Spring 2027

Special Topics in the History of Science

Special topics in the history of science, medicine, and technology through readings and discussion.

offering recorded2–3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Elizabeth Hennessy3.8/5

Summary

1 / 3

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.87 GPA, 93.3% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.75 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.85 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades).

What you’ll be able to do

  • Explain developments in science, medicine, or technology in terms of historical context.

  • Use historical methods to analyze primary sources related to science, medicine, or technology.

  • Construct and defend written and verbal arguments by synthesizing information derived from a range of sources.

  • Understand science, technology, or medicine as products of diverse people and places.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing or 3 credits in HIST SCI

    • Sophomore standing
    • 3 credits in HIST SCI
    take one
HISTSCI 350

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • Sophomore standing
    • 3 credits in HIST SCI

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.50/5 from 4 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.79 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.85 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ELIZABETH HENNESSY is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 250

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.87 GPA, 93.3% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.75 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.85 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • History of science, medicine, and technology
  • Science and technology as products of diverse people and places

Skills

  • Analyze primary sources using historical methods
  • Construct and defend written and verbal arguments
  • Explain scientific and technological developments in historical context

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
HISTSCI 350 · Spring 2027

Special Topics in the History of Science

Recorded 2026-10-14
HISTSCI 350 · Spring 2027

Race, Colonialism, Environment

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "offering_id": "1274:456:009665",
    "course_id": "HISTSCI 350",
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    "source_course_id": "009665",
    "source_subject_id": "456",
    "title": "Special Topics in the History of Science",
    "credits_min": 2,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Occasionally"
  },
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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:456:009665.32",
    "course_id": "HISTSCI 350",
    "course_uid": "course_80f67b75772ab4943ef48c0d",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "009665.32",
    "source_subject_id": "456",
    "title": "Race, Colonialism, Environment",
    "credits_min": 2,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Occasionally"
  }
]
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Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "1bad42a5a40924e14f42e4f60d99475a6e2d9dca569d3f094cb3abf541ff7152",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}