History of Science and Technology

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Academic Adviser: Myles W. Jackson

The Master’s program in the History of Science and Technology was the first of its kind to be offered in the New York City area. The need for advanced study of the growth of science and technology and their interactions with human society and values has become increasingly evident. Intense specialization has further heightened the need for understanding among various branches of science and the humanities.

Students who consider ideas, time, process, transfer and social changes in the history of science and technology can explore the historically contingent connections that exist among science, technology, engineering, the social sciences and humanities. Prospective teachers of science and engineering can increase their effectiveness through knowledge of the history of their own and related disciplines. Museum employees can learn how historical representations of nature often embodied powerful political messages. The NYU-Poly MS is particularly suitable for students wishing to pursue a PhD in the history of science and technology or science and technology studies at leading research universities. Polytechnic’s libraries contain many important and rare works on the history of science, and they can be used for original research.

Goals and Objectives

The objectives of the Master of Science in History of Science are:

• To survey the historical contexts in which scientific and technological knowledge has been constructed.
• To consider the ways in which science and technology frame, and are shaped by, society and culture.
• To investigate the complex interactions between science and technology in industrial and preindustrial contexts.

Areas of Faculty Interest and Strength

History of U.S. technology, history of German and British science and technology, genetic patenting and intellectual property in the U.S. and Europe, bioethics, philosophy of science and technology, history and philosophy of quantum theory.

Programs

• History of Science and Technology, M.S.

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