Science and Technology in the Modern World - Undergraduate - Spring Online Course Information

Science tries to understand how the natural world works. Technology tries to manipulate the natural world for human ends. How they interact is the subject of this course. Modern science began in the 1600s. The 1700s saw the beginnings of a revolution in technology that continues to this day. Examine the artifacts of this revolution: the chronometer, the steam engine, the Erie Canal, the telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, the radio, the motion picture, the automobile, the airplane, the computer. Explore the scientific background of each of these inventions that transformed the daily lives of people. Identify how much of the development of new technology came from research by scientists and how much from plain old-fashioned dreaming and tinkering by people who sought new ways of doing things.