PRELIMINARY INFORMATION - SUBJECT TO CHANGE

HST 427/527, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment (Top. Hist. Sci.), Winter 2011
Richard H. Beyler

Tel.: 503-725-3996 • E-mail: r \dot\ beyler \a t\ pdx \dot\ edu • Web home page: web.pdx.edu/~drrb
Office: Cramer 441-O • Drop-in office hours: Tue. 14:00-15:30; otherwise by appointment
Course meets TuTh 12:00-13:50 in Shattuck 244

The Topics in History of Science course (HST 427/527) focuses on a specific aspect of the history of science in its cultural, social, and political context, with the specific focus varying from term to term.

This term, we look at the eras of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, ca. 1500-ca. 1800, and examine the reciprocal relations of natural philosophy and social philosophy in these eras. The transformations of science in this era are often called “revolutionary.” In what ways is this label justified, and in what ways not? How were changing conceptions of nature reflected in changing conceptions of human nature and human society? How did changing understandings of method and evidence in the natural sciences transform the processes and conclusions of social thought? How was the new natural philosophy received, interpreted, and appropriated in other cultural domains: religion, philosophy, politics? How did social, economic, and political transformations affect the direction, pace, and agenda of natural philosophy?

Objectives. Through this course, students should be (better) able to:
· Trace key events in early modern European intellectual history.
· Describe and analyze these events, especially those relating to science and technology, in historical context.
· Discuss and write on these topics in a historically informed way.
· As relevant, find and use appropriate historical sources.

Texts. We will be reading substantial portions of the following texts, which are for sale at the PSU Bookstore and possibly also elsewhere:

Dear, Peter. Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and Its Ambitions, 1500-1700. 2^nd ed. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Pr., 2009.

Descartes, René. Discourse on Method and Related Writings. Trans. Desmond M. Clarke. London: Penguin, 1999.

Galileo. Discoveries and Opinions. Trans. and ed. Stillman Drake. New York: Doubleday, 1957.

Harkness, Deborah E.. The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. New Haven: Yale Univ. Pr., 2007.

Outram, Dorinda. The Enlightenment. New Approaches to European History. 2^nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 2005.

Schiebinger, Londa. Plants and Empire: Colonial Bioprospecting in the Atlantic World. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Pr., 2004.

We are also reading several additional primary source texts (usually excerpts from larger works) available on the internet. I will post on-line a webpage with links to these texts, and will announce the URL address in class. I will also distribute a handout with bibliographical information, if you wish to track down hard-copy versions.

Requirements for the class involve an element of choice of assignments. Graduate students (registered for HST 527) have a modified set of requirements, about which there is a separate handout.

Attendance/quizzes (10%). Regular attendance and thoughtful participation is expected. Formally, everyone starts with 25 points towards this category. Everyone gets up to three “free” absences; beyond that, each absence (regardless of reason) results in a one-point deduction. Additionally, on the nine discussion days, there will be a simple quiz in short answer format, essentially to verify that you have done the required reading. These will be evaluated on a check/check-plus/check-minus basis, with a check-minus resulting in a point deduction. The quizzes are not “make-up-able.”

Two response papers (2 @ 15% = 30%). There will also be four response essays assigned throughout the term, and everyone should do two of these. These will be short, informal papers (3-4 pp.) in which you will be asked to respond to a question (probably one chosen from a set of options) relating to the preceding readings, lectures, or discussions.

For the remaining 60%, choose two assignments from among the following options. Note that the last three require extra work in the form of additional outside reading; however, they may be of interest if you want to investigate a particular topic in more depth or to explore a topic that we are not able to address in class.

• The two remaining response papers (2 @ 15% = 30%).

• A mid-term exam consisting of essay, short answer, and possibly chronological, identification, or interpretive questions (30%).

• A final exam, in similar format, but concentrating on the second part of the term (30%).

• A background report for one of our discussions. You should write a paper of about 5-6 pp. which presents biographical/historical context for the author/text in question and draws connections to the themes which we have been developing. Your paper needs to go beyond the information presented in our other reading (the textbooks) or in prior lectures or discussions–i.e., it should be based on independent research. You should also give a brief presentation (10-15 minutes) to kick off the discussion. (The presentation should not consist of your simply reading your report.) The paper is due no later than one week after the discussion. Since there are a limited number of these available, you must tell me no later than Week III if you are interested in this assignment.

• An review essay on a book from the historical literature–that is, a secondary source written by a historian–listed in the bibliography or footnotes in one of our textbooks. The paper (7-8 pp.) should not simply summarize the work, but rather analyze the author’s argument and draw connections to the themes we have been developing in the class. A one page abstract is due no later than Week VII. You cannot do this assignment without (written) approval of the abstract. If you also do a background report or research paper, the review essay must be on a different topic.

