In an attempt to help students and teachers of chemistry find suitable approaches, texts and projects in the history of chemistry, I have gathered sample course syllabi in the history of chemistry and made them available on this site. I also hope to post a list of relevant general texts and source materials for those interested in history of chemistry.
These courses emphasize the history of chemistry. For courses that treat primarily philosophical issues in chemistry, please visit HYLE: The International Journal for the Philosophy of Chemistry, where they have collected syllabi for courses treating topics that belong to the philosophy of chemistry proper.
If you teach a course that contains the history of the chemical sciences (broadly conceived), please send a copy of the syllabus (an MS Word file, a PDF file, or a website URL) to: ramberg@truman.edu
Available Syllabi in chronological order (all open into a new window):
History of Chemistry With Laboratory
John Beer, University of Delaware, 1981
Elements of Chemistry
Peter Ramberg, Truman State University, 1995
(taught at Johns Hopkins University)
Controversy in Chemistry
Stephen Weininger and Jay Labinger, 1998
Chemical History
Seth Rasmussen, North Dakota State University, 2001
History of Chemistry
Robert DeKosky, University of Kansas, 2002
The Evolution of Chemical Thought
Melvin Usselman, University of Western Ontario, 2002
History of Chemistry and Society
Robert Wismer, Millersville University, 2002
(I apologize for the odd typography).
Creating Chemistry and Chemists, from Alchemy to the Buckyball
Jody Roberts and Benjamin Cohen, Virginia Tech University, 2002
History and Philosophy of Chemistry
Catherine Jackson and Emma Tobin, University College, London (2007)
Elements, Atoms, Structure, Mechanism: Lectures in the History of Chemistry
Peter Ramberg, University of Zürich (2010)
Additional course materials available here.
