Space-Based UV/Optical Wide-Field Imaging and Spectroscopy: Near-Field
  Cosmology and Galaxy Evolution Using Globular Clusters in Nearby Galaxies
  Star formation plays a central role in the evolution of galaxies and of the
Universe as a whole. Studies of star-forming regions in the local universe have
shown that star formation typically occurs in a clustered fashion. Building a
coherent picture of how star clusters form and evolve is therefore critical to
our overall understanding of the star formation process. Most clusters disrupt
after they form, thus contributing to the field star population. However, the
most massive and dense clusters remain bound and survive for a Hubble time.
These globular clusters provide unique observational probes of the formation
history of their host galaxies. In particular, the age and metallicity can be
determined for each globular cluster individually, allowing the distribution of
ages and metallicities within host galaxies to be constrained. We show how
space-based UV-to-near-IR imaging covering a wide field of view (>= 20 arcmin
per axis) and deep UV/Optical multi-object spectroscopy of globular cluster
systems in nearby galaxies would allow one to place important new constraints
on the formation history of early-type galaxies and their structural
subcomponents (e.g., bulge, halo).
