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History of science and technology

For historical accounts of the development of science and technology, see history of science and
history of technology.

The history of Science and Technology (HST) is a field of history which examines how
humanity's understanding of the natural world (science) and ability to manipulate it
(technology) have changed over the centuries. This academic discipline also studies the
cultural, economic, and political impacts of scientific innovation.
Histories of science were originally written by practicing and retired scientists, starting
primarily with William Whewell, as a way to communicate the virtues of science to the
public. In the early 1930s, after a famous paper given by the Soviet historian Boris
Hessen, was focused into looking at the ways in which scientific practices were allied
with the needs and motivations of their context. After World WarII, extensive resources
were put into teaching and researching the discipline, with the hopes that it would help
the public better understand both Science and Technology as they came to play an
exceedingly prominent role in the world. In the 1960s, especially in the wake of the work
done by Thomas Kuhn, the discipline began to serve a very different function, and began
to be used as a way to critically examine the scientific enterprise. At the present time it is
often closely aligned with the field of science studies.[citation needed]
Modern engineering as it is understood today took form during the scientific revolution,
though much of the mathematics and science was built on the work of the Greeks,
Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Chinese, Indians.[citation needed] See the main articles History of
science and History of technology for these respective topics.

Contents
1 Universities with HST programs
1.1 Argentina
1.2 Australia
1.3 Belgium
1.4 Canada

1.5 France
1.6 Germany
1.7 Greece
1.8 India
1.9 Israel
1.10 Japan
1.11 Netherlands
1.12 Spain
1.13 Sweden
1.14 Switzerland
1.15 United Kingdom
1.16 United States
2 Prominent historians of the field
3 Journals and periodicals
4 See also
5 Professional societies
6 References
7 Bibliography
8 External links

Universities with HST programs

Argentina
Buenos Aires Institute of Technology, Argentina, has been offering courses on History
of the Technology and the Science.
National Technological University, Argentina, has a complete history program on its
offered careers.

Australia

The University of Sydney offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in

the History and Philosophy of Science, run by the Unit for the History and Philosophy of
Science, within the Science Faculty. Undergraduate coursework can be completed as part
of either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Undergraduate study can be
furthered by completing an additional Honours year. For postgraduate study, the Unit
offers both coursework and research based degrees. The two course-work based
postgraduate degrees are the Graduate Certificate in Science (HPS) and the Graduate
Diploma in Science (HPS). The two research based postgraduate degrees are a Master of
Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).[1]

Belgium
University of Lige, has a Department called Centre d'histoire des Sciences et
Techniques.[2]

Canada
Carleton University Ottawa offer courses in Ancient Science and Technology in its
Technology, Society and Environment program
University of Toronto has a program in History and Philosophy of Science and
Technology.[3]
University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia has a History of Science and
Technology Program.[4]

France
Nantes University has a dedicated Department called Centre Franois Vite .
Paris Diderot University (Paris 7) has a Department of History and Philosophy of
Science.
A CNRS research center in History and Philosophy of Science SPHERE , affiliated with
Paris Diderot University, has a dedicated history of technology

section.

Pantheon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1) has a dedicated Institute of History and

Philosophy of Science and Technics .
The cole Normale Suprieure de Paris has a history of science Department.

Germany
Technische Universitt Berlin, has a program in the History of Science and
Technology.[5]

Greece

Greece
The University of Athens has a Department of Philosophy and History of Science [1]

India
HST is a well developed field in India. At least three generations of scholars can be
identified. The first generation includes D.D.Kosambi, Dharmpal, Debiprasad
Chattopadhyay and Rahman. The second generation mainly consists of Ashis Nandy,
Deepak Kumar, Dhruv Raina, S. Irfan Habib, Shiv Visvanathan, Gyan Prakash, Stan
Lourdswamy, V.V. Krishna, Itty Abraham, Richard Grove, Kavita Philip, Mira Nanda and
Rob Anderson. There is an emergent third generation that includes scholars like Abha Sur
and Jahnavi Phalkey.[citation needed]
Departments and Programmes
The National Institute of Science, Technolology and Development Studies had a research
group active in 1990s which consolidated social history of science as a field of research
in India. Currently there are several institutes and university departments offering HST
programmes.
Jawaharlal Nehru University

has an Mphil-PhD program that offer specialisation in

Social History of Science. It is at the History of Science and Education group of the Zakir
Husain Centre for Educational Studies (ZHCES)

in the School of Social Sciences.

