Fall/Winter Courses Schedule for 2022-2023
The Institute offers 100-level, 200-level, 300-level, and 400-level History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (HPS) courses.
Course descriptions are not final and may be changed at or before the first class. For enrolment instructions, students should consult the 2022-2023 Fall/Winter Timetable.
Course Timetable
Course numbers are linked to course descriptions. The courses below are listed in numerical order. The descriptions here are fuller than those in the Faculty of Arts & Science Calendar.
These lists show only those courses which will be offered in the 2022-2023 Sessions. For brief descriptions of courses not offered in the current year, refer to the Complete List of Undergraduate Courses.
Course Nomenclature
- H1-F = "First Term"; the first term of the Fall/Winter Session (September - December)
- H1-S = "Second Term"; the second term of the Fall/Winter Session (January - April)
- Y1-Y = full session (September - April)
- Students should note that courses designated as "...Y1F" or "...Y1S" in the Timetable are particulary demanding.
Delivery Methods
- In Person - A course is considered In Person if it requires attendance at a specific location and time for some or all course activities.**** Subject to adjustments imposed by public health requirements for physical distancing.
- Online - Synchronous - A course is considered Online Synchronous if online attendance is expected at a specific time for some or all course activities, and attendance at a specific location is not expected for any activities or exams.
- Asynchronous - A course is considered Asynchronous if it has no requirement for attendance at a specific time or location for any activities or exams.
Fall 2022
HPS100H1: Introduction to History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Course instructors: Elise Burton / Karina Vold (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Thursdays 11-1 Classroom Location: NF 003
An investigation of some pivotal periods in the history of science with an emphasis on the influences of philosophy on the scientists of the period, and the philosophical and social implications of the scientific knowledge, theory and methodology that emerged.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)HPS110H1: The Science of Human Nature
Course instructors: Marga Vicedo / Mark Solovey (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 1-3 Classroom Location: NF 003
Why do we do what we do? What factors play a role in shaping our personality? What biological and social elements help configure a person’s moral and emotional character? In this course, we examine landmark studies that shook standard beliefs about human nature in their time. We analyze those studies in their historical context and discuss their relevance to social, ethical, and policy debates. The studies may include research on mother love, obedience, conformity, bystander intervention in emergencies, deception, race and gender stereotypes.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)HPS120H1: How to Think About Science
Course instructor: Fermin Fulda (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Mondays 1-3 Classroom Location: SS 2135
This course addresses the nature of science and its importance to our understanding of ourselves. Questions include: What is a science? Is science objective? What is scientific reasoning? Has our conception of science changed through history? How does science shape our moral image? Does science reveal our natures as humans?
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)Winter 2023
HPS100H1: Introduction to History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Course instructor: Cory Lewis (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Thursdays 11-1
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - Online Synchronous
An investigation of some pivotal periods in the history of science with an emphasis on the influences of philosophy on the scientists of the period, and the philosophical and social implications of the scientific knowledge, theory and methodology that emerged.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)HPS110H1: The Science of Human Nature
Course instructors: Marga Vicedo / Mark Solovey (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)Tuesdays 1-3
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - Online SynchronousWhy do we do what we do? What factors play a role in shaping our personality? What biological and social elements help configure a person’s moral and emotional character? In this course, we examine landmark studies that shook standard beliefs about human nature in their time. We analyze those studies in their historical context and discuss their relevance to social, ethical, and policy debates. The studies may include research on mother love, obedience, conformity, bystander intervention in emergencies, deception, race and gender stereotypes.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)Fall 2022
HPS200H1: Science and Values
Course instructor: Yiftach Fehige (24 Lectures, Tutorials)
Thursdays 10-12 Classroom Location: BR 200
An introduction to issues at the interface of science and society, including the reciprocal influence of science and social norms, the relation of science and religion, dissemination of scientific knowledge, science and policy. Issues may include: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons; Genetic Engineering; The Human Genome Project; Climate Change.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS203H1: Making Sense of Uncertainty
Course instructor: Chen-Pang Yeang (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Mondays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 215
This course examines issues of uncertainty in various contexts of science, technology, and society since the 19th century. Topics may include randomized controlled trials, statistical identification of normal and pathological, biopolitics, philosophical interpretations of probability, Brownian motions, uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics, cybernetic mind, and chance in avant-garde arts.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)HPS250H1: Introductory Philosophy of Science
Course instructor: Denis Walsh (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 1-3 Classroom Location: EM 001
