LECTURE SERIES

SCIENCE IN THE MODERN WORLD

THURSDAYS 2, 9, 16, 23 AND 30 MARCH – 19:30 TO 21:30 
Karl Dittrichzaal, Studenten Service Centrum, Bonnefantenstraat 2

Geert Somsen, PhD
Associate Professor History, Maastricht University

 “Science has made the modern world.” Few people would argue with this statement, but what exactly does it mean? On one common reading, science has simply made the discoveries that have materially created the modern condition: steam engines, electricity, nuclear missiles, COVID vaccines. But has science only happened to us or is it also the creation of modern culture? Does it perhaps reflect the values and preconceptions particular to our times and to this part of the world? Visiting the history of science will shed light on these questions. Five lectures will address central themes on the relation of science and society, and consider the work of key modernizers, such as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Ulugh Beb, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein.

The separate lectures
1. The Rise of Modern Science (2 Mar)
2. Science and Religion (9 Mar)
3. Art and Science (16 Mar)
4. Science and Geopolitics (23 Mar)
5. The West and the Rest? (30 Mar)

Cost whole series
UM Students €10 / UM and students from other schools €25 / Others €50

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