History of Modern
American Science and
Technology
Zuoyue Wang
Spring 2009
Session 1
• Introduction
• Course Outline
• Current science policy
Why, What, How Do We Learn?
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Course design
Learning objectives
Two-Cultures
Scientists with breadth
Learning-Centered Approach
Intentional Learning
Creative Thinking
Writing Skills
How to Write a Paper
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Mechanics
My Background
• Professor, Department of History, California State
Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768; Office phone:
(909)869-3872; email: zywang@csupomona.edu . On
leave 2008-2009 as Hixon-Riggs Visiting Professor in
Science, Technology, and Society at Department of
Humanities and Social Sciences, Harvey Mudd College,
301 Platt Blvd., Claremont, CA 91711; zywang at
hmc.edu.
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• Specialties: History of science and technology, modern
science in the US and China, US Cold War science
policy, recent US history, Asian/Chinese Americans in
science and technology.
• www.csupomona.edu/~zywang
• New! Links on “Science and Technology in
the Making of Modern China” (中国近现代
科技史国际研讨会), February 27-28, 2009,
at Harvey Mudd College, 301 Platt Blvd.,
Claremont, CA 91711.
Course Links:
• HST 202 US History since 1865; (Reviews #1, 2, 3, 4)
HST 300 History Methods
HST 347 US History since 1945
HST 408 History of American Science and Technology
HST 423 Modern Science in World History (Sample Term Papers 1
and 2)
HST 461 and 462 Senior Thesis
HST 499 Weapons of Mass Destruction
HST 501 Advanced History Methods
HST 561 Readings in Modern U.S. History
BUS/CLS 362, 452, 482 Cal Poly Pomona China Summer 2005
STS 179 US Science Policy (HMC Fall 2008)
STS 179 Science and Society in Modern China (HMC Spring 2009)
History of Modern American Science and Technology (GUCAS
2009)
Resources:
• Citation Style and Tips on Writing; Tips on
Writing Essay Exams; University Calendar
Links on Primary Sources in US History
and History of Science and Technology
Sample Topics and Resources for HST
408, 423, and 461
Sample Senior Theses
Grade Appeals Policy and Procedures
Links to Other Useful Papers and Sites
Books:
• In Sputnik’s Shadow: The President’s Science
Advisory Committee and Cold War America
(New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press,
2008). You can order it at RUP or Amazon, or
read the Introduction.
• Pioneering Asian Americans in Science and
Technology (work in progress). Co-authored by
Benjamin Zulueta.
• Chinese American Scientists: A Transnational
History (in early stage of development)
Recent Articles and Book
Chapters:
• “What Can We Expect from the New [Obama] Administration?”
Harvey Mudd College Magazine, Winter 2008, 16-17. Co-authored
by Richard Olson.
• “History of Science and American Science Policy,” Isis 99, no. 2
(June 2008): 365-373. Co-authored by Naomi Oreskes.
• “Science and the State in Modern China,” Isis 98, no. 3 (September
2007): 558-570.
• “China Goes to the Poles: Science, Nationalism, and
Internationalism in Chinese Polar Exploration.” In Extremes:
Oceanographer’s Adventures at the Poles, eds. Keith R. Benson
and Helen M. Rozwadowski, 269-302. Sagamore Beach, MA:
Science History Publications, 2007. Available from this
www.amazon.com link. Reviews in Oceanography and Isis.
• “Physics in China in the Context of the Cold War, 1949-1976.” In a
forthcoming collection of essays edited by Helmuth Trischler and
Mark Walker on physics, funding, and institutions in the twentieth
century.
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“Restructuring.” In Storia della Scienza (history of science), v. 8, ed. Sandro
Petruccioli (gen. ed.), 553-560. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2005. On
the post-World War II international restructuring in science and technology.
"Saving China through Science: The Science Society of China, Scientific Nationalism,
and Civil Society in Republican China." Osiris: A Research Journal Devoted to the
History of Science and Its Cultural Influences 17 (2002): 291-322. (A thematic issue
on Science and Civil Society edited by Lynn K. Nyhart and Thomas
Broman). Copyright History of Science Society and University of Chicago Press.
