommodations according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the teacher but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adaptations. For more information, visit the page:
https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Savoia