Renowned Indian science historians Deepak Kumar and Dhruv Raina teach here.
Central University of Gujarat

has an MPhil-PhD programme in Studies in Science,

Technology & Innovation Policy

at the Centre for Studies in Science, Technology &

Innovation Policy (CSSTIP) , where Social History of Science and Technology in India is
a major emphasis for research and teaching.
Banaras Hindu University has programs: one in History of Science and Technology at
the Faculty of Science and one in Historical and Comparative Studies of the Sciences and
the Humanities at the Faculty of Humanities.
Andhra University has now set History of Science and Technology as a compulsory
subject for all the First year B-Tech students.

Israel
Tel Aviv University. The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and
Ideas is a research and graduate teaching institute within the framework of the School of
History of Tel Aviv University.[6]

Bar Ilan University has a Department for Science and Technology Studies.[7]

Japan
Kyoto University has a program in the Philosophy and History of Science.[8]
Tokyo Institute of Technology has a program in the History, Philosophy, and Social
Studies of Science and Technology.[9]
The University of Tokyo has a program in the History and Philosophy of Science.[9]

Netherlands
Utrecht University, has two co-operating programs: one in History and Philosophy of
Science at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and one in Historical and Comparative Studies
of the Sciences and the Humanities at the Faculty of Humanities.[10][11]

Spain
University of the Basque Country, offers a master's degree and PhD programme in
History and Philosophy of Science and runs since 1952 THEORIA. International Journal for
Theory, History and Foundations of Science.[12][13] The university also sponsors the Basque
Museum of the History of Medicine and Science, the only open museum of History of
Science of Spain, that in the past offered also PhD courses.
Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona, offers a master's degree and PhD programme in
HST together with the Universitat de Barcelona.[14]
Universitat de Valncia, offers a master's degree and PhD programme in HST together
with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas.[15]

Sweden
Linkpings universitet, has a Science, Technology, and Society program which includes
HST.[16]

Switzerland
University of Bern, has an undergraduate and a graduate program in the History and
Philosophy of Science.[17]

United Kingdom
University College London's Department of Science and Technology Studies offers
undergraduate programme in History and Philosophy of Science, including two BSc single
honour degrees (UCAS V550 and UCAS L391), plus both major and minor streams in
history, philosophy and social studies of science in UCL's Natural Sciences programme.

The department also offers MSc degrees in History and Philosophy of Science and in the
study of contemporary Science, Technology, and Society. An MPhil/PhD research degree
is offered, too.[18] UCL also contains a Centre for the History of Medicine.[19] This operates
a small teaching programme in History of Medicine.
University of Oxford has a one-year graduate course in 'History of Science: Instruments,
Museums, Science, Technology' associated with the Museum of the History of
Science.[20]
University of Leeds has both undergraduate and graduate programmes in History and
Philosophy of Science in the Department of Philosophy.[21]
University of Manchester offers undergraduate modules and postgraduate study in
History of Science, Technology and Medicine and is sponsored by the Wellcome Trust.[22]
University of Bristol has a masters and PhD program in the Philosophy and History of
Science.[23]
University of Cambridge has an undergraduate course and a large masters and PhD
program in the History and Philosophy of Science (including the History of Medicine).[24]
University of Durham has several undergraduate History of Science modules in the
Philosophy department, as well as Masters and PhD programs in the discipline.[25]
London Centre for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology - this Centre closes
in 2013. It was formed in 1987 and ran a taught MSc programme, jointly taught by
University College London's Department of Science and Technology Studies and Imperial
College London. The Masters programme transferred to UCL.[26]

United States
Academic study of the History of Science as an independent discipline was launched by
George Sarton at Harvard with his book Introduction to the History of Science (1927) and
the Isis journal (founded in 1912). Sarton exemplified the early 20th century view of the
history of science as the history of great men and great ideas. He shared with many of his
contemporaries a Whiggish belief in history as a record of the advances and delays in the
march of progress. The History of Science was not a recognized subfield of American
history in this period, and most of the work was carried out by interested Scientists and
Physicians rather than professional Historians.[27] With the work of I. Bernard Cohen at
Harvard, the history of Science became an established subdiscipline of history after
1945.[28]
Arizona State University's Center for Biology and Society offers several paths for MS or