“Science, Technology, and Foreign Policy.” In Encyclopedia of American Foreign
Policy: Studies of the Principal Movements and Ideas. Eds. Alexander DeConde, et
al., v. 3, 443-459. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2002. Co-authored by Ronald
Doel.
“Chinese American Scientists and U.S.-China Scientific Relations: From Richard
Nixon to Wen Ho Lee.” In The Expanding Roles of Chinese Americans in U.S.-China
Relations: Transnational Networks and Trans-Pacific Interactions, eds. Peter H.
Koehn and Xiao-huang Yin, 207-334. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2002. A Chinese
translation of the book appeared in 2004: “华裔美国科学家和美中科学关系：从尼克松
到李文和,” 安金辉译， 孔秉德和尹晓煌编,《美籍华人与中美关系》北京：新华出版
社， 2004年。
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"'Ideologically Correct' Science: French Revolution, Soviet Union, National Socialism,
WWII Japan, McCarthyism, and People's Republic of China." In Science and Ideology:
A Comparative History, ed. Mark Walker, 35-65. London and New York: Routledge,
2002. Co- authored by Michael Gordin, Walter Grunden, and Mark Walker. German
translation appeared as "Ideologisch korrekte' Wissenschaft: Französische
Revolution, Sowjetunion, Nationalsozialismus, Japan im Zweiten Weltkrieg,
McCarthy-Ära, Volksrepublik China," In Uwe Hoßfeld and Rainer Brömer (eds.),
Darwinismus und/als Ideologie (Berlin: Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung, 2001),
29-69.
"Between the Devil and the Deep Sea: C. K. Tseng, Mariculture, and the Politics of
Science in Modern China." Isis 91, no. 1 (March 2000): 59-88 (big —6.19mb—pdf file
from JStor). Co-authored by Peter Neushul. Copyright History of Science Society
and the University of Chicago Press. Winner of the 2003 Derek Price/Rod Webster
Prize from the History of Science Society. See also 李虎军, “科学史家笔下的曾呈
奎.”
"US-China Scientific Exchange: A Case Study of State-Sponsored Scientific
Internationalism during the Cold War and beyond." Historical Studies in the Physical
and Biological Sciences 30, pt. 1 (1999): 249-277. Copyright University of California
Press.
• "Responding to Silent Spring: Scientists, Popular Science
Communication, and Environmental Policy in the Kennedy Years."
Science Communication: An Interdisciplinary Social Science Journal
19, no. 4 (December 1997): 141-163. (2.5 mg pdf file.) Copyright
Sage Publications.
• "The Politics of Big Science in the Cold War: PSAC [President's
Science Advisory Committee] and the Funding of SLAC [Stanford
Linear Accelerator Center]." Historical Studies in the Physical and
Biological Sciences 25, pt. 2 (1995): 329-356. Copyright University
of California Press.
• "The First World War, Academic Science, and the 'Two Cultures':
Educational Reforms at the University of Cambridge." Minerva: A
Review of Science, Learning, and Policy 33, no. 2 (Summer 1995):
107-127. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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Other Publications in English
Chinese Publications (中文文章和报道)
Book Reviews
Conference Presentations and Invited
Talks
• Activities Related to the 50th Anniversary of Sputnik in 2007:
• “Living in the Shadow of Sputnik,” San Gabriel Valley Tribune (also
printed in Pasadena Star-News and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin),
online version on October 3 and print version on October 4, 2007.
• Television interview on Sputnik, broadcast on Time Warner CableCNN Headline News Local Edition in Southern California, October 4,
2007.
• Interviewed for David Olson, “How Sputnik Changed the Inland
Area,” The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), October 4, 2007.
• Featured in Dwayne Day, “Blue Skies on the West Coast: A History
of the Aerospace Industry in Southern California,” Space Review,
August 20, 2007.
