Voyages of Scientific Discovery and Exploration

This course will present an overview of important voyages in the 18th and 19th Centuries. These, including Captain Cook, Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin and others, helped to establish the modern sciences of oceanography, marine biology, geology, and a host of related fields. The course will include a final session with the instructor’s personal experiences crewing for 12 years on research vessels.

2/6 - Introduction to Western Science, Scientific Revolution, and Early European Voyages
2/13 - Sir Joseph Banks and Captain Cook:  1760’s-1820
2/20 - Alexander von Humboldt: 1778-1859
2/27 - Charles Darwin and the Beagle: 1831-1836
3/6 - The Wilkes Expedition – US Exploring Expedition: 1838-1842  
3/13 - The HMS Challenger Expedition: 1872-1876
3/27 - Sailing with Science: 1975-1987
TBD - Field trip