PhD students who are interested in issues surrounding the history and philosophy of the
science, particularly biological sciences. The strength of the Center has much to do with
the success of its director Jane Maienschein. With a concentration in Biology and Society
one can focus on History and Philosophy of Science, Bioscience Ethics, Policy and Law,
or Ecology, Economics, and Ethics of the Environment.[29]
Brown University has a program in Science and Technology Studies[30] and the History
of Mathematics.[31] (This program is in the process of being phased out. There are no
longer any full-time faculty, and no new students are being admitted to the program.)
California Institute of Technology offers courses in the History and Philosophy of
Science to fulfill its core humanities requirements.
Case Western Reserve University has an undergraduate interdisciplinary program in the
History and Philosophy of Science[32] and a graduate program in the History of Science,
Technology, Environment, and Medicine (STEM).[33]
Cornell University offers a variety of courses within the Science and Technology
course. One notable course is called Science and Technology History, taught currently by
Professor Peter Dear, which centers upon the development of Science and Technology
History from the Newtonian era up to the Einsteinian revolution. This class is one of the
longest running classes at Cornell University and is offered by the College of Arts and
Sciences and caters to students who want to learn more about the development of
modern science.[34]
Georgia Institute of Technology has an undergraduate and graduate program in the
History of Technology and Society.[35]
Harvard has a large undergraduate and graduate program in History of Science, and is
one of the largest departments currently in the world.[36]
Indiana University offers undergraduate courses and a masters and PhD program in the
History and Philosophy of Science.[9]
Johns Hopkins University has an undergraduate and graduate program in the History of
Science, Medicine, and Technology.[37]
University of Kings College has a degree program in History of Science and Technology
Lehigh University offers an undergraduate level STS concentration (founded in 1972)
and a graduate program with emphasis on the History of Industrial America.[38]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a Science, Technology, and Society
program which includes HST.[39]

Michigan State University offers an undergraduate major and minor in History,

Philosophy, and Sociology of Science through its Lyman Briggs College.[40]
New Jersey Institute of Technology has a Science, Technology, and Society program
which includes the History of Science and Technology[41]
Oregon State University offers a Masters and Ph.D. in History of Science through its
Department of History.[42]
Princeton University has a program in the History of Science.[43]
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has a Science and Technology Studies department
Rutgers has a graduate Program in History of Science, Technology, Environment, and
Health.[44]
Stanford has a History and Philosophy of Science and Technology program.[45]
Stevens Institute of Technology has an undergraduate and graduate program in the
History of Science.
University of California, Berkeley offers a graduate degree in HST through its History
program, and maintains a separate sub-department for the field.[46]
University of California, Los Angeles has a relatively large group History of Science and
Medicine faculty and graduate students within its History department, and also offers an
undergraduate minor in the History of Science.[47]
University of California Santa Barbara has an interdisciplinary graduate program
emphasis in Technology & Society through the Center for Information Technology &
Society. The history department is affiliated with the emphasis.[48]
University of Florida has a Graduate Program in 'History of Science, Technology, and
Medicine' at the University of Florida provides undergraduate and graduate degrees.[49]
University of Minnesota has a Ph.D. program in History of Science, Technology, and
Medicine as well as undergraduate courses in these fields. The Minnesota model
"integrates" historians of science, technology, and medicine within the various science
departments they study, each holding a joint appointment.[50]
University of Oklahoma has an undergraduate minor and a graduate degree program in
History of Science.[51]
University of Pennsylvania has a program in History and Sociology of Science.[52]
University of Pittsburgh's Department of History and Philosophy of Science offers

graduate and undergraduate courses.[53]

University of Puget Sound has a Science, Technology, and Society program, which
includes the history of Science and Technology.[54]
University of WisconsinMadison has one of the largest programs in History of
Science, Medicine and Technology, with particular strength in Medical History, History of
Biology, History of Science and Religion, and Environmental History. This program was
the first to exist as an independent academic department. It offers M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees as well as an undergraduate major.[55]
Wesleyan University has a Science in Society program.[56]
Yale University has a program in the History of Science and Medicine.[57]

Prominent historians of the field

See also the list of George Sarton medalists.

Wiebe Bijker
Peter J. Bowler
Janet Browne
James Burke
Edwin Arthur Burtt
Johann Beckmann
Jim Bennett
Herbert Butterfield (19001979)
Martin Campbell-Kelly
Georges Canguilhem (19041995)
Allan Chapman
I. Bernard Cohen (19142003)
A. C. Crombie (19151996)
E. J. Dijksterhuis
Pierre Duhem (18611916)
A. Hunter Dupree

George Dyson
Jacques Ellul
Eugene S. Ferguson
Peter Galison
Sigfried Giedion
Charles Coulston Gillispie
Robert Gunther (18691940)
Paul Forman
Donna Haraway
Peter Harrison
Ahmad Y Hassan
John L. Heilbron
Boris Hessen
Reijer Hooykaas
David A. Hounshell
Thomas P. Hughes
Evelyn Fox Keller
Daniel Kevles
Alexandre Koyr (18921964)
Melvin Kranzberg
Thomas Kuhn
Deepak Kumar
Gilbert LaFreniere
Bruno Latour
David C. Lindberg
G. E. R. Lloyd
Jane Maienschein

Anneliese Maier
Leo Marx
Lewis Mumford (18951990)
John E. Murdoch (1927-2010)
Otto Neugebauer (18991990)
William R. Newman
David Noble
Ronald Numbers
David Nye
Abraham Pais (19182000)
Trevor Pinch
Theodore Porter
Lawrence M. Principe
Ral Rojas
Michael Ruse
A. I. Sabra
Jan Sapp
George Sarton (18841956)
Simon Schaffer
Steven Shapin
Wolfgang Schivelbusch
Charles Singer
Merritt Roe Smith
Stephen Snobelen
M. Norton Wise
Frances A. Yates (18991981)

Journals and periodicals

Annals of Science
The British Journal for the History of Science
Centaurus
Dynamis
History and Technology (magazine)
History of Technology (book series)
Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences (HSPS)
Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences (HSNS)
ICON
IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
Isis
Journal of the History of Biology
Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
Notes and Records of the Royal Society
Osiris
Science & Technology Studies
Science in Context
Science, Technology, & Human Values
Social History of Medicine'
Social Studies of Science
Technology and Culture
Transactions of the Newcomen Society
Historia Mathematica
Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society

See also
Science and Technology in the United States

Technological and Industrial History of the United States

Science and Technology in Argentina
Science and Technology in Canada
Productivity Improving Technologies (Historical)

Professional societies
The British Society for the History of Science (BSHS)
History of Science Society (HSS)
Newcomen Society [2]
Society for the History of Technology (SHOT)
Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S)
Scientific Instrument Society [3]

References
1. ^ The University of Sydney. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved
December 3, 2009.
2. ^ Universit de Lige. "CHST" . Retrieved January 3, 2010.
3. ^ University of Toronto. "History and Philosophy of Science and Technology" .
Retrieved July 30, 2006.
4. ^ University of King's College. "History of Science & Technology" . Archived from the
original

on April 30, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.

5. ^ Berlin Technical University. "Philosophy, Theory of Science, and History of Science

and Technology" . Archived from the original

on July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.

6. ^ Tel Aviv University. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved December 4,

2009.
7. ^ Bar Ilan University. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved December 4,
2009.
8. ^ Kyoto University (November 20, 2010). "Philosophy and History of Science" .
Retrieved September 16, 2013.
9. ^ a b c Tokyo Institute of Technology. "Department of History and Philosophy of

Science" . Archived from the original

on 2009-10-19. Retrieved September 16, 2013.

10. ^ Utrecht University. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Archived from the
original

on June 14, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.

11. ^ Utrecht University. "Historical and Comparative Studies of the Sciences and
Humanities" . Archived from the original

on June 14, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.

12. ^ University of the Basque Country. "Mster Universitario en Filosofa, Ciencia y

Valores"

(in Spanish). Retrieved August 31, 2011.

13. ^ University of the Basque Country. "THEORIA. International Journal for Theory,
History and Foundations of Science" . Retrieved August 20, 2011.
14. ^ Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona. "Centre d'Histria de la Cincia" . Retrieved
April 10, 2008.
15. ^ Universitat Valencia. "Instituto de Historia de la Medicina y de la Ciencia Lopez
Piero" . Retrieved April 10, 2010.
16. ^ Linkping University. "Tema Teknik och social frndring" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
17. ^ University of Bern. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved December 21,
2006.
18. ^ University College London. "Science and Technology Studies" . Retrieved July 30,
2006.
19. ^ University College London. "The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of
Medicine" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
20. ^ University of Oxford. "History of Science: Instruments, Museums, Science,
Technology" . Archived from the original

on July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.

21. ^ University of Leeds. "History & Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
22. ^ University of Manchester. "History of Science, Technology and Medicine" .
Retrieved December 12, 2007.
23. ^ University of Bristol. "Department of Philosophy" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
24. ^ University of Cambridge. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved July 30,
2006.
25. ^ University of Durham. "Department of Philosophy" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
26. ^ London Centre for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology. "History of
Science, Medicine and Technology" .

