Profile
Perrin A. Selcer
Lecturer — Ph.D., History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
Contact
- E-mail: pselcer@austin.utexas.edu
- Phone: 512-232-8457
- Office: GAR 4.108
- Office Hours: On Leave- Spring 2013
- Campus Mail Code: B7000
Biography
Research interests
History of the environmental sciences and the human sciences; history of international organizations; U.S. foreign relations; war and society; environmental history.
His research explores attempts to use science to overcome social and political divisions, particularly in international relations. His current research focuses on projects in the social and environmental sciences programs of the United Nations in the quarter century following World War II.
Courses taught
Perspectives on Science and Math; Science, Technology, Medicine and War; U.S. Foreign Relations since 1914Awards, Honors:
His work has been supported by research fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, Council for European Studies at Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania. In 2008, he was awarded the John C. Burnham Early Career Award from the Forum for the History of the Human Sciences.
Publications
"Beyond the Cephalic Index: Negotiating Politics to Produce Unesco?s Scientific Statements on Race," Current Anthropology: The Biological Anthropology of Living Human Populations: World Histories, National Styles, and International Networks, 55: sup. 5 (Apr. 2012), 173-184.
"Patterns of Science: Developing Knowledge for a World Community at Unesco," Ph.D. Dissertation, History & Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania, 2011.
"UNESCO, Weltbürgerschaft und Kalter Krieg" in Macht und Geist im Kalten Krieg (Studien zum Kalten Krieg, vol. 5), ed. Bernd Greiner, Tim B. Müller, and Claudia Weber (Hamburg: Hamburger Edition, 2011), 476-496.
"The View from Everywhere: Disciplining Diversity in post-World War Two International Social Science," Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 45: 4 (Fall 2009), 309-329.
"Standardizing Wounds: Alexis Carrel and the Scientific Management of Life during World War I," British Journal for the History of Science, 42: 1 (March 2008), 73-107.
HIS 329U • Perspectives On Science & Math
39275-39280 •
Fall 2012
Meets
MWF 1100am-1200pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 329U • Perspectives On Science & Math
39285-39290 •
Fall 2012
Meets
MWF 200pm-300pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 350L • Conquest Of Nature
39350 •
Fall 2012
Meets
MW 330pm-500pm BUR 112
show description
This course explores the ways that state sponsored schemes to improve nature have simultaneously transformed environments and human communities. These schemes include mega-projects like canals and huge dams as well as scientific forestry, plant breeding, and even national parks. We will read exemplary historical studies of national, imperial, international, and “traditional” development programs, paying close attention to metaphors of war and to literal connections with national security; to the ways the conquest of nature has reinforced or altered power relations between and within countries; and to the unintended consequences, both tragic and fortuitous, of planned changes to the land. The first half of the course introduces the key themes and the second half focuses on case studies of state-sponsored attempts to develop water resources. Students will research and teach the class about a particular large-scale development project of their choice.
This is a Writing Flag course. The emphasis will be on writing, discussion of assigned readings, and an independent research project.
Grading:
Grades will be based on four one-page written responses to the readings, participation in discussions, and an independent research project that will result in a substantial essay and presentation.
Texts:
Readings will be mixture of secondary and primary sources. Secondary sources will include selections from:
Adas, Micahel. Dominance By Design: Technological Imperatives and America’s Civilizing Mission (2006).
Blackbourn, David. The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape and the Making of Modern Germany (2006).
Cronon, William. “A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative,” Journal of American History (1992).
Drayton, Richard. Nature’s Government: Science, Imperialism, and the ‘Improvement’ of the World (2000).
Fairhead, James and Melissa Leach. Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest Savanna (1996).
Ferguson, James. The Anti-Politics Machine: ‘Development,’ Depoliticization, and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho (1990).
Jacobs, Nancy. Environment, Power, and Injustice: A South African History (2003).
Khagram, Sanjeev. Dams and Development: Transnational Struggles for War and Power (2004).
Lansing, J. Stephen. Perfect Order: Recognizing Complexity in Bali (2006).
Perkins, John H. Geopolitics and the Green Revolution: Wheat, Genes, and the Cold War (1997).
Scott, James. Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (1998).
Wittfogel, Karl August. Oriental Despotism: A Comparative Study of Total Power (1957).