This course introduces and explores central issues in the philosophy of science, including scientific inference and method, and explanation. Topics may include underdetermination, realism, and empiricism, and laws of nature.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)HPS272H1: Science against Religion? A Complex History (formerly HPS326H1)
Course instructor: Yiftach Fehige (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 215
This course introduces to the central topics arising from the encounter between modern science and religion. It aims to integrate historical and philosophical perspectives Did modern science arise because of Christianity or despite of it? Are science and religion necessarily in conflict? Have they factually always been in conflict throughout history? Are proofs of God’s existence obsolete? Has science secularized society? What role should religions play in liberal democracies?Exclusions: HPS326H1
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)Winter 2023
HPS200H1: Science and Values
Course instructor: Yiftach Fehige (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Fridays 11-1 Classroom Location: AH 100
An introduction to issues at the interface of science and society, including the reciprocal influence of science and social norms, the relation of science and religion, dissemination of scientific knowledge, science and policy. Issues may include: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons; Genetic Engineering; The Human Genome Project; Climate Change.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS205H1: Science, Technology, and Empire
Course instructor: Elise Burton (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Mondays 1-3 Classroom Location: VC 323
This gateway course introduces the emergence of the modern science and technology and the rise of European mercantile and colonial empires as closely intertwined processes. Beginning with the European discovery of the Americas, this course provides a broad thematic overview of the transformation of scientific practices in imperial contexts, including but not limited to geography and cartography; medical botany and plantation agriculture; biogeography and evolutionary biology; ecology and environmentalism; and race science and anthropology. The course primarily focuses on British and French colonial contexts in South Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas, but also considers Iberian, Russian, Dutch, and other imperial formations.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS222H1: Science, Paradoxes, and Knowledge
Course instructor: Joseph Berkovitz (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 2-4 Classroom Location: EM 001
The course will focus on the bearings that philosophical views had on science in different periods in history. We shallconsider philosophical conceptions of space, time, and matter in Ancient Greece, the Early Modern Period and the 20thcentury; the influence of religious views on science in the 17th and 18th centuries; the analysis of scientific knowledge inthe 17th and 18th centuries; and 20th century views of the nature of science and its history.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)HPS240H1: The Influence of the Eugenics Movement on Contemporary Society
Course instructor: Elizabeth Koester (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Fridays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 101
This course explores present-day topics such as reproductive issues (including “designer babies” and genetic counselling), gender, racism/colonialism, disability and euthanasia through the lens of the history of eugenics. A “scientific” movement which became popular around the world in the early twentieth century, eugenics was based on the principle that certain undesirable human characteristics were hereditary and could be eliminated by controlled reproduction. It resulted in the enactment of laws in numerous places, including Canada, authorizing coerced reproductive sterilization of certain individuals, and other measures intended to “improve” humanity. Today, we see its influences woven through contemporary debates, a number of which we will consider.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)Fall 2022
HPS301H1: Topics in History of Science: Genetic Technologies: Scientific Promises and Ethical Dilemmas
Course instructor: Marga Vicedo (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Fridays 11-1 Classroom Location: VC 212
This course examines how knowledge of genetics has been used in different areas. It explores the development of various genetic technologies in their historical context and reflects on the scientific possibilities they open as well as the potential ethical dilemmas. The topics covered will be: The human genome project, behavioral genetics, genetics and race, genetic screening, gene editing and therapy, gene doping in sports, animal cloning, human cloning, genetic enhancement, and genetics in film.
Distribution Requirement Status: Humanities
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)HPS319H1: History of Medicine II
Course instructor: Lucia Dacome (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 12-2
Delivery Method: Lectures and Tutorials - Online Synchronous
This course examines the development of medicine from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. It focuses on the historical development of medicine in relation to societies, politics and culture and considers topics such as changing views of the body, the development of medical institutions such as hospitals, asylums and laboratories, the diversified world of healing and the place of visual and material culture in the production and dissemination of medical knowledge.Prerequisite: First year students must have instructors approval
Exclusion: HPS314Y1; HPS315H1
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS321H1: Understanding Engineering Practice: From Design to Entrepreneurship
Course instructor: Chen-Pang Yeang (24 Seminars, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 115
This course seeks to understand the nature of engineering practice, which comprises complex social, intellectual, and technical actions at various stages from design to entrepreneurship. Building upon the history and social studies of technology, philosophy of engineering, business history, and management science, we introduce ways to analyze such complex actions.