27. ^ Nathan Reingold, "History of Science Today, 1. Uniformity as Hidden Diversity:

History of Science in the United States, 1920-1940," British Journal for the History of
Science 1986 19(3): 243-262
28. ^ Dauben, JW; Gleason, ML; Smith, GE (2009). "Seven decades of history of science: I.
Bernard Cohen (1914-2003), second editor of Isis". Isis; an international review devoted to
the history of science and its cultural influences 100 (1): 435. doi:10.1086/597575 .
PMID19554868 .
29. ^ Arizona State University. "Center for Biology and Society - Education" . Retrieved
October 11, 2011.
30. ^ Brown University. "Committee of Science and Technology Studies" .
31. ^ Brown University. "History of Mathematics at Brown" . Archived from the original
on June 12, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
32. ^ Case Western Reserve University. "History and Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved
July 30, 2006.
33. ^ Case Western Reserve University. "History of Science, Technology, Environment, and
Medicine" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
34. ^ Cornell University. "Science and Technology Studies" . Retrieved May 16, 2006.
35. ^ Georgia Institute of Technology. "School of History, Technology, and Society" .
Retrieved July 30, 2006.
36. ^ Harvard University. "Department of the History of Science" . Retrieved July 30,
2006.
37. ^ Johns Hopkins University. "History of Science, Medicine, and Technology" .
Retrieved July 30, 2006.
38. ^ Lehigh University. "The Science, Technology, and Society Program" . Retrieved
July 30, 2006.
39. ^ Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Program in Science, Technology, and
Society" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
40. ^ Michigan State University. "HPS at LBC" . Retrieved 26 November 2012.
41. ^ New Jersey Institute of Technology. "Program in Science, Technology, and
Society" . Retrieved February 28, 2007.
42. ^ Oregon State University. "Graduate Programs" . Archived from the original

on

October 22, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2007.

43. ^ Princeton University. "Program in History of Science" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
44. ^ Rutgers University. "History of Science, Technology, Environment, and Health" .
Retrieved May 19, 2013.
45. ^ Stanford University. "History and Philosophy of Science and Technology" .
Retrieved July 30, 2006.
46. ^ University of California, Berkeley. "History of science and technology" . Retrieved
July 30, 2006.
47. ^ University of California, Los Angeles. "History of Science Program" . Retrieved
July 30, 2006.
48. ^ University of California Santa Barbara. "Center for Information Technology &
Society" . Retrieved October 6, 2010.
49. ^ University of Florida. "Department of History" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.
50. ^ University of Minnesota. "History of Science, Technology, and Medicine" . Retrieved
April 21, 2009.
51. ^ University of Oklahoma. "Department of the History of Science" . Retrieved July 30,
2006.
52. ^ University of Pennsylvania. "History & Sociology of Science" . Retrieved July 30,
2006.
53. ^ University of Pittsburgh. "History & Philosophy of Science" . Retrieved June 8, 2010.
54. ^ University of Puget Sound. "Science, Technology, & Society" . Retrieved
February 14, 2011.
55. ^ University of WisconsinMadison. "History of Science" . Retrieved June 24, 2008.
56. ^ Wesleyan University. "Science in Society program" . Retrieved April 29, 2009.
57. ^ Yale University. "History of Science and Medicine" . Retrieved July 30, 2006.

Bibliography
Historiography of science
H. Floris Cohen, The Scientific Revolution: A Historiographical Inquiry, University of
Chicago Press 1994 - Discussion on the origins of modern science has been going on for

more than two hundred years. Cohen provides an excellent overview.

Ernst Mayr, The Growth of Biological Thought, Belknap Press 1985
Michel Serres,(ed.), A History of Scientific Thought, Blackwell Publishers 1995
Companion to Science in the Twentieth Century, John Krige (Editor), Dominique Pestre
(Editor), Taylor & Francis 2003, 941pp
The Cambridge History of Science, Cambridge University Press
Volume 4, Eighteenth-Century Science, 2003
Volume 5, The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 2002
History of science as a discipline
J. A. Bennett, 'Museums and the Establishment of the History of Science at Oxford and
Cambridge', British Journal for the History of Science 30, 1997, 2946
Dietrich von Engelhardt, Historisches Bewutsein in der Naturwissenschaft: von der
Aufklrung bis zum Positivismus, Freiburg [u.a.]: Alber, 1979
A.-K. Mayer, 'Setting up a Discipline: Conflicting Agendas of the Cambridge History of
Science Committee, 19361950.' Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 31, 2000

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