Undergraduate Coursework
![image of history of science](collage2012crop.jpg)
Undergraduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology do their coursework either in the Department of History, through its interdisciplinary major in History, Science and Medicine, or in the Department of Philosophy, through its major in History and Philosophy of Science. The interdisciplinary structure of requirements also allows students to do coursework in other departments that house the humanistic and social study of science, such as Anthropology, Classics, English, Political Science and in scientific disciplines.
UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE WITHIN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT
Faculty Coordinator: Jessica Riskin
The History, Science and Medicine major is a collaboration of the Department of History with the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science. The major is designed for students interested in both sciences and humanities, and in the interactions between the two. It is also especially useful for students contemplating medical school, since it allows them to study the history of medicine, biology, and allied sciences in conjunction with fulfilling the pre-med science requirements. The requirements for the major are listed within the History section of the bulletin under the subsection: History of Science and Medicine. (The student's advisor must approve his/her choice of courses for each cluster).
UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE WITHIN THE PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT
Faculty Coordinator: Michael Friedman
Bulletin information about the major supercedes this information, consult Stanford Bulletin, Philosophy section
Undergraduates may major in Philosophy with a degree field in History and Philosophy of Science under the Department of Philosophy. Each participating student is assigned an adviser who approves the course of study. A total of 61 units are required for the sub-major, to be taken according to requirements 1 through 5 below. Substitutions for the listed courses are allowed only by written consent of the under-graduate adviser for History and Philosophy of Science. Students are encouraged to consider doing honors work with an emphasis on the history and philosophy of science. Interested students should see the description of the honors thesis in Philosophy and consult their advisers for further information.
- Three science courses (for example, biology, chemistry, physics) for 12 units.
- The following Philosophy (PHIL) core courses must be completed with a letter grade by the end of the junior year:
- one from 50 (formerly 57), 150 (formerly 159), 151 (formerly 160A), 154 (formerly 169)
- 60 or 61
- 80
- Three history of science courses.
- Three philosophy of science courses, of which one must be PHIL 164.
- Three additional courses related to the major, in philosophy or history, to be agreed on by the adviser.
- At least six courses in the major must be completed at Stanford with a letter grade. Units for Tutorial, Directed Reading, or The Dualist (196, 197, 198) may not be counted in the requirement. No more than 10 units completed with grades of "satisfactory" and/or "credit" may be counted in the requirement.
- Transfer units must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Study at the time of declaring a major. Transfer courses are strictly limited when used to satisfy major requirements.
2015-2016 Courses offered in the area of History and Philosophy of Science
Introductory Courses
HPS/PHIL 60 | Introduction to Philosophy of Science, Longino | 5 units |
PHIL 15N | Freedom, Community, and Morality, Friedman | Not offered 15-16 |
HPS 61 | Philosophy and the Scientific Revolution, Friedman | 5 units |
Science in History
This sequence is designed to introduce students to the history of Science from antiquity to the 20th century. Students are advised to take most or all of this sequence as a core foundation.
CLASSGEN 22N | Technologies of Civilization: Writing, Number, and Money, Netz | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 40A/140A | Scientific Revolution, Riskin | 3 units |
HISTORY 40/140 | World History of Science, Proctor | 3 units |
HISTORY 46N | Science and Magic in History, Riskin | Not offered 15-16 |
OSPFLOR 44 | The Revolution in Science: Galileo and the Birth of Modern Scientific Thought, Findlen | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 44/144 | Women and Gender in Science, Medicine and Engineering, Schiebinger | 3-5 units |
205A/305A | The History of Information, Mullaney | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 240/340 | The History of Evolution, Riskin | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 241K/341K | Technology in Modern American Culture, Haring | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 244C | The History of the Body in Science, Medicine, and Culture, Schiebinger | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 332G | When Worlds Collide: The Trial of Galileo, Findlen | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 342 | Darwin in the History of Life, Proctor | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 344F | Gender Methods in History, Medicine, and Technology, Schiebinger | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 202B/302B | Coffee, Sugar, and Chocolate: Commodities and Consumption in World History, 1200-1800, Findlen | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 431 | Early Modern Things, Findlen | Not offered 15-16 |
Medicine in History
This sequence is designed to introduce students to the history of medicine from antiquity to the 20th century.
HISTORY 243C/343C | People, Plants, and Medicine: Atlantic World Amerindian, African, and European Science, Schiebinger | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 243G/343G | Tobacco and Health in World History, Proctor | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 130A | In Sickness and In Health: Medicine and American Society, 1800-Present, Horn | 5 units |
HISTORY 40 | World History of Science, Proctor | 3 units |
HISTORY 41Q | Mad Women: Women and Mental Illness in U.S. History, Horn | 3 units |
HISTORY 156G/ AMSTUD 156H | Women and Medicine in US History: Women as Patients, Healers and Doctors, Horn | 5 units |
CLASSGEN 149 | Ancient and Modern Medicine, Netz | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 244C | The History of the Body in Science, Medicine, and Culture, Schiebinger | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 264G | The Social History of Mental Illness in the United States, Horn | 5 units |
Philosophical Perspectives on Science, Medicine, and Technology
This sequence is designed to introduce students to the philosophy of science. Students are advised to take HPS 60 Introduction to Philosophy of Science above as a starting point, and combine a number of the electives listed below in conjunction with courses in the other concentrations that address their specific interests.
PHIL 162/262 | Philosophy of Mathematics, Donaldson | 4 units |
PHIL 163/263 | Significant Figures in Philosophy of Science, Ryckman | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 164/264 | Central Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Theory and Evidence, Ryckman | 4 units |
PHIL 164A/264A | Central Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Causation | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 165/265 | Philosophy of Physics, Ryckman | 4 units |
PHIL 167A/267A | Philosophy of Biology, Longino | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 167B/267B | Philosophy, Biology, and Behavior, Longino | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 224 | Kant's Philosophy of Physical Science, Friedman | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 224A | Mathematics in Kant's Philosophy, Friedman | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 165/265 | Philosophy of Physics, Ryckman | 4 units |
PHIL 324 | Kant's System of Nature and Freedom, Friedman | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 348 | Evolution of Signaling, Skyrms | 2-4 units |
PHIL 361 | Seminar in Social Dimensions of Scientific Knowledge, Longino | Not offered 15-16 |
PHIL 365 | Seminar in Philosophy of Science, Ryckman | 4 units |
Advanced Course Sequences
Contemporary Perspectives on Science, Medicine and Technology
The following courses focus on contemporary cultural and social science approaches to science, technology, and medicine.
HPS 199 | Directed Reading | 1-15 units |
HPS 299 | Graduate Individual Work | 1-15 units |
ANTHRO 180 | Science, Technology, and Gender, Jain | Not offered 15-16 |
HISTORY 44Q | Gendered Innovations in Science, Medicine, and Engineering, Schiebinger | 4-5 units |
HISTORY 203C/303C | History of Ignorance, Proctor | 5 units |
HISTORY 204DC/304D | Advanced Topics in Agnotology, Proctor | 4-5 units |
For Undergraduate Admissions applications, please visit the Stanford undergraduate admissions page.