GO 521 History of Geology syllabus

GO 521 History of Geology
Professor James S. Aber
Earth Science Department
Emporia State University

The historical development of geology as a scientific discipline from ancient civilizations to the modern space age. Historical context and cultural basis of major geological theories regarding the origin of the Earth and processes that have influenced the Earth's development. The lives and contributions of individuals, whose ideas have shaped scientific thought and public opinion. Scientific technology, exploration, and the changing role of science through time. History of American and Kansan geology.

http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/histgeol/syllabus.htm

Instructor: James S. Aber (email: jaber@emporia.edu).
Prerequisite: Introduction to earth science or history of science; consent of instructor.
Text books:
1. The seashell on the mountaintop: How Nicolaus Steno solved an ancient mystery and created a science of the Earth by Alan Cutler (2004).
2. The ice finders: How a poet, a professor, and a politician discovered the Ice Age by Edmund Blair Bolles (1999).
3. It began with a stone: A history of geology from the Stone Age to the age of plate tectonics by Faul and Faul (1983).
  Note: The latter two books are now "out of print" and are not available from the publishers. However, new and good used copies are available from Amazon.com for reasonable cost.
Supplementary reading: additional short readings and illustrations are provided as pdf files for downloading via FTP.
Earth Sciences History is a scholarly journal for articles dealing with history of the earth sciences. It's available in the earth science reading room (SH 119, on campus only).
ESU library has a large collection of books dealing with history of geology. Most of these are cataloged in the 509, 550 and 560 sections in the stacks and reference department.

ESU White Library.

This course is designed for any student or teacher with an interest and introductory background in either earth science or history of science. The course will be delivered entirely via the World Wide Web. We will focus on individual scientists who were involved with development of important geological concepts. We will also examine the roles of various kinds of geological institutions.

Course Availability

This course will be taught in spring semester 2007. Distance-learning students should enroll through lifelong learning. In order to receive university credit, students must be officially enrolled and must be in contact with the instructor for course materials and directions. Note: this course is not recommended for students in the undergraduate BIS degree program.

**Course Information**
Course procedures	Course schedule
Geology listing	Grading scale
Weekly announcements	Student reports

This course is offered by the Earth Science department for the use and benefit of students enrolled at Emporia State Univeristy. All course curriculum © by the author, J.S. Aber (2006); all rights reserved.