Two Centuries of Achievement in German Science and Its Interpretation Through Literature: Fictions of Science
Professors David Anderson & Dennis Taylor
4 semester hours
Swinging Bridges on Maui - Windward Slope Western Mountains
Photo: Daniel C. Factor
I. Course Description:
This course examines the contributions of German scientists to the modern disciplines of biology, physics, natural history and medicine, with emphasis on biology, natural history and physics. We begin with studies of the writings of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the scientist who was the inspiration for Charles Darwin, examining original descriptions of his South American expedition followed by readings of accounts of his travels in the biography Humboldt's Cosmos and fictional constructions of events in his life from the novel Measuring the World. Because the course is an interdisciplinary approach to studying the interaction of humans with the natural environment, we will examine the way in which humans try to understand the natural world, using the western tradition of natural history investigation looking ourselves at the history and practice of the Naturalist tradition in biology, ecology and evolution through the venue of the each of the biomes we visit. Von Humbolt's original observations on the correlation between latitude and altitude on plant forms will be seen first hand as we visit biomes from Alaska to Hawaii and up the slopes of Haleakela on Maui. The role of humans in shaping the environment in the past will be contrasted with our own observations of rural environments of the region today. The central and inseparable role of nature in the culture of the people of the world will be experienced firsthand. We will use naturalist methods of observation to record both traditional lifestyles and their impact on nature with modern development and its impact on natural areas. The course will have as an underlying theme accurate description of the world through journal writing of first-hand observations.
Works of literature which deal with the impact of science in the modern period will be integrated into the course, so that intellectual cross-currents between science and society may be discussed and analyzed. Issues associated with global warming like paradigm shift, uncertainty and control over knowledge will be explored in the works of McCormmach, Frayn, and Duerrenmatt as we attempt to see parallels between acceptance of global warming theory and earlier controversial scientific discoveries.
A main emphasis of this class will be to begin to understand diversity by recording our own western reactions to the natural world, contrasting these with observations of people who have lived in these regions. We will be placed in the role of a minority group in a dominant culture, hopefully confronting the issue of understanding cultural diversity by living in another culture as opposed to asking others to meld their views into our own dominant culture as we do when living in Ohio. The inseparable role of the natural world in forming a people's response to the environment will be discussed in a land that survives ecologically only because of the understanding of the people who have inhabited the region for centuries. A common theme will be the impact of global warming and its effect on water and watersheds of each biome.
II. Learning Goals:
The course has several objectives with activities planned to give students skills and expertise used by naturalists. The course centers on developing Higher Order Thinking Skills by: asking students to create questions for blog topics; having groups explore different ways of understanding the world using a naturalist versus and experimental approach; encouraging open discussion of different ideas and different approaches to understanding nature. We assume that students will bring with them well-developed general academic skills. We will focus on developing these further through critical reading of descriptions of the world's biomes and natural history of the region and careful descriptive writing of our own observations. We will engage in peer editing of works intended for immediate web publication on the course blog, and for speaking engagements once we return. We promote student understanding of general liberal arts values by asking students to develop informed concerns about the ethics of human land use, and we ask students to confront the morality of uncontrolled growth of human populations using multiple perspectives not just those of ecologists. We hope students will develop a life-long interest in reading about other peoples and other cultures, and leave the course with a better appreciation and acceptance of ways of approaching the world that are not "American". We hope to present students with career and work skills through leadership training as we engage in community service projects, and management skills for student use of time with assignments while we engage in a grueling travel schedule. Last but not least, we hope to aid student personal development by providing students with opportunities to think for themselves, make informed decisions, and commit to and respect the community of scholars with which they work and the ways of others who work from perspectives foreign to their own experience.
III. Expectations:
Students are responsible for attending all required orientation sessions and participate in all parts of the course as we travel. They are expected to have read the assigned readings prior to discussion. Students' journal entries from the Biology course must be kept current each and every day of the trip. Four assigned blogs must be published on time by working in four groups. The social construction of knowledge requires that participants work together on blog topics so that understanding of the topic comes from the participation with one another rather than from the contributions of individuals who write about the world as they see it. Student participation within the group is critical to the success of this course, because the livelihood of all depend upon each individual's willingness to live in community. Blog Groups are labeled A, B, C and D with blogs by each group associated with four blog topics.
Blog topics:
Blog 1
deals with the topic of Alexander von Humboldt and the blog groups' perceptions of Humboltean travel. Blogs will incorporate individual observations placed in context of readings and discussions about the epic journey of Alexander von Humboldt and Aimee Bonpland as described by Kehlmann and Helferich's accounts of their journey. Students will encounter their own experience of measuring the world as they proceed on their own epic journey.
A depiction of von Humboldt and Bonpland at the Avenue of the Volcanoes
Photo from: Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the Years 1799-1824 [i.E. 1804]: Aime Bonpland,Alexander von Humboldt
Blog 2
moves to discuss the issue paradigm shift as students move from the material capitalistic world of America to places where this paradigm is not so highly valued. The difficulties of paradigm shift in a world undergoing rapid global warming will be discussed in light of the observations of global warming seen by each blog group. Paradigm shifts in the world of classical physics and the modern world as described by McCormmach's character, Victor Jakob can be compared with student shifts in world views brought about by changes in the cultures we visit and the worlds we observe.
Blog 3
deals with the subject of uncertainty about our understanding of the world as scientists exploring new landscapes in a rapidly changing world. The uncertainty principle as discovered by Werner Heisenberg will be examined in terms of the uncertainty of knowing what really happened in the past and what implications those events have on the present as students reflect on Michael Frayn's play about the historical encounter of Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in Copenhagen, Denmark, in World War II.
Blog 4
will attempt to examine our own human frustrations in attempting to control what others know about the world as students put in context their own encounters with the different peoples of different cultures throughout our travels and our own attempt to help others to understand the world as we might want them to understand it based on our three months of travel. Duerrenmatt's brilliant play, written in response to the dropping of the atom bomb, provides context for us as we grapple especially with the issue of global warming and its impact on the people of the world.
Because this course is designed on the format of an upper level seminar, the course depends upon daily input for success. For that reason, students are expected to be prepared each day even when travel has not gone as planned. Everyone will be required to work together in constructing blogs based on full reading of texts and full participation in class discussion on those texts and topics.
Texts:
- Duerrenmatt, Friedrich. The Physicists. Grove Press
- Frayn, Michael. Copenhagen. Anchor Press.
- Helferich, Gerard. Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American journey that changed the way we see the world. Gotham Books.
- Kehlmann, Daniel. Measuring the World. Vintage Books
- McCormmach, Russell. Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist. Harvard University Press.
IV. Assessment :
We expect all students to keep current with reading and to meet blog deadlines. Each blog will be worth 20% of the grade with 20% dependent on class participation including discussions.
David R. Anderson
Dennis J. Taylor
andersondr at hiram.edu
taylordj at hiram.edu
last updated 12 September 2008
Banner Photo by Mathew J. Wilson