Guide in PDF format

Important notice

The course guide is provisional.

The PDF version of the course guide may take a few days to become available in the DDD.

Perspectives: Historiography and Theoretical Frameworks

Code: 45751
Credits: 10

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
History of Science: History, Heritage and Scientific Communication	OB	1

Contact lecturer

Name :: Elena Serrano Jerez
Email :: elena.serrano@uab.cat

Teaching staff

: Miquel Carandell Baruzzi
: Monica Balltondre Pla
: Jaume Sastre Juan
: Celia Miralles
: Agustí Nieto Galan
: Jaume Valentines Álvarez

Teaching staff (external to UAB)

: Giulia Gandolfi
: Oliver Hochadel
: Jesús Galech
: Daniele Cozzoli
: Nicolás Kwiatkowski

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students must be able to communicate, understand and write in one of the three languages of the subject: Catalan, English or Spanish (level B2).

-Must understand written English (much of the bibliography is in this language).

Objectives

How to write the history of science in the 21st century? In order to answer this complex question, the subject provides the student with a critical approach to different schools, topics and problems that the history of science deals with as an academic discipline, and invites them to draw useful current conclusions. It is a historiographic subject, where plural and often controversial views in relation to certain events of the past have priority over consensus on these same topics.

This subject presents the most recent schools and styles of writing the history of science, as well as the research topics that have attracted the attention of researchers in recent decades. The relationships with various frontier research fields (philosophy, anthropology, sociology, art, different specialized histories, etc.) are also studied and topics and problems that today have a significant impact on society are presented.

The subject provides students with a working methodology that they must be able to develop throughout the master's degree. Students will develop their historiographic skills through exercise 1 (writing 2 essays) and exercise 2 (audiovisual presentation). There will also be a final written exam.

Learning outcomes

CA03 (Critically evaluate historiographical perspectives in texts on the history of science.) Critically evaluate historiographical perspectives in texts on the history of science.
CA04 (Prepare critical bibliographies on specific problems in the history of science.) Prepare critical bibliographies on specific problems in the history of science.
CA05 (Rigorously explain gender biases and inequalities of rights and opportunities in the construction of historiographical perspectives on science to specialised and non-specialised audiences.) Rigorously explain gender biases and inequalities of rights and opportunities in the construction of historiographical perspectives on science to specialised and non-specialised audiences.
KA03 (Rigorously describe the social, economic, political, professional and cultural dimensions that have intervened and intervene in the construction of the various historiographical schools.) Rigorously describe the social, economic, political, professional and cultural dimensions that have intervened and intervene in the construction of the various historiographical schools.
KA04 (Rigorously define the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power involved in the transformations and the elements of change and continuity in scientific thought throughout history.) Rigorously define the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power involved in the transformations and the elements of change and continuity in scientific thought throughout history.
SA04 (Identify the plural views and the different approaches to the past of science that have been developed by different authors and schools.) Identify the plural views and the different approaches to the past of science that have been developed by different authors and schools.
SA05 (Develop diverse historiographical narratives that integrate scientific and humanistic cultures around the mechanisms of production, circulation and management of scientific knowledge, incorporating the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power.) Develop diverse historiographical narratives that integrate scientific and humanistic cultures around the mechanisms of production, circulation and management of scientific knowledge, incorporating the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power.

The subject is structured in the following blocks:

Origins: A brief history of the history of science

Borders: Disciplines from which it shares methodologies

Prisms: Ways of analyzing historical problems

Scales: Dimensions of analysis

These blocks are structured as follows:

ORIGINS

Presentation

Paradigms and Cold War

The sociological turn 1

The sociological turn 2

BORDERS

Art

Philosophy

History

Anthropology

Environmental History

PRISMS

Gender

Agnotology

Artifacts

Biographies

Animals

SCALES

Spaces

Cities

Colonies

Globalization

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Theoretical and Practical Classes	60	2.4	CA03, CA04, CA05, KA03, KA04, SA04, SA05
Tutorías y preparación de trabajos	40	1.6	CA03, CA04, CA05, KA03, KA04, SA04, SA05
Trabajo Autónomo	150	6	CA03, CA04, CA05, KA03, KA04, SA04, SA05

Various methodologies will be used to help students achieve the objectives of this course. On the one hand, there will be lectures. On the other hand, students will be required to prepare oral presentations and write papers based on a series of readings assigned by the instructors, which will encourage discussion and debate in class. Finally, independent bibliographic research will also allow students to explore the current state of research on topics and problems in the history of science that interest them.

-Some sessions of the course may be taught in English, which is one of the languages of instruction for the master's program.

-Fifteen minutes of one class, within the schedule established by the center/degree program, will be reserved for students to complete the evaluation surveys of the instructors and the course itself.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title	Weight	Learning outcomes
Essays	30%	CA03, CA04, CA05, KA03, KA04, SA04, SA05
Exam	45%	CA03, CA04, CA05, KA03, KA04, SA04, SA05
Oral Presentation	25%	CA05, KA03, KA04, SA04, SA05

The student should:

1. Write two 1000-word essays from two different blocks, answering and discussing some of the proposed questions 30% (if AI is used, the questions and answers given to the AI must be submitted).

