2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
HPSC1020 Science in the Modern World: Darwin, Germs and The Bomb
10 creditsClass Size: 150
Module manager: Annie Jamieson
Email: a.k.jamieson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2008/09
This module is approved as an Elective
Module summary
Controversies rage over science in our modern world. Devout Christians and Muslims battle biologists over the truth of the Darwinian theory of human origins from the animals. Parents desperate to do the right thing try to decide whether their child should or should not receive the MMR vaccine. Britain and the United States invade Iraq, with consequences still unfolding, in order to make sure that a rogue state does not obtain a "weapon of mass destruction." How did the world come to be like this? How did science extend itself so deeply into our lives, challenging our beliefs about God, changing the way we fight disease, giving us weapons of war so terrible that their use could annihilate our species? In this module, we turn to history for answers, and with them a new perspective on our conflicted present. Looking in particular at the rise of the Darwinian theory, the rise of the germ theory of disease, and the invention of the atomic bomb, we will discover how science became modern and how it transformed the world in its wake. Whatever your main degree, this module is for you. There are no prerequisites except a willingness to think for yourself.For more details, contact Annie Jamieson (email: a.k.jamieson@leeds.ac.uk)Objectives
To introduce selected major topics in the historical development of European Science from 1750 to the present.Syllabus
Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution; Pasteur and the Germ; the Atomic Bomb and its legacies.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Lecture | 11 | 1.00 | 11.00 |
| Tutorial | 5 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Private study hours | 84.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 16.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 100.00 | ||
Private study
Reading and Preparation: 84 hoursOpportunities for Formative Feedback
1 x 1,500 word essay & 1 x 1hr examMethods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay | 1,500 words | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 1 hr | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 50.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 09/06/2009
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