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History of Science and Technology

History of Science and Technology

University of King's College

Rethink our relationships with everything

Science and technology infuse every aspect of modern life. The renowned History of Science and Technology Program encourages you to:

  • gain perspectives on the changing ways in which we have conceptualised and interacted with the natural world and have understood the human body
  • reconsider the relationships between nature, society and technology – explore the social and political implications of scientific discovery and medical practice
  • take courses on cybernetics, bio-politics, science fiction, alchemy, the ideals of environmentalism, human experiments and the birth of modern medicine

Find out more

News & Events HOST+

 


Course Requirements

Combined Honours

Students who intend to apply to graduate school or professional programs (such as medicine, law, or journalism) are encouraged to take an honours degree which requires a higher quality of work than other undergraduate programs.

In HOST you must pursue a Combined Honours degree (that is a degree integrating courses from two disciplines) by combining your HOST degree with a program from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (for a BA), a program from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Science (for a BSc), or a degree in Journalism (for a BJH).

To complete a combined honours in the History of Science and Technology, BA students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours to a maximum of 48 credit hours in HSTC. BSc students may complete a minimum of 30 credit hours (or a minimum of 24, with the program’s approval) to a maximum of 54 credit hours in HSTC.

Within these credit hours, the program’s four 3 credit hours “core” courses must be included:

  • HSTC 2001.03 or equivalent
  • HSTC 3001.03 or equivalent
  • HSTC 4001.03 or equivalent
  • HSTC 4600.03
  • Note: With special permission from the Program Director, HSTC 3031.03 may be substituted for one of the core courses.

The requirements for the second honours subject are dependent on that department, and vary from program to program. In total, a minimum of 66 credit hours to a maximum of 84 credit hours in the two allied honours subjects must be completed. Students may fulfil the honours requirement in either of the two honours subjects. Usually this subject will be the one in which the student has taken more classes. In the HOST program, completion of the honours thesis (HSTC 4650.03) fulfils the requirement of the honours qualifying examination.

MINOR

You can take a minor in HOST to complement your degree. Studying science through this humanities-based approach demonstrates your ability to think about science ‘outside the box’.

The Minor in HOST requires a minimum of 18 to a maximum of 27 credit hours taken at the 2000 level or above. This must include (updated January 2022):

  1. any one of the following three core courses
    • HSTC 2001.03: Beginnings of Wisdom: Science in the Pre-modern World (or equivalent)
    • HSTC 3001.03: The Scientific Revolution (or equivalent)
    • HSTC 4001.03: Science and Nature in the Modern Period (or equivalent
  2. six credit hours at the 3000 or 4000 level.

 

Explore courses
Core Courses

Introduction to the History of Science I: from the Ancients to the Birth of the Modern

HSTC 1201.03 / HSTC 2211.03 / SCIE 2001.03 / HIST 2075.03
Fall
Alumni Hall (Lectures)
MW 1435-1525 (Lecture)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 1, Classroom AA1)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 2, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 3, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 4, Classroom AA1)
F 1435-1525 (Tutorial 5, Classroom AA1)

Introduction to the History of Science II: From The Birth of the Modern to the Present

HSTC 1202.03 / HSTC 2212.03 / SCIE 2002.03 / HIST 2076.03
Winter
Alumni Hall (Lectures)
MW 1435-1525 (Lecture, Alumni Hall)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 1, Classroom AA1)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 2, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 3, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 4, Classroom AA1)
F 1435-1525 (Tutorial 5, Classroom AA1)

Beginnings of Wisdom: Science in the Pre-modern World

HSTC 2001.03 / CLAS2001.03
Fall
Archibald Room
TR 1435-1555

Medieval Natural Philosophy: from the Roman Empire to the Age of Dante

HSTC 2002.03 / CLAS 2002.03
Winter
Archibald Room
TR 1435-1555

The Scientific Revolution

HSTC 3001.03
Fall
Scotiabank Room
M 1235-1425
W 1235-1325

Science and Nature in the Modern Period

HSTC 4001.03
Fall
Seminar Room
TR 1005-1125

Disputes: Methodologies in the History of Science and Technology

HSTC 4600.03
Fall
Frazee Room
WF 1055-1125
Summer 2024
Electives

Introduction to the History of Science I: from the Ancients to the Birth of the Modern

HSTC 1201.03 / HSTC 2211.03 / SCIE 2001.03 / HIST 2075.03
Fall
Alumni Hall (Lectures)
MW 1435-1525 (Lecture)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 1, Classroom AA1)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 2, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 3, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 4, Classroom AA1)
F 1435-1525 (Tutorial 5, Classroom AA1)

Introduction to the History of Science II: From The Birth of the Modern to the Present

HSTC 1202.03 / HSTC 2212.03 / SCIE 2002.03 / HIST 2076.03
Winter
Alumni Hall (Lectures)
MW 1435-1525 (Lecture, Alumni Hall)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 1, Classroom AA1)
W 1535-1625 (Tutorial 2, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 3, Seminar Room)
R 1435-1525 (Tutorial 4, Classroom AA1)
F 1435-1525 (Tutorial 5, Classroom AA1)

Beginnings of Wisdom: Science in the Pre-modern World

HSTC 2001.03 / CLAS2001.03
Fall
Archibald Room
TR 1435-1555

Medieval Natural Philosophy: from the Roman Empire to the Age of Dante

HSTC 2002.03 / CLAS 2002.03
Winter
Archibald Room
TR 1435-1555

The Lecture Series: Representations of Disability in Historical, Scientific, and Artistic Perspectives