Prerequisite: Three courses with any combination of engineering, natural sciences, medical sciences, or commerce
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS345H1: Quantifying the World: on the ethical and epistemic implications of AI and automation
Course instructor: Alex Djedovic (24 Lectures)
Mondays 2-4 Classroom Location: VC 115
The effects of automation, computing, and information technology have had a great impact on our society. The rise of automation and computing the almost cult-like trust in mechanization have transformed our society both at the material and the epistemological level. This course will examine the epistemological and ethical debates that AI and automation have produced in all sectors of society. It will consider a variety of media and instruments from data visualization and mapping, to the use of AI and robotics, contextualizing them within popular and hotly contested examples in the military field and in cybersecurity, in medical diagnostics and epidemiology, in the automotive industry, and in the personal realm.Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS/MAT390H1: The Story of Number: Mathematics from the Babylonians to the Scientific Revolution
Course instructor: Sylvia Nickerson (36 Lectures)
Fridays 10-1 Classroom Location: BR 200
A survey of ancient, medieval and early modern mathematics, with emphasis on historical issues.
Prerequisite: At least one full course equivalent at the 200+level from CSC/MAT/STA
Exclusion: HPS310Y1; MAT220Y1
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)Winter 2023
HPS301H1: Topics in the History of Science: Global Digital: Information, Computing, and Communication in the Modern World
Course instructor: Chen-Pang Yeang (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Mondays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 212
From integrated circuits and the internet to social media and machine learning, digital technologies of information, computing, and communication are a crucial part of modern life. How have digital devices, systems, platforms, and infrastructure been developed in the contexts of the Cold War, neoliberal economic order, mass media, modernization of states, and crowdsourcing in the 20th and early 21st centuries? In what ways have these technologies shaped the forms of sociability, governance, production, and reasoning? How have these technologies intertwined with the changing understandings of the natural and human worlds in physical, biological, social, mathematical, and engineering sciences? In this course, we look into these issues through close examinations of select digital technologies and their co-production with society. We emphasize the global aspects of the modern digital technologies, especially in terms of the international tech ecosystems, transnational networks of research and development, and political or cultural transformations facilitated by information, computing, and communication devices or systems in different societies.
Prerequisites: A minimum of 4.0 course credit or instructor’s approval
Recommended Preparation: A prior course in HPS, History, or NMC
Distribution Requirement Status: Humanities
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)HPS318H1: History of Medicine I
Course instructor: Lucia Dacome (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesdays 12-2 Classroom Location: VC 323
This course explores how medicine was practiced, taught and theorized from ancient Greece to the early modern period. It focuses on the historical development of medicine in relation to societies, politics and culture, and considers topics such as the creation of medical traditions, the tranmission and communication of medical knowledge, the pluralistic world of healers, the role of religion, magic and natural philosophy, the cultural meaning of disease, and the emergence of institutions such as the hospital.Prerequisite: First year students must have instructors' approval
Exclusion: HPS314Y1
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS324H1: Natural Science & Social Issues
Course instructor: Yiftach Fehige (24 Lectures)
Tuesdays 10-12 Classroom Location: EM 119
Historical examination of the interactions of science (both as body of knowledge and as enterprise) with ideological, political and social issues. The impact of science; attacks on and critiques of scientific expertise as background to contemporary conflicts. Subjects may vary according to students’ interests.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS331H1: Global History of Mapping Sciences
Course instructor: Adrien Zakar (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Fridays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 212
Maps are pervasive in our world: so indispensable, and so disposable that thousands are made, used, and discarded every day. Yet not long ago, maps were both rare and strange technological things. When and why did modern mapping systems come into being? Behind this transformation lie contentious stories of objects and people, makers and users, global forces and local dynamics, metropoles and colonies, and technologies and cultures. Focusing on the modern period, each week illuminates maps and their importance in our world by focusing on a keyword, such as power, territory, worldmaking, boundaries, imperialism, capitalism, literacy, verticality, and countermapping.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS340H1: The Limits of Machine Intelligence
Course instructor: Karina Vold (24 Lectures, 10 Tutorials)
Tuesday 1-3 Classroom Location: VC 212
With the recent headline-making breakthroughs in deep learning neural networks (DNNs), it might seem that we are on the cusp of living with artificial systems that match or exceed human intelligence. But there remain longstanding philosophical challenges around the definition of intelligence that AI researchers use, how they measure the performance of their systems, and what DNNS could really be capable of, that still need addressing. For example, how close are DNNs to passing the Turing test? How close are we to building general intelligence and what do we need to get us there? How can we draw fair and meaningful comparisons between artificial and biological systems? We will draw on material from the history and philosophy of science to evaluate and inform current debates around the limits of AI. For example, we’ll consider what kinds of explanations DNNs can provide. We’ll also look at how debates between the rationalists and empiricists (e.g. Locke, Hume, and Kant) inform current debates between AI nativists and empiricists. This course explores these questions through contemporary texts across the fields of philosophy of science, artificial intelligence, comparative psychology, and cognitive science, among others.Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits including 0.5 credit in any HPS/ PHL/ COG course, or the permission of instructor
Recommended preparation: HPS220H1, HPS255H1, PHL342H1, COG250H1 HPS250H1
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS/MAT391H1: Rebels who Count: The History of Mathematics from 1700 to the present
Course instructor: Sylvia Nickerson (36 Lectures)
Mondays 2-5 Classroom Location: AH 400
A survey of the development of mathematics from 1700 to the present with emphasis on historical issues.