Education:
• PhD, in History, University of California,
Santa Barbara, 1994
• MS, in History of Physics, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,
1985
• BS, in Physics, Henan Normal University,
Xinxiang, China 1982
Experiences:
• Cal Poly Pomona History Department,
Assistant Professor, 1999-2004; Associate
Professor, 2004• UC Berkeley History Department, Visiting
Lecturer, 1999
• UC Santa Barbara History Department,
Visiting Lecturer, 1994-98
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Professional Services:
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Chinese Journal for the History of Science and
Technology Editorial Board Member, 2005Isis Editorial Board Member, 2006-2008.
Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences Associate
Editor, 2007History of Science Society Margaret W. Rossiter History
of Women in Science Prize Committee, 2008-2010.
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship
Program panel member, 2007-
Professional Honors:
• 2003 Price/Webster Prize, History of
Science Society. Co-recipient with Peter
Neushul.
• Visiting Fellow, Institute for the History of
Natural Science, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing, summers of 2002, 2004,
and 2007.
• Adjunct Professorship, Henan Normal
University, 2008-
Course Syllabus
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中国科学院研究生院
2009年6月8-19日
美国近现代科技史History of Modern American Science and Technology
Instructor: 王作跃
Office: TBA
Summer Quarter 2009
Office Hours: TBA
Class Hours: MWF 1:30-4:00pm
Classroom: 教学楼阶二3教室
Email: zywang@csupomona.edu
Course website: http://www.csupomona.edu/~zywang/amscigucas2009.html
课程简介：本课程是一个压缩性的两周短课程，研究美国近现代科技，包括科技政策，从19世纪末到
21世纪初的历史发展,尤其注重在美国和世界史的广阔背景下来研究科技与社会的互动。内容包括：19
世 纪末二十世纪初美国工业化革命和各项技术发明，包括电灯，电话，和汽车的涌现及其社会文化影
响，以及爱迪生，贝尔，福特等发明家的研究；二十世纪二十年代 美国科学，尤其是物理学的崛起；
二次世界大战中的科技，尤其是原子弹的研制和使用；冷战时期的科技政策，包括核军备竞赛，奥本海
默案件，苏联卫星的影响， 总统科学顾问委员会的兴衰，阿波罗登月计划等；现代环保运动的兴起，
从卡逊的《寂静的春天》到全球变暖；尼克松访华以后中美科技教育交流；二十世纪末二十 一世纪初
的科技发展，尤其是信息技术—计算机和网络—和生物技术的发展和所引起的影响和争论；911和反恐
战争对科技政策的影响；奥巴马的科技政策。贯穿这些案例的分析主题有：在美国近代史上，科学，技
术与社会是什么样的关系？科学家在政府政策里起到了什么样的作用？社会对科技发展持什么样的态度：
乐观，悲观，谨慎存疑？
课程主要用英文进行，包括讲演，讨论，教科书和其他阅读资料，播放的纪录片等。课程的主要教科书
是 Thomas Hughes, American Genesis.因 课程的压缩性，学生需要能够在短时间内进行大量的英文资
料的阅读，并进行大量的英文写作练习。课程末期学生需要参加一个课堂考试和并提交一篇课外短文。
课 程的目的：上完这门课，学生应该对美国近现代科技发展的历史和现状有一个比较完整的了解，能
够发展自己的批判性思维能力，能够改进自己英文口语和写作能 力，能够比较熟悉如何使用英文原始
文献和研究文献。
Required Books
Thomas P. Hughes, American Genesis: A Century of
Invention and Technological Enthusiasm,1870-1970
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004). (preview
at Google Books and Amazon)
• Zuoyue Wang, In Sputnik’s Shadow: The President’s
Science Advisory Committee and Cold War America
(New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008).
(previews at Google Books and Amazon)
• William Kelleher Storey, Writing History: A Guide for
Students (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008).
(Preview at Amazon.)
• In addition there will be online reading assignments.
Assignments
• There will be frequent writing assignments
and presentations, a term paper, and a
final exam.
