Here is a list of the courses I teach. Webpages are available only for JINS 362 and CHEM 320.
NASC 400 The History of Science to 1700. This course consists of an overview of the history of conceptions of the natural world from ancient Greece to Isaac Newton, and the broader intellectual and cultural influences on natural philosophy. Topics include ancient Greek science, the transmission of Greek knowledge to Islam and the Western World, medieval science, and the scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. This course has been designated as writing-enhanced, fulfills the historical mode of inquiry in the LSP, and serves as a course in the general honors program with a grade of A or B.
NASC 401 The History of Science since 1700. A continuation of NASC 401, this course treats the development of modern science from Newton to the twentieth century, emphasizing the reception of Newtonian physics, the Chemical Revolution, the rise of the atomic theory, Darwin and evolution, Einstein and relativity, and Watson and Crick on DNA. This course has also been designated as writing-enhanced, fulfills the historical mode of inquiry in the LSP, and serves as a course in the general honors program with a grade of A or B.
JINS 362: Extraterrestrial Life Does life or intelligence exist outside of the earth? This course will consist of readings and discussion of approaches to this question from historical, scientific, philosophical, and theological perspectives. Topics will include the emergence of the “Copernican principle,” the search for life on Mars, the study of the origin of life, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) program.
NASC 501 Philosophy of Science. This course is a one semester introduction to issues in the philosophy of science. Whereas scientists study nature to see how it works, philosophers of science look at science to understand how it creates reliable knowledge about nature. Issues that philosophers of science consider include 1) how to demarcate science from non-science or pseudo-science, 2) the validity of verification and falsification as methodologies, 3) the nature of scientific change over time, 4) what constitutes explanation in science, and 5) the ontological status of theoretical entities and the laws of nature (e.g. whether atoms really exist or not). We also consider the issue of scientific literacy, and issues relating to creationism/evolution in education.
HIST 366: Science in Germany, 1800-1945. This looks at the transformation that took place in German science from its relatively unimportant position in European science in the late eighteenth century to its dominant position in the last quarter of the nineteenth century until the 1930s. It looks at the influence of the Romantic movement on science in Germany, the transformation of the university to a research institution, the emergence of seminars and instructional laboratories, the character of individual sciences in Germany, and the effect of national socialism on German science. All required course readings are in in English.
CHEM 320 Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry. A one semester introduction to the chemistry of carbon compounds and biomolecules.
CHEM 329-CHEM 331 Introductory Organic Chemistry I and II. A basic introduction to the chemistry of carbon compounds. Topics include chemical structure and function, stereochemistry, reactions and reaction mechanisms, unsaturation, aromaticity and infrared and mass spectroscopy.
CHEM 330-332 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I and II.
CHEM 333 Organic Chemistry Laboratory (Superlab). This course combines CHEM 330 and CHEM 332 into one semester.
