Bernhard Schär: Catalogue data in Spring Semester 2016

Name Dr. Bernhard Schär
Address
Institut für Geschichte (GMW)
Clausiusstrasse 59
RZ G 25
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone044 632 74 31
DepartmentHumanities, Social and Political Sciences
RelationshipLecturer

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
851-0101-50LIn Search of "Missing Links" in Europe and the Asian-Pacific World, 1859-1920
Particularly suitable for students of D-BIOL, D-ERW, D-BSSE
3 credits2SB. Schär
AbstractDarwin's theory of evolution (1859) triggered a world wide hunt for humanity's earliest ancestors. While some scientits dug up prehistoric fossils and bones in European soil, others looked for 'savage tribes' in the colonies of the Asian-Pacific world. How did 'the hunt for the missing link' affect and connect people in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific?
ObjectiveThe aim of the seminar is
a) to introduce students to new approaches in the global history of science
b) to familiarize students with the history of Darwinian biology, geology, and anthropology
c) to enable students to examine and interpret historical source material from 'missing link expeditions' between 1860 and 1920.

A particular focus will be placed on Swiss and German research expeditions in the Asian-Pacific world. Students should therefore be able to read German and French sources.