• Good writing, attendance, and active
participation in discussions count in this
class as we aim to improve not only our
historical knowledge but also our written
and oral communication skills.
Term Paper
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You are required to write a paper on a topic related to the class and approved by
Prof. Wang in advance. At the beginning of the class, try to thumb through the texts
to get an overview of the topics we will be studying and think about what topics you
would like to write on. Try to avoid big, overtly general topics, such as “A History of
the Atomic Bomb.” Instead, try to narrow it down to something like “Albert Einstein
and the Atomic Bomb.” Check out this link
(www.csupomona.edu/~zywang/topics.html) on my website and read our Storey text
for further suggestions. You are required to submit and discuss with Prof. Wang the
topic and a one-paragraph write-up on your paper by the date indicated in the
schedule below. Please also notice the due dates for a draft and the final version
of your paper. The finished paper should be about 5-8 pages, double-spaced, with
12 point font and one inch margin on all sides, printed on plain paper, stapled at the
upper-left corner (no plastic cover or binding please). All writings in this class are
evaluated for both grammar and content and there will be discussions of paper drafts
later in the quarter.
A good paper will have a clear thesis statement, supported by a narrative built on a
variety of evidence such as scholarly books and articles, reports in newspapers or
magazines, or oral history interviews. It can describe an event or individual, but
should explain how that event or individual does or does not fit in the general themes
of this class. See a sample paper by Melissa Mikanami on “The Space Shuttle
Challenger Disaster of 1986.”
Information Literacy beyond
Wikipedia
• As the open online encyclopedia becomes a
popular source of information, we will learn how
to use it effectively so we can benefit from its
strengths while avoiding its pitfalls. It is an
exercise in information literacy.
• As a rule of thumb, you are encouraged to use it
as a starting point of research but generally not
as an end point. We will discuss why scholarly
(peer-reviewed) books and articles, some of
them maybe available online from our library’s
databases, are preferred sources of information
and analysis.
Worksheets and Discussions
• Please complete the reading assignments
before each session. To help you manage the
reading assignments, a one-page worksheet is
linked with each topic which you are required to
fill out using a word processor and bring to
class.
• We will use these worksheets for in-class
discussions where you will be asked to comment
on assigned readings and raise your questions
about them for discussions.
Examinations
• There will be one final exam, which covers
the whole class.
• Before the exam, Prof. Wang will collect
suggestions for questions from students.
Ground rules
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Avoid late entry or early exit without instructor's prior authorization.
Late works will be penalized by 1/3 letter grade per day, e.g. B to B- if one day late.
Repeated, unexcused absences will considerably lower your grade for the class.
Signing-in for another student on the attendance sheet when that student is absent is
an act of misconduct subject to disciplinary actions.
Cell phones should be turned off during class period; no text messaging—either
sending or receiving—is allowed once class starts.
Use of a laptop is allowed only for taking notes; no web browsing or any other use is
allowed unless authorized specifically by instructor.
In general, activities not related to this class are prohibited during class: e.g.,
newspaper-reading, doing work for another class, and chatting with each other.
If you do not use your GUCAS email account regularly, you will need to set it up so
any email sent to your GUCAS account will be forwarded to an email address you do
use regularly.
Plagiarism and other misconducts: Presenting ideas and writing of others as one's
own without proper credit or citation is a serious academic offense and will lead to
automatic failure in this class and possible further disciplinary actions.
Grading (general guideline)
• Attendance, Work Sheets, Participation in
Discussions: 25%; Final Exam: 35%; Term
Paper: 40%.
Topics and Reading
Assignments (subject to change)
• The lectures will cover only a few major
events in depth but the students should
read the texts to gain a comprehensive
understanding of developments covered in
class. Do all the assigned readings
BEFORE each session and don’t forget to
fill out and bring to class the Worksheet
(click on it to get the form) for each
session.
