GRST 281 - Cosmos: The history of a concept from Homer to Neil deGrasse Tyson

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as STS 281) Today when we hear the word “cosmos,” we picture sublime nebulas and solar systems. But the meaning of the word, which originated in ancient Greece and refered to anything that was ordered, whether it be a military, a poem, or a cosmetically ‘put together’ body, was very diverse. Over time the concept came to be central in the lexicon of philosophy, rhetoric, and political theory, evolving into words as diverse as cosmology, cosmetology, and the cosmopolitan. In this class, we trace the elevation of the concept of cosmos from its origins in ancient Greece down through medieval Arabic and European languages (all in translation) and consider how the word shaped how thinkers spoke of the human place in the universe, constructions of race and gender, politics and power structures, and the organization of knowledge and systems of higher education among other topics. Del Maticic.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS