Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Indiana University
Fall 2003


History of American Science
HPSC X645/  Section  # 3185
AMST G751 /Section # 0370

Professor James Capshew


	This seminar explores the growth and development of the
scientific enterprise in the United States during the past two
centuries. It approaches science as an intellectual and social
activity performed by people situated in specific historical
contexts, and thus emphasizes the institutional and cultural
circumstances that have shaped scientific knowledge about nature and
humankind. In charting the rise of the U.S. as a world leader in
science, we will study some of the theories and findings produced by
American scientists, and examine how they were related to changing
political, economic, and social forces. We will explore how science
has influenced American society and culture, and conversely, how
U.S. social and cultural life has influenced science.
	The seminar will focus on recent scholarship in the history
of American science. We will study the development of the field as
an academic specialty, and relate it to more general trends in the
history of science as well as American history. Thus we will
concentrate on historiographical and methodological issues as we
grapple with the ways in which historians have portrayed the
scientific enterprise in the national context of the United States.
	Among the themes and topics we will explore are: the rise of
the research university; professionalization and disciplinary
differentiation; patterns of patronage and moral support; science,
technology, and warfare; the culture of big science; and the social
role of the scientist. Although the course spans colonial times to
the present, the main focus will be on the period since 1850.
	Each week the seminar will take up one or more items for
critical analysis. Each participant will be expected to contribute
to the general discussion, and perhaps present special reports on
additional readings as well. Written assignments include a
biographical sketch (2-3 pages), two book reviews (2-3 pages), and a
short research paper or historiographical essay (10-20 pages).