819.021 (22W) Science at the Global Cold War Periphery

Wintersemester 2022/23

Registration deadline has expired.

First course session
05.10.2022 12:30 - 15:30 C.0.03 On Campus
... no further dates known

Overview

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be necessary to make changes to courses and examinations at short notice (e.g. cancellation of attendance-based courses and switching to online examinations).

For further information regarding teaching on campus, please visit: https://www.aau.at/en/corona.
Lecturer
LV Nummer Südostverbund GSO01005UL, GSO02006UL
Course title german Science at the Global Cold War Periphery
Type Seminar (continuous assessment course )
Course model Attendance-based course
Hours per Week 2.0
ECTS credits 4.0
Registrations 2
Organisational unit
Language of instruction English
possible language(s) of the assessment German , English
Course begins on 05.10.2022
eLearning Go to Moodle course

Time and place

Please note that the currently displayed dates may be subject to change due to COVID-19 measures.
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Course Information

Intended learning outcomes

The course

  • raises students’ awareness of the situation in most of the world’s regions and countries—that of economic and technological dependency
  • helps students think about the Cold War beyond the East-West dichotomy and form a larger picture based on various pertinent case studies (from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America) of “transsystemic” and transnational cooperation 
  • looks into dominant patterns of transfer of knowledge and technology: 1) from developed to developing countries, and 2) between developing countries themselves
  • encourages students to think about the differences and similarities across the 1989 Wende
  • introduces students to the notion of historical geography of science
  • examines the universal vs. regional/national aspects of the 20th-century science
  • addresses the relationship between science, technology, and medicine, on the one, and economy, diplomacy, and state-building (and nationalism) on the other hand
  • positions science, technology, and medicine in contemporary developmental policies, and examines how they were articulated and perceived in developed and developing countries
  • discusses the agency of sovereign states, NGOs, international organizations, and private enterprises

Teaching methodology

Each class consists of a short introduction by the instructor, student presentations, and an in-depth conversation about the texts precirculated for each class/topic, in which all students are expected to participate.

Course content

Science, in a broad sense, gained a new importance during and after the Second World War, as it became increasingly obvious that no country could hope to prosper without massive investments in science and technology. Science and technology became crucial in maintaining military might of the two superpowers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and their allies, but it was also utilized to improve the standard of living of their population.

Yet most of worlds' countries and population occupied a "peripheral" position in the political, economic, and scientific-technological sense. For newly independent and decolonized countries of the "Third World," the intertwined notions of science, technology, and medicine (STM) became crucial tools in their attempt to overcome the legacy of colonial dependency and underdevelopment; to achieve domestic sustainability and prosperity; and to assert themselves as relevant actors in a global arena, trying to create a more equitable world. But the question of the quickest and most effective way to achieve these aims remained elusive and different countries opted for different approaches that will be discussed in the course.

The course will address 1) conceptual issues such as the relationship between STM and economy and the notion of "development" or the notions of "international" and "global" scientific cooperation, and 2) representative examples of scientific-technological-medical cooperation among various African, Asian, European, and Latin American countries.

Prior knowledge expected

Minimal knowledge of the 20th-century history is desirable; reading journalistic and academic writing in English required.  

Literature

(The list is not finalized; only smaller segments of works will be discussed in class; the literature will be made available via Moodle.)

Birn, Anne-Emanuelle, and Raúl Necochea López, eds. Peripheral Nerve: Health and Medicine in Cold War Latin America. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2020.

Bonneuil, Christophe. “Development as Experiment:Science and State Building in Late Colonial and Postcolonial Africa, 1930–1970.”Osiris 15 (2000): 258–281

Chorev, Nitsan. The World Health Organization between North and South. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012.

Decker, Corrie, and Elisabeth McMahon. The Idea of Development in Africa: A History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Hecht, Gabrielle, ed. Entangled Geographies: Empire and Technopolitics in the Global Cold War. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011.

Kirk, John M., and H. Michael Erisman, eds. Cuban Medical Internationalism: Origins, Evolution, and Goals. New York: PalgraveMacmillan, 2009.

Krige, John, ed. How Knowledge Moves: Writing the Transnational History of Science and Technology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019.

Mavhunga, Clapperton Chakanetsa, ed. What Do Science, Technology, and Innovation Mean from Africa? Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2017.

Oreskes, Naomi, and John Krige, eds. Science and Technology in the Global Cold War. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2014.

Packard, Randall M. A History of Global Health: Interventions Into the Lives of Other Peoples. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.

Examination information

Im Fall von online durchgeführten Prüfungen sind die Standards zu beachten, die die technischen Geräte der Studierenden erfüllen müssen, um an diesen Prüfungen teilnehmen zu können.

Examination methodology

The final grade is calculated on the basis of:

  • 2 papers (2000–2500 words each), either research or a response paper, 50%
  • class presentation, 30%
  • participation in discussion, 20%

Students are encouraged to write papers in English but, following the consultation with the instructor, can also submit them in German.

Grading scheme

Grade / Grade grading scheme

Position in the curriculum

  • Master-Lehramtsstudium Master Unterrichtsfach Geschichte, Sozialkunde und Politische Bildung (SKZ: 511, Version: 19W.2)
    • Subject: Mastermodul Fach (Compulsory subject)
      • GSO.001 Seminar aus Alter Geschichte ODER Mittelalter ODER Neuzeit ODER Zeitgeschichte ( 2.0h SE / 5.0 ECTS)
        • 819.021 Science at the Global Cold War Periphery (2.0h SE / 5.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 1. Semester empfohlen
  • Master-Lehramtsstudium Master Unterrichtsfach Geschichte, Sozialkunde und Politische Bildung (SKZ: 511, Version: 19W.2)
    • Subject: Mastermodul Fach (Compulsory subject)
      • GSO.002 Seminar aus Epochen- ODER Längsschnittfach ( 2.0h SE / 5.0 ECTS)
        • 819.021 Science at the Global Cold War Periphery (2.0h SE / 5.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 2. Semester empfohlen
  • Besonderer Studienbereich Besonderer Studienbereich Friedensstudien (SKZ: 900, Version: 05S)
    • Subject: Erweiterungsbereich (Optional subject)
      • Additional Courses from other Curricula ( 0.0h / 0.0 ECTS)
        • 819.021 Science at the Global Cold War Periphery (2.0h SE / 4.0 ECTS)
  • Master's degree programme Geography and Regional Research (SKZ: 855, Version: 13W.1)
    • Subject: MW7 Environmental Change (Compulsory elective)
      • Environmental Change ( 0.0h PS, SE, VO / 12.0 ECTS)
        • 819.021 Science at the Global Cold War Periphery (2.0h SE / 4.0 ECTS)
  • Master's degree programme Geography and Regional Studies: Regional Transformations (SKZ: 855, Version: 22W.1)
    • Subject: Governance, Innovation and Sustainability (Compulsory elective)
      • 10.3 Übung: Governance, Innovation, Nachhaltigkeit ( 0.0h UE / 4.0 ECTS)
        • 819.021 Science at the Global Cold War Periphery (2.0h SE / 4.0 ECTS)
  • Master's degree programme Science, Technology & Society Studies (SKZ: 906, Version: 19W.1)
    • Subject: Freie Wahlfächer (Optional subject)
      • Freie Wahlfächer ( 0.0h XX / 12.0 ECTS)
        • 819.021 Science at the Global Cold War Periphery (2.0h SE / 4.0 ECTS)
          Absolvierung im 3. Semester empfohlen

Equivalent courses for counting the examination attempts

This course is not assigned to a sequence of equivalent courses