News & Events
History & Science Evolves!
History of Science faculty are very excited to announce an innovation for the History and Science Concentration.
Beginning in 2008-09, the Concentration will assume a two-track structure: History of Science, and Science and Society.
Both concentration tracks will have non-honors and an honors options. Under the new Science and Society track, students considering a career in medicine, health sciences, health policy, or who otherwise have a pronounced interest in the medical sciences may choose the Medicine and Society honors option. The Mind, Brain and Behavior Sciences honors option will focus on the sociocultural, philosophical and historical questions raised by the brain sciences.
Look for further details about requirements for the new History and Science Concentration, coming soon to the Undergraduate Program of Study page.
The Mark Horblit Colloquia in History of Science
Jacqueline Goss*
Department of Film and Electronic Arts, Bard College
“The Canny Valley: Animation As Subjective Document”
*Graduate Student Choice colloquium
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 4:00pm Science Center 469
Introducing the new Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments online database!
For the first time, online visitors to the Department of History of Science can explore this remarkable resource almost as if they were browsing through the shelves of the Collection itself.
Waywiser features newly revised descriptions of hundreds of objects accompanied by high quality photos which can be manipulated for an even closer look. Customizable search capabilities will greatly aid scholarly researchers, while students and more casual web travelers will enjoy the many fascinating elements of these often one-of-a-kind scientific artifacts. New records will be added on a regular basis, so return visits are a must.
Department Calendar
News
September 2, 2008
COURSE CORRECTION: Contrary to the Course Catalogue, Prof. John Murdoch's History of Science 206r - Archimedes and the Archimedean Tradition, will be offered in Spring 2009. This semester, Prof. Murdoch will be offering his graduate seminar History of Science 207r: William of Ockham and the Rise of 14th-century Nominalism.
June 23, 2008
In a ceremony filled with appropriate 17th century splendor, Owen Gingerich, Professor of Astronomy and History of Science, Emeritus, was awarded the degree of Doctoris Honoris Causa from Zielona Gora University in Zagan, Poland.
The degree was awarded in conjunction with an international conference of Johannes Kepler scholars marking the 380th anniversary of the arrival of Johannes Kepler to Zagan. It was the fifth honorary degree given by this relatively new university, and the first to someone from outside Poland.
June 8, 2008
The Newport International Film Festival has announced the winners of its 2008 festival, with the award for Best Documentary going to SECRECY! Congratulations to co-directors Prof. Peter Galison & Rob Moss, editor Chyld King, and all those affiliated with this important stimulus to our national dialogue. And now, on to the next venue!
March 14, 2008
Allan Brandt, Professor of the History of Science; Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine, and newly appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, has been named one of the recipients of the 2008 Bancroft Prize in recognition of his recently published book, The Cigarette Century. The Bancroft Prize is awarded annually by Columbia University in recogition to books of exceptional merit in the field of American history.
The Cigarette Century has also garnered several other awards for Allan: on January 4, 2008, the Albert J. Beveridge Award from the American Historical Association; and on November 6, 2007, The Arthur J. Viseltear Prize for Outstanding Contributions in the History of Public Health from the American Public Health Association in Washington, D.C. During the National Conference on Tobacco or Health, October 25, 2007, the American Legacy Foundation awarded him its Sybil Jacobs Award for Outstanding Use of Tobacco Industry Documents.
March 4, 2008
Evelynn M. Hammonds, the University's Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity, and the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, has agreed to become the next Dean of Harvard College, effective June 1, 2008.