Week 1
Monday 6/8: Introduction; American
science policy under Obama
• Read: 王作跃，“为什么美国没有设立科技部?”《科学文化评论》
2005年 第2卷第5期, 36-49页;王作跃，“当代美国科技政策的变迁：
从卫星危机到９．１１”，科技时报，２００７年９月４日；
Richard Olson and Zuoyue Wang, “What Can We Expect from the
New [Obama] Administration?” Harvey Mudd College Magazine,
Winter 2008, 16-17; 郭凯，“展望美国新政府的科技政策”大众科技
报，２００９年２月３日；read and watch Barack Obama, “The
Necessity of Science,” April 27, 2009, speech at the National
Academy of Sciences; browse National Research Council, How
People Learn (1990); John Cloud, “How the Stereotypes Defeat the
Stereotyped” (“Why Your Memory May Not Be So Bad After All”),
Time, June 1, 2009; read “Four Types of Learning,” fill out “Learning
Questionnaire,” print it out and bring it to class.
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• Video in class: The Telephone.
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Resources for term paper projects:
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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (1945-1999)
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
National Science and Technology Council
House Committee on Science and Technology
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
National Science Foundation
National Institutes of Health
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
NASA
Environmental Protection Agency
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Union of Concerned Scientists
Federation of American Scientists
National Academies of Science and Engineering (Issues in Science and Technology)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (Science)
American Institute of Physics (Physics Today)
American Chemical Society (Chemical and Engineering News)
American Institute of Biological Sciences
IEEE
Papers of the Presidents of the United States
Foreign Relations of the United States
Wednesday 6/19
• Part 1: From inventors to technological systems
• Read: Hughes, pp. 1-24 (read), 15-170 (browse), 170-172 (read),
173-183 (read).
• Video in class: Edison's Miracle of Light
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• Part 2: The debate over scientific management or Taylorism
• Read: Hughes, 184-203 (browse)
• Video in class: Modern Times (first 20 minutes).
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• Part 3: Henry Ford and mass production
• Read: Hughes, 203-248 (browse).
• Video in class: Henry Ford
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• Due: Tentative Term Paper Topic (a title and a paragraph of
explanation).
Friday 6/21
• Part 1: The Manhattan Project
• Read: Hughes, 353-381 (browse); 381-442
(read).
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• Part 2: The use of the atomic bomb
• Read: Truman Library—The Decision to Drop
the Atomic Bomb; Wang, xi-22.
• Video in class: Hiroshima: Why Was the Bomb
Dropped.
• Due: term paper bibliography.
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Week 2
Monday 6/24
• Part 1: Science and technology during the Cold War
• Read: Wang, 23-67 (browse); 71-87 (read); 88-198
(browse).
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• Video in class: CNN Cold War: Sputnik.
• Video in class: Dr. Wang interview on the 50th
anniversary (10/4/2007) of Sputnik.
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• Part 2: How to write a history paper in English
• Read: Storey book. Review: Citation Style and Tips on
Writing
• Due: One-page review of Storey book.
Wednesday 6/26
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Part 1: Modern environmental movement
Read: Wang, 199-218 (read). Hughes, 443-472 (read).
Video in class: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
Part 2: New technological enthusiasm and debate on global
warming
• Read: Thomas Hughes, “Forward,” American Genesis. Wang, 219310 (browse), 311-324 (read); Naomi Oreskes, “The Scientific
Consensus on Climate Change,” Science 306 (December 3, 2004):
1686 and “Testimony…US Senate,” December 6, 2006. Zuoyue
Wang and Naomi Oreskes, “History of Science and American
Science Policy,” Isis 99, no. 2 (June 2008): 365373. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change
2007: Synthesis Report, 2007
• Video in class: Hot Politics. (lecture notes on global warming)
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Friday 6/28
• Part 1: Group discussion and presentation of term
papers. Due: term paper draft.
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• Part 2: US-China scientific exchange and Chinese
American scientists
• Read: Wang, "US-China Scientific Exchange: A Case
Study of State-Sponsored Scientific Internationalism
during the Cold War and beyond." Historical Studies in
the Physical and Biological Sciences 30, pt. 1 (1999):
249-277.
• Part 3: Tips on Writing History Essay Exams. Handout of
final exam question.