2. Do an oral presentation on a chosen book, relevant to the subject

3. Complete a final written exam in class

Note 1: On the use of AI

In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution by the student in the analysis and personal reflection.

The student must: (i) identify which parts have been generated with AI; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and will result in the activity being assessed with a 0 and not being able to be recovered, or in more serious cases, in severe cases.

Note 2: About Retake Exams

If students have failed, they must recover the parts they have not passed. At the time of carrying out each assessment activity, the teacher will inform the students (through Moodle) of the procedure and date of review of the grades.

The student will receive the grade of "Not assessed" if they have only submitted 1/3 of the activities.

In the event that the student carries out any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be assessed with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be initiated. In the event that several irregularities occur in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

Bibliography

Companions/Readers/Dictionaries/Panoramic Works

BIAGIOLI, Mario (ed.) (1999). The Science Studies Reader. New York: Routledge.

BYNUM, William F. & Roy PORTER (eds.) (1993). Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine. London: Routledge, 2 vols.

BYNUM, William F.; BYNUM, Helen (eds.) (2006). Dictionary of Medical Biography. Westport: Greenwood, 5 volumes.

GILLESPIE, Charles (ed.) (1970/90). Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

HARDING, Sandra G. (2011) The Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies Reader. Durham: Duke University Press.

HEILBRON, John L. (ed.) (2003). The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. Oxford: Univ. Press.

HESSENBRUCH, Arne (ed.) (2000). Reader's Guide to the History of Science. London: Fitzroy Dearbour.

JASANOFF, Sheila et al. (ed.) (1995) Handbook of Science and Technology Studies. Sage: Thousand Oaks.

LIGHTMAN, Bernard V. (2016). A Companion to the History of Science. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

LERMAN, Nina E., OLDENZIEL, Ruth and Mohun, ARWEN P. (eds.) Gender and Technology: A Reader. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

OLBY, Robert; Geoffrey CANTOR; John CHRISTIE; Jonathan HODGE (eds). (1990) Companion to the History of Modern Science. London: Routledge.

PATTON, Lydia (ed.) (2014). Philosophy, Science, and History: A Guide and Reader. New York: Routledge.

PESTRE, Domique (ed.) (2015). Histoire des sciences et des savoirs. Paris: Seuil, 3 vols.

WERRET, Simon and John TRESCH (eds.) (2026), Working Knowledge: A Simon Schaffer Reader. Chicago: Chicago University Press

The Cambridge History of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 8 vols.

Historiography

CONDÉ, Mario. - Salomon, Marlon (eds.) Handbook of Historiography of Science, Cham: Springer, 2024.

FOX, Robert, KOKOWSKI, Michał, "Historiography of Science and Technology in Focus. A Discussion with Professor Robert Fox." Studia Historiae Scientiarum 16 (2017): 69-119.

GAVROGLU, Kōstas, CHRISTIANIDIS, Jean., NICOLAIDIS, E. Trends in the Historiography of Science. Dordrecht ; London: Kluwer Academic, 1994.

GILLISPIE, Charles C. (2007) Essays and Reviews in History and History of Science. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.

GOLINSKI, Jan (1998). Making Natural Knowledge. Constructivism and the History of Science. Cambridge University Press.

KRAGH, Helge (1989; 2007). Introducción a la historia de la ciencia. Barcelona: Crítica.

SCHAFFER, Simon (2010). Trabajos de cristal. Ensayos de historia de la ciencia, 1650-1900. Madrid: Marcial Pons.

SIMÕES, Ana; ARABATZIS, Theodore; RENN, Jürgen (eds) (2015) Relocating the History of Science: Essays in Honor of Kostas Gavroglu. Dordrecth: Springer.

SOLÍS, Carlos (ed.) (1994). Razones e intereses. La historia de la ciencia después de Kuhn. Barcelona: Paidós.

SOLÍS, Carlos (ed.) (1998). Alta tensión: historia, filosofía y sociología de la ciencia. Ensayos en honor de Thomas S. Kuhn. Barcelona: Paidós.

Books for the historiogràfic essay:

You need to choose a book (no an article) among the following awarded books:

https://hssonline.org/page/honorsawards

https://www.historyoftechnology.org/about-us/awards-prizes-and-grants/sidney-edelstein-prize/

https://www.historyoftechnology.org/about-us/awards-prizes-and-grants/the-sally-hacker-prize/ https://www.4sonline.org/4s_prizes.php

The Margaret W. Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize: https://hssonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=rossiter

Software

Not needed.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching	Group	Language	Semester	Shift
(TEm) Theory (master)	1	Catalan/Spanish	first semester	afternoon