Prerequisite: At least one full course equivalent at the 200+level from CSC/MAT/STA
Exclusion: HPS310Y1; MAT220Y1, MAT391H1
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3Fall 2022
HPS412H1: History of the Biological Sciences
Course instructor: Marga Vicedo (24 Seminars)
Thursdays 1-3 Classroom Location: NF 009
Advanced level survey of biological science from ancient Greece to the 20th century emphasizing primary sources analyses.
In the Fall of 2022, the course will focus on genetics in the 20th and 21st centuries
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS442H1: Science of Whiteness in the Middle East & Its Diasporas
Course instructor: Elise Burton (24 Seminars)
Tuesdays 2-4 Classroom Location: NF009
This research seminar traces the historical response of Middle Eastern societies and diasporas to Western scientific discourses of race and ethnicity from the 19th century to the present. We examine notions of racial classification and hierarchy as they emerged in Islamicate and European imperial contexts and their scientific application to Middle Eastern populations. We further investigate how the nationalist ideologies of modern Middle Eastern nation-states relied on and perpetuated race science. Finally, we consider the experience of Middle Eastern migrants to Europe and North America and their engagement with scientific definitions of Aryan, Caucasian and white racial identity.
Prerequisites: A minimum of 4.0 course credit or instructor’s approval
Recommended Preparation: 1.0 credit in HPS, History, Philosophy, NMC, Anthropology, Sociology, or related humanities fields
Depth Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)Winter 2023
HPS410H1: History of Mathematics - CANCELLED
Course instructor: Brigitte Stenhouse (24 Seminars)
Tuesday 10-12 Classroom Location: NF 205
An historical survey from pre-Greek to the present. Various themes are emphasized year to year, to show mathematics as changing and evolving. A student could expect to gain an historical overview as well as a sense of the unity of the mathematical sciences.Prerequisite: HPS309Y1/HPS310Y1/HPS390H1/HPS391H1/MAT220Y1 and permission of instructor
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities or Science course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS444H1: Health, Medicine, and Society in the Mediterranean World
Course instructor: Lucia Dacome (24 Seminars)
Tuesday 4-6 Classroom Location: VC 211
This course examines healing practices and medical knowledge in the Mediterranean world, focusing on the early modern period. We will address topics such as the interplay between medicine and religion, the relationship between patients and practitioners, and the role of women as both healers and patients and across Mediterranean shores. We will also consider how individuals in different Mediterranean regions experienced the relationship between health and the environment, explore the bearings that medical pursuits had on the creation and consolidation of notions of sex and gender, and examine how medical knowledge shaped views of the body and informed health policies.
Prerequisites: A minimum of 8.0 credits or the instructor’s approval
Recommended preparation: This course presupposes having some background in the history of medicine and/or history of science and having engaged in historical research projects. It is highly recommended that students have taken one or more courses in History of Medicine (or History of Science and/or Technology). Ideally, students will have taken HPS318H or HPS319H, or at least one-half course in HPS or HIS with a focus on the history of science at the 200-level or higher.
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)HPS450H1: Revolution in Science
Course instructor: Joseph Berkovitz (24 Seminars)
Tuesdays 10-12 Classroom Location: VC 304
A detailed investigation into a highly celebrated and important philosophical idea concerning the development of scientific knowledge: the notion of scientific revolutions. We will consider the process of theory change, whether theory choice is rational, and whether theoretical terms, such as light and space preserve their meanings across revolutions. In addition to classic work by Kuhn, we shall consider approaches that were inspired by Kuhn’s work. In particular, we will consider the approaches of sociologists of scientific knowledge. The course is taught as a seminar in which the students play an active role in presenting and discussing the readings.Prerequisite: HPS250H1 or permission of instructor
Distribution Requirement Status: This is a Humanities course
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)