History of Science

History of Science is a pre-honours semester 2 elective open to every student in the university. Learn alongside peers from all disciplines about the very essence of what we do here, about how and why people across history and around the world have tried to know things systematically about their worlds.

A Course With a History

The University of Edinburgh's History of Science course has a unique history of its own, dating back to 1972, based on what was starting to become the world-famous "Edinburgh School" in the sociology of scientific knowledge. Each edition of the course has responded to the scientific, humanistic, and political debates of its day, taking on the most exciting and urgent questions about how people know what they know, why, and what difference this makes. Today, the course remains a distinctive place for rethinking the social foundations and effects of the knowledge that human societies have produced across history and around the world.

Testimonials and Recognition

EUSA Outstanding Course nominee every year since 2019-2020 (when the course received a major redesign). Student nominators wrote:
- “has opened my mind and really changed the way I think”
- “my favourite course out of anything I have done in my sub-honours”
- “developed my comprehensive skills in reading like a historian and writing”
- “relevant to my studies [as a science student] in all areas in the future”
- “completely unique to any others I took and was by far the one I enjoyed the most”
- “inspired a strong interest in the subject which I didn’t know I had”
The course's External Examiner commended the course as “a thoroughly excellent example of student-led imaginative learning.”
The Royal Historical Society recognised the course as the 2022 runner-up for its Innovation in Teaching Award.

Structure and Assessment

The course takes a "Themes and Perspectives" approach to the subject, investigating how to think about big questions and challenges in the history of science that apply to a wide variety of times and places. There are ten weekly themes: Cosmologies, Abstractions, Collections, Lives, Bodies, Quantities, Measures, Particles, Worlds, and Objectivities. Within each theme, we will discuss a range of topics and students will be supported in exploring further subjects and questions according to their individual interests. If there are specific topics related to your degree or other interests that you would like to emphasise, we can help you find a pathway through the course that highlights these. At the same time, we will focus on building skills in reading and analysis that you can take with you throughout your studies and career, whatever subjects you study.

The course meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We have allocated 2 hours for each meeting, but most of the time we do not use the entire timeslot. The course meetings include a mix of lectures, discussions, and other activities. These will be recorded wherever possible, as there are always students who have to miss sessions, catch-up, or review. In addition, we offer optional small-group tutorials that focus on developing skills and promoting discussion with peers.

The assessment takes a back seat to the learning activities that drive the course. The work you do to engage the course material will translate directly into a portfolio submission at the end. Your tutor (whether or not you attend the tutorials) will give you feedback as you develop your portfolio during the semester. You can take the course either pass/fail (recommended) or for a numerical mark, and these options will be discussed in detail during week 1. For pass/fail assessments, the feedback will focus on your personal learning priorities and skill development, whereas numerical mark feedback is more constrained by the official mark descriptors. In both cases, you take the lead in evaluating your own work, including a self-evaluation that forms the foundation for your assessment.

Why Take History of Science?

Ask big, exciting questions and learn to think in a new way!
Develop skills you can take with you in any degree subject!
Learn alongside students from across the university! Meet new people and stretch your boundaries!
A flexible course with the freedom to explore what matters to you!
- Also flexible in terms of accommodating lots of different schedules and needs. The course is designed to make you think, not make you stressed.
New Pass/Fail option: focus on learning without worrying about your mark!

School of Social and Political Science