HIS 329U • Persp On Science & Math-Uteach
39285-39290 •
Spring 2012
Meets
MWF 1100am-1200pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established the credibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 329U • Persp On Science & Math-Uteach
39295-39300 •
Spring 2012
Meets
MWF 200pm-300pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 350L • Science, Technology, And War
39360 •
Spring 2012
Meets
MW 330pm-500pm PAR 310
show description
Description:
We tend to think of wars as pathological abnormalities, yet modern society could not have developed without war. Modern nation states and medical, information and transportation technologies, for example, are largely products of war. Warfare, of course, is increasingly dependent on complex knowledge and technology. This seminar explores the ways science and technology have affected the strategies, conduct and experience of war, and the key role of war in the development of science and technology. The course will cover the long history of technical knowledge and war, but will primarily focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. Examples of topics include: military medicine; new technologies and changing strategies; war as metaphor; dual-use technologies; counter-insurgency theory.
This is a Writing Flag course. The emphasis will be on writing, research, and class discussion.
Grading:
This seminar is built around class discussions of readings and independent research. Grades will be based on one-page weekly reading responses, a substantial research paper, and class participation.
Texts:
Readings will be a mix of primary and secondary sources. All texts will be included in a course reader. Secondary sources include excerpts from:
Roger Cooter, Mark Harrison and Steve Sturdy, eds., Medicine and Modern Warfare (1999).
John Dower, War without Mercy (1986).
Paul Forman and José Sánchez-Ron, eds., National Military Establishments and the Advancement of Science and Technology: Studies in 20th Century History (1996).
Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi, The Worlds of Herman Kahn (2005).
Bert S. Hall, Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics 1997).
Geoffrey Jensen and Andrew Wiest, eds., War in the Age of Technology: Myriad Faces of Modern Armed Conflict (2001).
Michael Latham, Modernization as Ideology: American Social Science and “Nation Building” in the Kennedy Era (2000).
Patrick Malone, The Skulking Way of War: Technologies and Tactics among the New England Indians (1991).
William H. McNeill, The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000 (1982).
David A. Mindell, War, Technology, and Experience aboard the USS Monitor (2000).
Eric Prokosch, The Technology of Killing: A Military and Political History of Antipersonnel Weapons (1995).
Michael Sherry, The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon (1987).
David Stevenson, Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy (2004).
HIS 329U • Persp On Science & Math-Uteach
39265-39270 •
Fall 2011
Meets
MWF 1100am-1200pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 329U • Persp On Science & Math-Uteach
39275-39280 •
Fall 2011
Meets
MWF 200pm-300pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 333M • Us Foreign Relatns, 1914-Pres
39285 •
Fall 2011
Meets
MWF 1200pm-100pm WEL 2.312
show description
This class introduces the history of American foreign relations from the First World War to the present. During this period, the United States fully joined the ranks of the great powers and then, following a period of hesitation, surpassed all its rivals in exercising influence around the world. We will explore the course and causes of this rise to power and seek to understand current dilemmas and debates within their historical context. The class aims for both breadth and depth. Some lectures and readings are aimed at providing a wide view of the political, economic, social and ideological currents that fed into the making of foreign policy. Other lectures and readings focus on particular topics – the debate over the League of Nations, American diplomacy during the Second World War, the Vietnam War, and the American interventions in Central America during the 1980s.
There are no prerequisites for the course, but students are expected to have a basic grasp of U.S. history from 1865 to the present. Ideally, students will have taken History 315 “The United States Since 1865.” Students should also be aware that this course does not require a textbook laying out the basic narrative of U.S. foreign-relations history. Anyone lacking familiarity with the basic history is strongly encouraged to read such a textbook alongside the required reading. A good choice is Walter LaFeber’s The American Age. Requirements
- Attendance at lectures
- Participation in online discussions (10% of term grade)
- Midterm exam (25% of term grade)
- Final exam (35% of term grade)
- Six one-page reading response papers (30% of term grade)
Required texts In addition to a course packet, the following monographs are required:
Nick Calluther, Secret History: The CIA’s Classified Account of Its Operations in Guatemala, 1952-1954 2nd ed. (2006).
Mark Atwood Lawrence, The Vietnam War: A Concise International History (2008). Emily Rosenberg, Spreading the American Dream: American Economic and Cultural Expansion, 1890-1945 (1982).
HIS 329U • Persp On Science & Math-Uteach
39545-39550 •
Spring 2011
Meets
MWF 1100am-1200pm PAI 4.18
show description
Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 329U • Persp On Science & Math-Uteach
39555-39560 •
Spring 2011
Meets
MWF 200pm-300pm PAI 4.18
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Course Description
Perspectives on Science and Math explores the intellectual, social, and cultural history of science and math from the Renaissance to the present. It is designed for students in UTeach Natural Sciences. The course has four interlocking goals: to give you an overview of the history of science and mathematics, for your general education and to help you reflect on your own reasons and goals for teaching science or math; to enable you to put this broader history and context to work in science and mathematics pedagogy; to improve your writing skills to competence or mastery; and likewise to improve you research and information analysis skills to competence of mastery. This is a writing flag class.