CTMP 2011.03/3011.03/4011.03, EMSP 2011.03/3011.03/4011.03, HSTC 2011.03/3011.03/4011.03
Winter
KTS Lecture Hall/Alumni Hall
T 1605-1755
T 1905-2055

Origins of Modern Medicine

HSTC 2102.03
Fall
Summer
Summer: Seminar 7 / Fall: Alumni Hall
Summer: MTWR 1305-1525
Fall: R 1735-2025

Magic, Science and the Occult: from Antiquity to Postmodernity

HSTC 2120.03 / EMSP 2360.03 / HIST 2990.03 / RELS 2120.03
Fall
Archibald Room
W 1735-2025

The Beginnings of Western Medicine: Birth of the Body

HSTC 2202.03 / CLAS 2202.03
Winter
Archibald Room
TR 1305-1425

Engineering the Planet: the Anthropocene Era, from Prehistory to Today's Global Crisis

HSTC 2210.03
Fall
Seminar 7
T 1735-2025

Ideas of the Sea and Seafaring: Intercultural Perspectives

EMSP 2490.03 / CTMP 2207.03 / HSTC 2220.03
Fall
KTS Lecture Hall
TR 1305-1425

The Sciences of Disaster

HSTC 2301.03
Winter
Scotiabank Room
MW 1005-1125

The Origins of Science Fiction in Early Modern Europe

EMSP 2340.03 / HSTC 2340.03
Winter
Seminar 7
MW 1605-1725

The Body in Early Modern Europe

EMSP 2350.03 / HSTC 2350.03
Fall
Seminar 7
MW 1005-1125

Science in the Media

HSTC 2400.03 / JOUR 2400.03
Winter
KTS Lecture Hall
M 1735-2025

Science Fiction in Film

HSTC 2500.03
Fall
Alumni Hall
M 1735-2055

The Scientific Revolution

HSTC 3001.03
Fall
Scotiabank Room
M 1235-1425
W 1235-1325

Science and Culture I: The Discourses of Modernity

CTMP 3001.03 / HSTC 3031.03
Fall
Archibald Room
M 1535-1725
W 1535-1625

Science and Culture II: Resetting the Modern

CTMP 3002.03 / HSTC 3032.03
Winter
Archibald Room
M 1535-1725
W 1535-1625

Medicine in the 20th and 21st Centuries

HSTC 3103.03
Winter
Scotiabank Room
R 1735-2025

Science and Religion: Historical Perspectives

HSTC 3200.03 / EMSP 3330.03 / RELS 3200.03 / HIST 3075.03
Fall
Seminar 7
TR 1605-1725

Science and Religion: Contemporary Perspectives

HSTC 3201.03 / CTMP 3201.03 / RELS 3201.03 / HIST 3076.03
Winter
Seminar 7
TR 1605-1725

Ecology and Religion

HSTC 3202.03/ RELS 3211.03
Fall
Seminar 7
W 1735-2025

History of Biology

HSTC 3302.03 / BIOL 3602.03
Fall
Scotiabank Room
TR 1305-1425

Art, Optics, and Technologies of Illusion

EMSP 3350.03 / HSTC 3350.03
Winter
Archibald Room
TR 1005-1125

Anti-Colonial Science

HSTC 3403.03
Winter
Scotiabank Room
MW 1305-1425

Hypatia’s Daughters: Women in Science

HSTC 3412.03 / GWST 3412.03
Winter
Seminar 7
TR 1005-1125

Brewing Civilization: The History, Culture and Science of Beer

HSTC 3415.03
Winter
Summer
ONLINE / ASYNCHRONOUS

Studies in Science and Nature in the Modern Period: The History of Predicting the Future

HSTC 3615.03
Winter
Scotiabank Room
WF 1135-1255

Science and Nature in the Modern Period

HSTC 4001.03
Fall
Seminar Room
TR 1005-1125

Disputes: Methodologies in the History of Science and Technology

HSTC 4600.03
Fall
Frazee Room
WF 1055-1125
Honours Thesis & Colloquium

DALHOUSIE SELECTIVES

Students enrolled in the Combined Honours or Minor program in HOST can opt to take a maximum of one 3-credit hour “selective” course at Dalhousie University to count toward the HOST part of their degree. The Registrar’s Office at King’s should be notified if students wish to pursue this option. Not all selectives are offered each year.  Please consult the current timetable for this year’s offering.

Approved selectives are:

Discover more

Discover the history of engineering. Learn about science fiction in film, science and the media, or science and religion. These are just some of the topics of elective courses open to students pursuing a King’s Honours degree or any program in King’s and Dalhousie shared Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Faculty of Science.

Using the combined resources of philosophical, historical and sociological methods, HOST traces the roots and trajectories of primary conceptions of nature and our place within it.

"Science is a human activity, done by human beings, who are very complicated and who inhabit networks of power, technology, and politics that make their way into the content of their scientific work."

Stephanie Dick
Stephanie Dick

Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, 2007

More Opportunities

Minors

You can choose from more than 75 minors to complement your degree.

Certificates

Build skills in a specialized area of study by adding a certificate to your History of Science and Technology degree. You can take King’s courses as part of a certificate in Medical Humanities. King’s courses also contribute to a certificate in Art History & Visual Culture, and there are many more certificates offered through our partnership with Dalhousie.


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