Science and Technology in the Twentieth Century
University of California, San Diego

HISC 108  		 						
Mark L. Hineline
Spring 1998               			 		      
Office: H&SS 5077 Tues./Wed. 3-4pm
T/Th  12:45 pm					             e-mail: hineline@helix.ucsd.edu

This course is a survey of the growth and development of science from 
roughly 1900 to the present. HISC 108 is the final segment of a 
three-course sequence (HISC 106-108).  No advanced knowledge of modern 
sciences will be assumed.

The course explores the growth of the scientific enterprise in the 
Twentieth Century, including knowledge, institutions, and the 
relationship of science to modern statecraft. Topics include 
knowledge-making and problem solving in the sciences, the role of science 
and technology in national security and national economies, and the 
difficulty of distinguishing between ÒpureÒ and ÓappliedÓ sciences.

Requirements and policies:
Please feel free to communicate with me via e-mail at any time; in most 
instances, I will reply within 24 hours. It is also possible to reach me 
by phone (my direct office line is 534-8920; call the department at 
534-1996 to leave a message). 

Grades will be based on two midterm exams (30% each) and a final exam 
(40%). It is history department policy that you must complete all major 
assignments in order to receive a passing grade. 

Attendance at lectures is not mandatory, but it is probably not possible 
to pass the course without regular attendance. If you miss a lecture, 
please attempt to get notes from someone in the class and study them; I 
will be happy to go over the material with you, during office hours, once 
you have made that effort.

Required Texts
(For sale at Groundworks Bookstore)

E. K. Peters, 1996, No Stone Unturned: Reasoning about Rocks and Fossils 
(New York: W. H. Freeman and Company).

Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb (New York: Simon and Schuster).

James Watson, 1968, The Double Helix (New York: W. W. Norton and Company).



Week 1: 	Introduction: Big Problems at 1900


Required reading: Peters, No Stone Unturned, pp.  1-60



Week 2: 	Geology in the Twentieth Century


Required reading: Peters, No Stone Unturned, pp.  61-91



Week 3	Darwinian Nature and Genetics


Required reading: No Stone Unturned, pp.  92-136



Week 4	EinsteinÕs Miraculous Year, and Beyond


Required reading: Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, pp  1-133.

First midterm exam, Thursday, April 23



Week 5	ÒThis nuclear physics is not so new, and itÕs not so clearÓ


Required reading: Rhodes, pp. 134-356



Week 6	The Manhattan Project


Required reading: Rhodes, pp. 357-560



Week 7	Decisions

	
Required reading: Rhodes, pp. 560-790

Second midterm exam, Thursday, May 14



Week 8:	Reductionist Biology


Required reading: Watson, The Double Helix


Week 9	What Killed the Dinosaurs?


Required reading: Peters, No Stone Unturned, pp.  137-188



Week 10	Reflections on Science