The readings and lessons explore the why, how, and what of the history of science and math. We will attempt to identify and analyze the goals of natural philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians—why did they think the knowledge they made was important? We will investigate the practices by which people have established thecredibility or authority of knowledge—how did people agree on what was true? And we will study the content of theories—what did people know? While exploring these historical questions, we will pay especially close attention to the changing roles of science and math education. “We” is not a figure of speech here. This is a team taught class, and you are on the team. Nearly a third of the lessons will be developed and led by students. These lessons will focus especially on answering the last question; that is, what did people know?
There is a weekly discussion section connected to this course which students are required to attend.
Readings are posted on the course’s blackboard site.
Grading Policies
Unless an extension is granted well in advance, the grade will drop a full letter for each day an assignment is late. “Sundry assignments” will not be accepted late. Plus/minus grades will be assigned.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities: 471-6259.
University policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be enforced.
Assignments
Participation: 15%
Attendance will be taken and factored into your grade. One unexcused absence is allowed. In addition, active and insightful engagement in the lessons will be rewarded—everyone is expected to participate in discussions. Attendance and participation in sections are included here.
Sundry Assignments: 10%
These are ungraded or plus-check-minus assignments completed in class or at home. Most are connected to a reading and are designed to improve comprehension and assure that students have completed the reading. They may include unannounced quizzes.
Short Research Paper: 10%
This paper is closely linked to the 5E Lesson Plan (see below). Before preparing the 5E Lesson Plan with a partner, each student will research and write a three to four page essay exploring the subject of his/her lesson.
5E Lesson Plan: 25%
Working in pairs, students will prepare, present, and revise one 5E Lesson Plan integrating a historical topic into a science or math lesson. These lessons are considered part of the class, and should focus on an interesting or important historical idea or method. The 5E Lesson Plans will be critical for providing the intellectual (as opposed to the social and cultural) history component of the course. Handouts, examples, rubrics, etc. will explain the assignment and establish clear expectations.
Peer Review: 5%
Students will provide feedback to peers on 5E Lesson Plans and selected writing assignments.
Unit Reflections: 15% (5% each)
Two to four page written reflections on the readings, lectures, and discussions for each of the first three units. Due the Monday after the end of the unit.
Midterm Exam: 10%
The midterm will consist of identifications and short answer questions
Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of identifications and short answer questions.
HIS 350L • Science, Technology, And War
39679 •
Spring 2011
Meets
MW 330pm-500pm CAL 200
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Description:
We tend to think of wars as pathological abnormalities, yet modern society could not have developed without war. Modern nation states and medical, information and transportation technologies, for example, are largely products of war. Warfare, of course, is increasingly dependent on complex knowledge and technology. This seminar explores the ways science and technology have affected the strategies, conduct and experience of war, and the key role of war in the development of science and technology. The course will cover the long history of technical knowledge and war, but will primarily focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. Examples of topics include: military medicine; new technologies and changing strategies; war as metaphor; dual-use technologies; counter-insurgency theory.
This is a Writing Flag course. The emphasis will be on writing, research, and class discussion.
Grading:
This seminar is built around class discussions of readings and independent research. Grades will be based on one-page weekly reading responses, a substantial research paper, and class participation.
Texts:
Readings will be a mix of primary and secondary sources. All texts will be included in a course reader. Secondary sources include excerpts from:
Roger Cooter, Mark Harrison and Steve Sturdy, eds., Medicine and Modern Warfare (1999).
John Dower, War without Mercy (1986).
Paul Forman and José Sánchez-Ron, eds., National Military Establishments and the Advancement of Science and Technology: Studies in 20th Century History (1996).
Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi, The Worlds of Herman Kahn (2005).
Bert S. Hall, Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics 1997).
Geoffrey Jensen and Andrew Wiest, eds., War in the Age of Technology: Myriad Faces of Modern Armed Conflict (2001).
Michael Latham, Modernization as Ideology: American Social Science and “Nation Building” in the Kennedy Era (2000).
Patrick Malone, The Skulking Way of War: Technologies and Tactics among the New England Indians (1991).
William H. McNeill, The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000 (1982).
David A. Mindell, War, Technology, and Experience aboard the USS Monitor (2000).
Eric Prokosch, The Technology of Killing: A Military and Political History of Antipersonnel Weapons (1995).
Michael Sherry, The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon (1987).
David Stevenson, Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy (2004).
