Science, society and culture in European history

Held in Prato, the unit aims to introduce you to the history of science, medicine, and technology in Europe. Far from value-free, knowledge and practice is everywhere and always embedded in a social, political, economic, and cultural context. We will probe these entwined historical experiences through an analysis of written texts, visual sources, and material artefacts.  We traverse the premodern/modern divide to illuminate continuity and change across time and space in ways that re-contextualise transformative moments such the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. With a focus on the relationship between knowledge and power, topics may include sanitation and public health; medical technology; urban planning and design; global comparisons and knowledge transfer; technology and empire. This unit will be of interest to students in Science, Medicine, Engineering, as well as Arts.