Drawing on episodes in the history of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and the human sciences, this course examines conceptual changes in the practice of modern science in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By investigating the conditions that gave rise to key elements of modern science including evolutionary theory, modern genetics, and the shift from a Newtonian to relativistic understanding of space and time, students assess the impact of major conceptual revolutions in science on society and culture. Social and ethical issues surrounding these changes are explored, such as science and gender, the scientific study of race, and the making of the atomic bomb.