joshua fost
Embracing Einstein’s Universe
Course Description
Using the deeply thoughtful, imaginative, and rigorous style of thinking that made Einstein such a celebrated figure, this course introduces students to many applications of intellectual endeavor. In addition to core discussions of the central ideas of modern physics (relativity and quantum mechanics) we understand the Einsteinian revolution by placing these developments into a cultural context. For example, we discuss many works of literature, art, and music written during Einstein’s lifetime. We also discuss the social and ethical consequences of scientific discovery, and the philosophical underpinnings of worldview. Students will do exercises in applying these lessons to a wide range of real-life problems and contemporary issues.
Fall term
The driving force of the fall quarter is an exploration of the history of astronomy and physics, from ancient Mayan calendar-making and the Greeks through Galileo, Newton, and classical electromagnetism. Students learn about the ways these cultures and periods have approached and tried to understand the natural world, and explore how advances in science and technology have shaped how we see ourselves and our place in the universe. We read and watch typically more literary and cultural products, including Thoreau’s Walden, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Shelley’s Frankenstein, relating each to appropriate scientific themes. The winter quarter centers on an examination of the motivation for and implications of Einstein’s theory of special relativity. Classical studies of electricity and magnetism are presented, along with industrial applications in manufacturing and communications and the impact of these discoveries on society at large. We read and discuss how the work of Nicola Tesla illustrates the public perception of science as magic. The first of two structured research papers about the impact of a major discovery or invention gives students deepened exposure to the scholarly reading and writing processes.
Spring term
Through the lens of World War I, students examine the rise of modernism in art, poetry, philosophy, and literature. We read Somerset Maugham’s Moon and Sixpence to ask questions about the Great Man theory and how personal conduct bears on professional accomplishment. Other key individuals from the late 19th and early 20th century are also profiled, including Fritz Haber, Friedrich Nietzsche, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Wehrner von Braun. On what bases did these people make decisions and take action? Throughout this exploration, students consolidate feedback from their second quarter assignments, applying lessons learned to another major research paper on a topic of their choice. Scientifically, we explore Einstein’s theory of general relativity (developed during the WWI era explored in this quarter) and its modern extension into cosmology. In the final quarter, the course focuses on finding meaning and identifying the consequences of one’s own choices. The universal human questions posed by existentialist writers like Camus and Beckett guide this inquiry. In science, we take advantage of philosophical problems posed by the quantum revolution, exploring questions about truth and meaning. As the course concludes, students are preparing to graduate and apply the lessons of the course to a world more often characterized by grays than stark black and white simplicity. As a final exercise, students write a synthesis essay on their learning and submit a final portfolio of their progress through the course.
Selected readings
- Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot (Grove Press)
- Brecht, Bertolt. Galileo (Grove Weidenfeld)
- Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions)
- Darwin, Charles. Origin of Species
- Hughes, Langston. The Langston Hughes Reader
- Hurston, Zora Neale. The Complete Stories (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
- Lightman, Alan. Einstein’s Dreams (Warner Books)
- Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me (Touchstone)
- McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
- Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis (Bantam Books)
- Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
- Pearson, Karl. The Scope and Importance to the State of the Science of National Eugenics
- Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein.
- Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia (Faber and Faber)
- Sumner, William Graham. Social Darwinism: Selected Essays
- Tompkins, Jane. Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History
- Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five (Laurel)
- Weisenthal, Simon. The Sunflower (Schocken Books)
