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SoSe 23: Saviour of humankind or "mad, bad, and dangerous"? Science and scientists in fiction, culture, and society

Susanne Scharnowski

Kommentar

Topic: With the Covid19 pandemic as well as in the context of climate change, slogans such as “follow the science” or appeals to “trust science” have become ubiquitous. For the citizens of modern societies, science and scientists are probably the last remaining unquestioned authorities; when we need guidance, we listen to scientific experts and trust that they will give us solid advice. However, this is a relatively new development; during the time of the ascent of the sciences, from the 18th through to the mid-20th centuries, new discoveries and inventions in the sciences as well as the scientists and inventors themselves were met with scepticism or suspicion. One powerful expression of this attitude of societies towards the sciences can be found in popular works of fiction: we still use the names of fictional characters such as Faust, Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde or Dr Strangelove to characterise mad, evil or amoral scientists as well as dangerous scientific and/ or technological developments. Program: In this course, we will examine the development of literary / cultural imaginations of science and scientists, looking at key figures as well as key developments in the sciences: Faust, alchemy and science; Victor Frankenstein, the creation of life and galvanism; Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde, experimental drugs and the split personality of the scientist; Wells’ The Island of Dr Moreau and the perils of genetic research; Huxley’s Brave New World as the image of a dystopian society based on the accomplishments of genetic engineering and chemistry; the figure of the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the ‘father of the atomic bomb’, in post-war reality and fiction, and, finally, the benevolent scientific research in the fields of medicine and climate change as presented in Kim Stanley Robinson’s Green Earth trilogy. Based on extracts from the texts and on academic texts which contextualise and analyse the topics, discussions in class will take literature as a point of departure for a more fundamental examination of the connection between science and society. Some of the materials will be available on Blackboard; additionally, students have to purchase the reader (a collection of photocopied texts in printed form) from the copy shop Habelschwerdter Allee 37. Is this the right course for you? You should be prepared to study literary as well as complex academic texts in English, and you should be interested in a critical analysis, interpretation and discussion of cultural and social phenomena. Workload and Assessment: To obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have to have studied the course materials (an average of 25-35 pages of English texts per week), engage with them and discuss them in class. You will also have to pass a short mid-term test and the final written exam. Schließen

14 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Mi, 10:00 - 12:00 14 Termine

Mi, 19.04.2023 10:00 - 12:00

Dozenten:
Dr. Susanne Scharnowski