Okay my name is Cristiano Turbil, 
the code for this module is HPSC0081,
and the title is Science in the 19th century.
The module traces the history of science,
medicine, and technology from the
beginning to the end of the 19th century.
This is an exceptionally rich period.
This course will focus on ten different
topics, which represent ten fundamental
scientific, medical, or technological
subjects discussed in the 19th century.
I would like to just give you some examples
to help you understand the spectrum you're gonna
be focused on. You're gonna start by
talking about medicine and Hospitals in
the early 19th century, with a debate on
the birth of the clinic, so how hospital
practices change at the beginning of the
century and develop throughout the whole
century. We're gonna dedicate time to
talk about Darwin and Darwinism, looking
at the Origin of Species, the idea of
evolution, and how this scientific
theory was influencing not only the
scientific debate, but also the cultural
and political one. In addition to these
we're gonna talk about science and
religion, we're going to talk about the
public for science, we're gonna talk
about scientific authority. We're gonna
also talk about controversial topics
like sexuality, eugenics, and aspects that
actually fascinate scientists, medical
doctors, and the public alike in that
historical period.
For this course we actually have two
assessments that are actually, to a
certain extent, I will say a little bit
peculiar. The first assessment is an
opportunity for students to write a
commentary on a specific primary source
of their choice. So students are asked to
select an artifact - it can be anything, it
can be a medical tool, it can be a
drawing of an advertisement of a Victorian
exhibition, or it can be a telescope. What
students are asked is to comment on that source,
explore that source, try to understand
what that particular tool can tell us
about one particular scientific topic, in
one particular context, in one particular
place. The second assessment is again not
too traditional, it's actually the
opportunity for a student to write a
research proposal. We know that a lot of
our students think, or maybe want to, carry
on their study, perhaps doing a PhD. So
that's a fantastic opportunity for
understanding from the inside how
research works. So with this assessment we
ask you to think about a potential
research topic, starting by selecting a
title, looking into what type of source
you would like to use and analyze, what
type of question you would like to ask,
and what type of answer you would like
to provide. This is an exercise that will
put students close to work with primary
sources and artifacts, but at the same time,
to engage with big historical questions
and existing scholarship on that topic.
There are no prerequisites actually, we accept any masters student that has an interest in 19th century
history, with particular focus on science, medicine and technology.
