Summer 2023 Schedule
Classroom Legend
SS – Sidney Smith Hall (100 St. George Street)
UC – University College (15 King’s College Circle)
WO – Woodsworth College Residence (321 Bloor Street West)
WW – Woodsworth College (117/119 St. George Street)
First Term: May 1, - June 30, 2023
Course code: HPS100H1 Introduction to History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Course instructor: Hakob Barseghyan
Lecture Days & Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm
Tutorial Days & Times: Tuesdays 3 pm-4 pm, 4 pm-5 pm; Thursdays 9 am-10 am, 10 am -11 am
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - Online Synchronous
Course Description: An investigation of some pivotal periods in the history of science with an emphasis on the influences of philosophy on the scientists of the period, and the philosophical and social implications of the scientific knowledge, theory and methodology that emerged.
Distribution Requirement: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
Course code: HPS300H1 Topics in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology: History of Evolution and its Consequences for Philosophy, Sociology and Religion
Course instructor: Daniel Halverson
Lecture Days & Times: Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00 am – 12:00 noon (Classroom Location: WW121)
Tutorial Days & Times: Mondays 1 pm-2pm (Classroom Location: WW121)
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - In-person
Course Description: The story of biology and the wider debate over its implications is one of the most exciting intellectual adventures history has to offer. It shows the power of scientific explanation to reshape our understanding of ourselves and our world, as well as the potential abuses of both scientific and religious authority. In this course, we will survey the science of life in historical context, and also explore its influence for philosophy, sociology, and religion. We will see how evolutionary theories emerged out of particular historical circumstances and how those circumstances have shaped our understanding of its implications. Along the way we will enter into dialogue with scientists, philosophers, and religious leaders as we, too, explore the history of evolution and the meaning of life.
Distribution Requirements: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: None
Second Term (July 1 – August 31, 2023)
Course code: HPS250H1 Introductory Philosophy of Science
Course instructor: Fermin Fulda
Lecture Days & Times: Mondays and Wednesdays 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (Classroom Location: SS2102)
Tutorial Days & Times: Mondays 4 pm -5 pm; (Classroom Location: SS2111) and Wednesdays 10 am – 11 am, 11 am – 12 noon (Classroom Location: WW120)
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials – In-person
Course Description: This course introduces and explores central issues in the philosophy of science, including scientific inference, method, and explanation. Topics may include underdetermination, realism and empiricism, and laws of nature.
Distribution Requirement: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
Course code: HPS301H1 Topics in the History of Science: A Critical History of Psychedelic Science
Course instructor: Andrew Jones
Lecture Days & Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 am – 12:00 noon (Classroom Location: WW121)
Tutorial Days & Times: Tuesdays 1 pm – 2 pm (Classroom Location: WO35)
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - In-person
Course Description: In recent years, there has been a significant revival of scientific and medical interest in psychedelic drugs - drugs such as psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA. This so-called Psychedelic Renaissance draws together experts from various “psy-disciplines,” including psychology, psychiatry, and psychopharmacology, and it is beginning to impact the public attitudes and government regulations that surround these substances. However, as more influential researchers and public figures jump on the psychedelic bandwagon, there is an increasing need to step back and reflect on how these drugs might impact society, medicine, and our personal lives.
To this end, this course aims to historically situate the Psychedelic Renaissance by tracing the development of scientific research on psychedelic drugs throughout the 20th century. Our focus will be on critically assessing this history. This means that we will pay attention to the less savoury applications of these drugs that manifested in this period: their experimental use on vulnerable populations, such as prisoners and children; their use as a form of conversion therapy; and their more recent connections to forms of neocolonialism and biopiracy.
Like all drugs in the modern world, psychedelics connect political, commercial, scientific, and medical factors to questions about our values and how we understand ourselves. The goal behind this course then is to use psychedelic science as a case study for exploring broader ideas about how social, cultural, and scientific perspectives have shaped our views about drugs and mental health. Through the course assignments, students will have the opportunity to apply these broader ideas to their own areas of interest.
Distribution Requirements: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
Course code: HPS346H1 Modifying and Optimizing Life: on the Peculiar Alliance between AI, Biology, and Engineering
Course instructor: Alex Djedovic
Lecture Days & Times: Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00 am – 12:00 noon (Classroom Location: UC179)
Tutorial Days & Times: Mondays 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm; 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (Classroom Location: UC175)
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - In-person
Course Description: Taking a cue from the entanglements that historically have pervaded the relation between biology and information technology since the early 20C century, this course interrogates the sociocultural and technological conjuncture that has brought computer science, biology and engineering together into peculiar, ingenious, and often controversial alliances. What do AI, synthetic biology, and biotechnology have in common? How have they come to be associated? What are the debates and ethics emerging from such associations? The course will focus on topics such as: geoengineering and bioremediation; GMO and Robotic insects; the use of expert systems and machine learning to optimize synthetic biology; the flourishing and marketing of precision and personalized medicine/immunotherapy; and the ethics behind CRISPR babies.
Distribution Requirements: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirements: Society and its Institutions (3)