AAS 205th Meeting, 9-13 January 2005
Session 124 Astronomy Teaching through Humanities: Poetry, Fiction, the Visual Arts and More
Special Session, Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 10:00-11:30am, Pacific 6-7

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[124.01] Astronomy Teaching through the Humanities: Literature, the Visual Arts and More

A. Fraknoi (Foothill College & A.S.P.), George Greenstein (Amherst College)

We will examine how the humanities -- the visual arts, science fiction, poetry, music, etc. -- can be used in teaching introductory astronomy courses for non-science majors. A number of instructors have found innovative ways to show how astronomy has a deep influence on other areas of human culture and how the humanities can illuminate our students' understanding of the universe. A few astronomers are also making original contributions at the interface of astronomy and the humanities. The panel of speakers for the session will consists of:

Gregory Benford (U. of California, Irvine): Using Science Fiction to Teach Astronomy: Promise and Pitfalls

William Hartmann (Planetary Science Institute): Science and Art in the Classroom

Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College & A.S.P.): The Humanities in the Astronomy Classroom: Activities and Projects

George Greenstein (Amherst College) will be the session moderator.

Time will be set aside for brief summaries of the poster papers associated with this session and for discussion. Participants will receive a resource guide to using the humanities for astronomy teaching.


The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: fraknoiandrew@fhda.edu

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.