9781512601022
9781512601015
9781512601039
Distributed for University Press of New England
What Are the Arts and Sciences?
A Guide for the Curious
What constitutes the study of philosophy or physics? What exactly does an anthropologist do, or a geologist or historian? In short, what are the arts and sciences? While many of us have been to college and many aspire to go, we may still wonder just what the various disciplines represent and how they interact. What are their origins, methods, applications, and unique challenges? What kind of people elect to go into each of these fields, and what are the big issues that motivate them? Curious to explore these questions himself, Dartmouth College professor and mathematician Dan Rockmore asked his colleagues to explain their fields and what it is that they do. The result is an accessible, entertaining, and enlightening survey of the ideas and subjects that contribute to a liberal education. The book offers a doorway to the arts and sciences for anyone intrigued by the vast world of ideas.
Table of Contents
Preface • What Is African American Studies?—Derrick E. White • What Is Anthropology?—Sienna R. Craig • What Is Art History?—Ada Cohen • What Is Astronomy?—Ryan Hickox • What Is Biology?—Amy Gladfelter • What Is Chemistry?—F. Jon Kull • What Is Classics?—Roger B. Ulrich • What Is Computer Science?—Thomas H. Cormen • What Is Ecology?—Mark A. McPeek • What Is Economics?—Christopher Snyder • What Is Engineering?—Vicki V. May • What Is English?—Thomas H. Luxon • What Is French?—Andrea Tarnowski • What Is Geography?—Richard Wright • What Is Geology?—William B. Dade • What Is History?—Robert Bonner • What Is Linguistics?—James N. Stanford • What Is Mathematics?—Dan Rockmore • What Is Music?—Larry Polansky • What Is Philosophy?—Adina L. Roskies • What Is Physics?—Miles Blencowe • What Is Political Science?—Russell Muirhead • What Is Psychology?—Thalia Wheatley • What Is Religion?—Susan Ackerman • What Is Sociology?—Janice McCabe • What Is Theater?—Daniel Kotlowitz • What Is Women’s and Gender Studies?—Ivy Schweitzer • Acknowledgments • Notes • For More Information • Contributors