UGS 302: ASTRONOMY AND THE HUMANITIES

Starry Night

Unique number: 66185

Course number: UGS 302

Description: Astronomy, one of the original seven liberal arts, has been integrated by countless generations of artists, authors, and musicians into their works. Examining astronomy's deep influence on other areas of human culture helps illuminate our understanding of the universe. In this course we'll explore astronomical examples in the visual arts, fiction (including science fiction), poetry, music, and drama and the underlying science concepts found in these works.

The class meets Monday from 3-4 PM in BUR 136 and Wednesday from 3-5 PM in BUR 128
Some field trips are arranged during classtime or as individual assignments.

27 August 2008, 7 PM- optional field trip to Paramount Theater to see 2001: A Space Odyssey
1 October 2008, 7 PM - University Lecture (required to attend or view on-line version within a week) - Gregory Gym
6 October 2008, 3 PM - Library workshop in PCL 1.229
15 October 2008, 3 PM - Blanton Museum of Art
19 November 2008, 3 PM - Humanities Research Center

textbooks

Galileo a play by Bertoltd Brecht - used for a dramatic reading by the class
A rough guide to the Universe, an inexpensive survey of astronomy to provide background for the readings

For futher information, see the Blackboard site and electronic reserves for this class. The password for electronic reserves will be distributed in class.

Syllabus in WORD format.

Fall Semester 2008

Originated on 16 June 2008
modified on 27 August 2008

Mary Kay Hemenway, Ph. D.
512-471-1309