One textbook for this course is
Cosmology
The Science of the Universe (2nd Edition)
[ISBN 0 521 66148 X]
by Edward Harrison.
This book gives a thorough explication of both the science and philosophy
of cosmology. It provides technical details for those who are interested.
Another text is
Cosmology:
Historical, Literary, Philosophical, Religious, and Scientific Perspectives by Hetherington et al.
This book amalgamates the work of many authors, and spans the gamut of human
thought from the earliest civilizations to modern science.
A smaller text is
Cosmos of the Ancients
The Greek Philosophers on Myth and Cosmology
[ISBN 978-1-4196-2773-6]
by Stefan Stenudd.
This book gives a concise summary of the important ancient Greek philosophers.
The main texts are erudite and rather dense.
A more accessible tale is told in
Coming of Age in the
Milky Way
[ISBN 0-06-053595-4] by Timothy Ferris.
Additional readings, to be assigned as appropriate:
Some biographical information about scientists important to the
Copernican Revolution:
AIP web page
Copernicus biography
Brahe biography
Kepler biography
Galileo biography
The Galileo Project
Modern works on cosmology and the "dark sector:"
The Inflationary Universe by Guth & Steinhardt
(in Scientific American 1984)
The Inflation Debate by Steinhardt
(in Scientific American 2011, in which Steinhardt has second thoughts)
Many lives in many worlds by Max Tegmark
The Case Against
Cosmology by
Mike
Disney
Sociology of Modern Cosmology by
Martin Lopez-Corredoira
Humans and Cosmology: Epicycles, Tenacious Beliefs and Test Particles in Motion by
Greg
Bothun
Dark Matter is Dead
by Marcus Chown
Does Dark Matter Really Exist?
by Moti Milgrom
Battlefield
Galactica: Dark Matter vs. MOND by
Govert Schilling
The Missing Universe (Astronomy Magazine April 2014)