2018 | History of Science C

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2018　History of Science C

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Academic unit or major: Humanities and social science courses

Instructor(s): Yajima Michiko Satou Kenichi Satou Kenichi

Class Format: Lecture

Media-enhanced courses

Day/Period(Room No.): Tue7-8(W321) Fri7-8(W321)

Group: -

Course number: LAH.T302

Credits: 2

Academic year: 2018

Offered quarter: 1Q

Syllabus updated: 2018/3/20

Lecture notes updated: -

Language used: Japanese

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Syllabus

Course description and aims

Part1 / History of Mathematics: This course focuses on the history of premodern East Asian mathematics. The first half of the course focuses on the history of traditional Chinese mathematics and the second half on traditional Japanese mathematics, i.e. Wasan.
Part2 / History of biology and History of geology: This course gives an overview of the history of science from the 16th century to the present, paying attention mainly to natural history, astronomy, geology, and biology in Europe.
This course facilitates students’ understanding of natural science in the time and social space science develops and also in the gender viewpoint.

Student learning outcomes

History of mathematics:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the social background behind the mathematics of ancient China.
2) Understand the characteristics of mathematics in the Edo period.

History of biology and history of geology:
When tracing the history of science from ancient times to the present day, it becomes apparent that modernization starts gradually in the 16th and 17th centuries and continues to the present. This course covers what position science occupied in each of these periods, and considers the position occupied by women in science. By the end of this course, students will have a deeper understanding of the "now" of science by establishing the time-axis (history) and space-axis (society) related to science through these endeavors.

Keywords

History of Mathematics: history of mathematics in East Asia, ancient Chinese astronomy, traditional Japanese mathematics, wasan
History of biology and History of geology: the history of science, the 16 to 17th century, the 19th century, geocentricism, heliocentricism, natural history, geology, dinosaurs, continental drift, plate tectonics, biology

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills

✔ Intercultural skills

Communication skills

✔ Critical thinking skills

Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

History of mathematics: lectures will address one theme per class. Students will write responses and questions on a card and submit them at the end of the class. Students should study the distributed material beforehand.
History of biology and history of geology: one theme will be addressed per class. Audio-visual material will be used in each class in conjunction with a lecture. Students will write responses and questions on a response card for about 5 minutes at the end.

Course schedule/Required learning

	Course schedule	Required learning
Class 1	History of Mathematics: Ancient Chinese Mathematics	Ancient Chinese History (BC16c ～ AD1c) and its Mathematics
Class 2	History of biology and History of geology: Reconstruction of dinosaurs	In the 19th century, unknown animals were discovered as fossil and scientists tried to reconstruct scientifically.
Class 3	History of Mathematics: Ancient Chinese Astronomy	The characteristics of Chinese calendar making system
Class 4	History of biology and History of geology: Is the heliocentric theory scientific?	The geocentric theory explains the real movement satisfactory.
Class 5	History of Mathematics: Middle Age Chinese Mathematics	The knowledge and techniques of calculating polynomial equations in Chinese mathematics
Class 6	History of biology and History of geology: Did Galileo fight alone?	The lynx academy, the first academy in the world
Class 7	History of Mathematics: Abacus and Practical Arithmetic in China	The influence of invention of abacus in China AD14th century
Class 8	History of biology and History of geology: Please take care of usage of evolution.	What is the Darwinian theory?"
Class 9	History of Mathematics：Traditional Japanese Marhematics, Wasan	General history of traditional Japanese mathematics from the 17th to 19th century
Class 10	History of biology and History of geology: Charles Darwin, a geologist	The geologist made the evolutionary theory.
Class 11	History of Mathematics: SEKI Takakazu and TAKEBE Katahiro	Two mathematicians' biography and their mathematical works
Class 12	History of biology and History of geology: The beginning of the women geologists	Who drew the fossils, who dug fossils?
Class 13	History of Mathematics: Traditional Japanese Astronomy	The characteristics of Japanese calendar making system
Class 14	History of biology and History of geology: From the continental drift theory to plate tectonics	The beginning, death, and recovery of the continental drift theory
Class 15	History of Mathematics: Land Surveying in Edo Period	The knowledge and techniques of land surveying from the 17th to 19th century
Class 16	History of biology and History of geology:Rosalind Franklin and the DNA model research	The beginning of the women biologists

Textbook(s)

History of Mathematics: No textbook is designated.

History of biology and History of geology: No textbook is designated.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

History of Mathematics:Course materials are provided during class.
History of biology and History of geology:Toshikawa, S. and Yajima, M. 2003. 'THe adventure of Mary Anning”Asahi.
Yajima, M. and Wada, S. 2004.“The introductionof history of geology and astronomy”, Belet.
Yajima M. 2008. “The Memory of Fossils” Tokyo UP.

Assessment criteria and methods

History of Mathematics:Students’ course scores are based on final exams (50%) and exercise problems (50%).
History of biology and History of geology:One homework assignment based on topics from lectures (40 %)
One homework assignment based on the history of science in general (40 %)
Reaction paper (20 %))

Related courses

LAH.T102 ： History of Science A
LAH.T302 ： History of Science C
LAH.T103 ： History of Technology A
LAH.T203 ： History of Technology B
LAH.T303 ： History of Technology C
LAH.T106 ： Philosophy of Science A
LAH.T207 ： Philosophy of Science B
LAH.T306 ： Philosophy of Science C

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

History of Mathematics:None required.
History of biology and History of geology:No prerequisites are necessary, but enrollment of History of Science A is desirable.

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