Cooper Union

Leonardo, Scientist and Engineer

This course uses the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci (1453–1519) to explore science, medicine, engineering and art in Renaissance Europe. We will use Leonardo's notebooks, work of his contemporaries and writing about his interests across the centuries to examine the institutions and influences that served Leonardo’s imagination, his inventiveness, and his arts. Same as HUM 305

3 credits

Course Code: SS 305

Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.
“My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”
From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.
Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.