The History of Science: 1700-1900

The scientific theories that were first discovered and made public in the years 1700-1900 are some of the most pivotal in history. Landmark theories of planetary motion, the workings of nature, and the speed of light were all ideas that took the world by storm.
Now you can share in that story of discovery in a series of 36 lectures designed to give you a rock-solid understanding of the great discoveries of Newton, Darwin, Franklin, Pasteur, and so many others. You’ll see clearly how these great thinkers brought their ideas into a world and a time that resisted them, gaining a new admiration for their achievements in an atmosphere where scientific advancement had to struggle against established ways of both scientific and religious thinking.
While many presentations of scientific history often neglect to consider its context - the societies and cultures in which our most influential "natural philosophers" (the term scientist didn’t exist until the mid-19th century) made their contributions - these lectures put that context in the forefront where it belongs, exploring how dynamics of time and place help determine the questions that get asked and the directions scientists pursue in response.
The result is a series that adds invaluable historical depth and dimension to your study of science. As much about history as science - and often far more so, with the focus on the climate and process of scientific discovery rather than the science itself - this course will enhance your ability to see contemporary scientific events in a vividly informed context.

All Lectures:
1. Science in the 18th and 19th Centuries
2. Consolidating Newton's Achievement
3. Theories of the Earth
4. Grappling with Rock Formations
5. Alchemy under Pressure
6. Lavoisier and the New French Chemistry
7. The Classification of Living Things
8. How the Embryo Develops
9. Medical Healers and Their Roles
10. Mesmerism, Science, and the French Revolution
11. Explaining Electricity
12. The Amazing Achievements of Galvani and Volta
13. Biology is Born
14. Alternative Visions of Natural Science
15. A World of Prehistoric Beasts
16. Evolution French Style
17. The Catastrophist Synthesis
18. Exploring the World
19. A Victorian Sensation
20. The Making of The Origin of Species
21. Troubles with Darwin's Theory
22. Science, Life, and Disease
23. Human Society and the Struggle for Existence
24. Whither God?
25. Forces, Forces Everywhere
26. Electromagnetism Changes Everything
27. French Insights About Heat
28. New Institutions of Natural Science
29. The Conservation of What?
30. Culture Wars and Thermodynamics
31. Scientific Materialism at Mid-Century
32. The Mechanics of Molecules
33. Astronomical Achievement
34. The Extra-Terrestrial Life Fiasco
35. Catching Up With Light
36. The End of Science?