The colloquium introduces gender studies as part of science studies. Topics include: the meaning of gender for biographies of scientists, for different disciplines, their epistemologies, practices and pedagogy; as well as for the content of the knoweldges gained in science. For the concerns of the course, the term gender studies will emphatically refer to both genders.

For several decades images play a crucial role in science and technology. In many cases they are a fundamental for the research process since they reveal phenomena that otherwise would remain inaccessible. Apart from these specific capacities of pictorial representation we will deal with the use of images in the public presentation and promotion of science of technology.

The lecture discusses recent developments in history of science, especially the turn from a history of ideas and concepts to a better understanding of the practical aspects of science and scientific research. Thus, we will focus on instrumental and experimental conditions of research as well as techniques of ordering and classifiying scientific objects.

Today the life sciences are considered as the leading discipline of the 21th century. However, important scientific and social issues of life and death are only to be understood in a broader historical perspective. Therefore, we will explore central topics of research on life and living beings from antiquity to present times. Our main focus will be on modern biology from the 19th century onwards.

Today, the life sciences are considered the leading discipline of the 21th century. However, important scientific and social issues of life and death are only to be understood in a broader historical perspective. Therefore, we will explore central topics of research on life and living beings from antiquity to the present. Our main focus will be on modern biology from the 19th century onwards.

Since the middle of the 20th century, biology as the key science has held great authority with regard to commonsensical knowledge. Ideas about ‘the nature of things’ have influenced other scientific disciplines and political thought beyond the well-known example of social Darwinism. In the seminar, we will analyze the social power and public presence of the life sciences for such concatenations.

In reconstructing the past of humankind and of ‚the human races’, science, the media, and ‚the public’ interact. This kind of knowledge will be discussed considering as examples newspapers, documentaries, and exhibits on humans. In the process, the scientific engagement with human bones and their political meaning for individuals, groups, and nations will be one of the main foci.

The concept of ‘genes for’ in relation to human characteristics and behaviors proves to be tenacious also in the aftermath of the century of the gene, particularly in popular literature. We approach the question of how the gene, the genome, and the DNA acquired such power in the first place. What was and is the role of ‘the anthropological gene’ in current research and other areas of culture?