• A research paper (or comparable project in another medium) on a topic chosen in consultation with me. In contrast to the two assignments above, its focus should be on a thesis or theme which goes beyond a single text (whether primary or secondary). There is no fixed length, but I would anticipate the paper will be approximately 9-12 pp. I am also open to alternative formats (e.g., a web site) subject to agreement on format, scope, etc. You should consult with me about possible topics no later than Week III of the term; also a interim report (roughly speaking, an annotated working bibliography) is due during Week VII. If you also do an review essay or background report, the research paper should be on a different topic. A research paper is required for graduate students.

APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE
(Subject to change!)

VP means the Virtual Packet webpage posted on-line. I will announce the URL address for this webpage in class; ask me if you need it. I will also distribute a handout with bibliographical information if you would like to obtain a hard-copy versions of the texts.

Week I, 4-6 Jan. Introductions. Historiographical and philosophical perspectives on the concept of (the) s Scientific Revolution. The medieval intellectual background. READ: Dear, chaps. 1-2; begin Harkness.
Thu. 6 Jan. No class meeting: I will be attending the American Historical Association annual meeting.
Instead, view the documentary “Inside the Medieval Mind: Knowledge,” available via the PSU Library’s
Films on Demand database. A link is also given on the Virtual Packet. PSU/ODIN username and
password required.

stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=/login?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=6059&xtid=42041

Week II, 11-13 Jan. Renaissance, Reformation, Humanism. The new mechanics: from Copernicus to Newton. The “Galileo affair.” READ: Dear, chaps. 3-4; Galileo, pp. 21-58, 87-119, 176-216 (optionally, also the introductions by Drake, pp. 1-20, 59-86, 145-71); continue Harkness.
Thu. 13 Jan. Discussion/quiz: Galileo.

Week III, 18-20 Jan. Problems of method in the Scientific Revolution: empiricism, mechanism, rationalism, mathematization, experiment. READ: Dear, chaps. 5-6; finish Harkness.
Thu. 20 Jan. Discussion/quiz: Harkness. RP#1 due. Proposal for background report due.
Deadline for research paper consultation.

Week IV, 25-27 Jan. Problems of method, cont’d. The (re-)organization of knowledge: universities, correspondence networks, academies, societies. READ: Dear, chaps. 7-8; Bacon, Prooemium to The Great Instauration and The New Atlantis (VP).
Thu. 27 Jan. Discussion/quiz: Bacon.

Week V, 1-3 Feb. The new mechanics: from Galileo to Newton. READ: Dear, Coda; Descartes, “Discourse on Method” and “Rules for Guiding One’s Intelligence ...,” pp. 5-53, 117-93.; begin Schiebinger.
Thu. 3 Feb. Discussion/quiz: Descartes. RP#2 due.

Week VI, 8-10 Feb. The Newtonian synthesis in the political-religious context of 17th century England. READ: Newton, selections from Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, pp. xvii-xviii, 1-14, 21-28, 31, 56-57, 398-405, 543-47, and from Opticks, pp. 351-53 (VP); Outram, chaps. 1-2; continue Schiebinger.
Tue. 8 Feb. Mid-term exam.
Thu. 10 Feb. Discussion/quiz: Newton.

Week VII, 15-17 Feb. The “age of discovery.” Continuities and changes in natural history. READ: Outram, chaps. 3-4; finish Schiebinger.
Thu. 17 Feb. Discussion/quiz: Schiebinger. RP#3 due. Abstract for review essay due.
Interim report for research paper due.

Week VIII, 22-24 Feb. 18th-century developments in the physical and biological sciences. READ: Outram, chaps. 5-6; Diderot, “Encylopedia”; choose also one or two other entries at the Encyclopedia of Diderot & Alembert website (VP).
Thu. 24 Feb. Discussion/quiz: Diderot and the Encyclopedia.

Week IX, 1-3 Mar. “Newtons of the mind”: Enlightenment views of human nature. READ: Outram, chaps. 7-8; Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book I (VP).
Thu. 3 Mar. Discussion/quiz: Rousseau. RP#4 due.

Week X, 8-10 Mar. Progress and pessimism, reform and revolution.. Conclusions. READ: Outram, chap. 9; Kant, “What Is Enlightenment?” (VP).
Thu. 10 Mar. Discussion/quiz: Kant. Research papers, review essays due.

Exam Week – NOTE DAY AND TIME!
Thu. 17 Mar., 10:15-12:05. Final exam.