New book, Science and Technology in World History, wins top award from World History Association
This summer, a new book by two Stevens Institute of Technology professors won the 2000 World History Association Book Award, an international honor the association bestows only once a year. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction, by Dr. James E. McClellan and Dr. Harold Dorn, surveys the history of science and technology from a rare global perspective.
Jurors for the World History Association's annual award commended McClellan and Dorn for their extensive historical coverage, including ancient, medieval and modern periods; their broad treatment of far-flung regions and cultures of the world; and their clear language and illustrations.
In the words of one juror, the 400-page volume is "the best survey text in the history of science, and probably the first to be taken seriously by the profession, since . 1956."
McClellan and Dorn, both Stevens professors of the history of science, took seven years to develop and write the book, first published in 1999 (The Johns Hopkins University Press). Now in its third printing, it is already in wide use as a college textbook.
"The history of science has up until now typically been the history of Western science," explained McClellan. This book, with its unique emphasis on pre-history and its global perspective, includes discussions on the scientific traditions of China, India and Pre-Columbian America, among other cultures.
It also avoids projecting modern ideas about science and technology inappropriately on the past, McClellan noted. In doing so, Science and Technology in World History delves into the technologies of pre-history - such as the use of fire and tools - in ways other history of science books have not attempted.
The book is organized in four parts, beginning with the emergence of the first Homo sapiens and proceeding to the contemporary world of quantum physics, DNA sequencing and beyond.
A major share of the book's content is rooted in a history of science survey course McLellan and Dorn teach at Stevens. The book's development included four years of feedback from undergraduate students in the course on the readability and relevance of sections of the book.
"Stevens students provided a helpful dimension as we worked on the book," said McClellan.
"In this book, some of the most recent findings from the research front are made accessible to a general audience," McClellan explained. "It does not have footnotes, but it includes a guide to further reading in the back, including many web sites. It's very relevant to Stevens students and in keeping with the broad-based educational foundation they receive."
McClellan and Dorn were invited to write the volume by editors at The Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP), who were looking for an anchor book for their series on the history of science. Both professors are authors of scholarly books in the field.
McClellan, associate dean in the Stevens' School of Applied Sciences and Liberal Arts, has written Colonialism and Science (JHUP, 1992). Dorn, who directs the school's division of humanities and social sciences, is the author of The Geography of Science (JHUP, 1991), a treatment of the geography of science that is an important contribution to his field as well as to the underlying premises of Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction.
Copies of Science and Technology in World History are available through The Johns Hopkins University Press, at many major bookstores, and by special order through most bookstores. The latest paperback version retails for $18.95 (ISBN 0-8018-5869-0).
The World History Association Book Award was presented to McClellan and Dorn on June 24th, 2000, at Northeastern University in Boston, where the association held its annual conference.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
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