HIST 1700 - History of Exploration: Land, Sea, and Space

(crosslisted) ASTRO 1700
(HA-AS)

Fall. 4 credits.

A University Course - This class highlights cross-disciplinary dialogue and debate.

M. B. Norton, S. Squyres.

From ancient Mediterranean seafarers to the Mars rovers, from Christopher Columbus to the Apollo astronauts, humans have for centuries explored the far reaches of our planet. Now we are venturing into the solar system and beyond. This course will examine the history of such human activity. Among the topics covered are motives for exploration, technological advances that assist exploration, obstacles that must be overcome, and positive and negative consequences of exploration. It is led by Steven Squyres of Astronomy and Mary Beth Norton of History; lecturers include a number of historians and a former director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory.