history of science undergrads @ ou

summer and fall 2011 classes!

we've got  a list of all our Summer 2011 classes right here -- and of Fall 2011 as well! Feel free to browse through them and/or print them out. (And some of the courses have their own posters.) If you have any questions -- or if you have any enrollment issues with ozone -- be sure to let us know!

hsci/tech/med essay contest for undergrads

:: Remember that great paper you wrote on a topic in the history of science, technology, or medicine?

:: Submit it by April 8th to our Undergrad Essay Contest and you may be the winner of a first-place $50 gift card, second-place gift card of $30, or a third-place gift card of $15.

:: Details: Papers should be 10-15 pages long, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman with one inch margins and must contain a cover letter containing your Name, Email Address and Essay Topic. Please deliver 5 stapled copies of your paper to the HSCI Department (6th floor of the Physical Sciences Building) no later than 5 pm on April 8th.

Prize winners will be notified on April 20th via e-mail and are expected to attend an award ceremony on April 22nd at 3:30 in the HSCI collections (5th Floor Bizzell Library). For further information, please email us. 

:: Print out our flyer as a reminder or to share the news!

hsci/med/tech major: submitting the proposal is a go!

:: We're READY . . . to submit our proposal to the OU administration this fall for a new MAJOR in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine! You can find an overview of the details of what the proposed major will look like right here. We invite everyone to check it out, but for those undergrads in their first or second year, start thinking about what we can do for you as a major or double-major! We'll know more by early spring about how things are progressing. Questions? Email the undergrad advisor or ask any prof in the history of science department.

What if: majoring or minoring is not an option for you due to your schedule? Take a look at the idea of "course clusters": a "you-pick-three" set of courses that fit a theme or topic area that interests you, such as medicine, ethics, technology, global issues, or more. By designing a cluster, you can meet your gen ed requirements with a core focus that fits you. You can also examine the entire list of our courses for further options.

"the children's darwin": undergrad book exhibit in the roller reading room

We've started an "Undergrads at the Collections" website, as one of our first steps in beginning to plan for new activities to help our minors and other students feel right at home at our department's lab -- the History of Science Collections.

One of our new projects is an informal Undergrad Exhibit series we're designing for display in the Roller Reading Room. We'd love for you to come on over and visit! You can get a quick overview of the books if you have a few minutes to browse, or, if you have a bit more time, you're welcome to pull up a comfy chair, settle in with the books, and dig a bit deeper into the exhibit right then and there.

Our first Undergrad Exhibit is "The Children's Darwin" -- see the display poster or the informational handout for details. Because 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of Origin of Species, it provided a handy rationale for celebrations of Charles Darwin's science -- and a good marketing hook for new children's titles on Darwin and evolution. What can looking at children's literature teach us about cultural views of science? And how can it help us to analyze the history of science in public? Those are great starting points for doing research, so we brought the books together for anyone to take a look at some of them and see for themselves!

The History of Science Collections is located on the 5th Floor of Bizzell Library -- for hours, check here. We hope to see you soon!

our minor / revised list of courses / advice

:: Departmental minor page: It only takes five courses to complete a minor -- learn more, access the paperwork, and join the email list

:: Revised roster of courses page: We've been hard at work revising our curriculum -- see a list of all of our new courses and our entire set of offerings, starting with a freshman introduction and on to a diverse set of topics and surveys in science, technology, and medicine

:: Choosing courses: Benefits of our courses for you now as a student, and advice for students from any major