HISTORY OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

This course will prepare students to understand the development of early modern history of science in relation to its institutional, social, religious, and intellectual contexts. To do this the course will examine the transformation of understandings of nature during this period, which in past scholarship has been referred to as the Scientific Revolution. In particular, the course will focus on the transformations of the field of natural history and its relation to new understandings of climate and meteorology. The formal objectives include applying the methods of the history of science to build a deeper understanding of early modern science and producing research on this subject.

1. Understanding methods of the history of science.
Understanding major themes in early modern thought about the natural world.
Understanding the context of natural history, climatology, and meteorology in early modern Europe.
Understanding the historiography related to these themes.
2. The ability to analyze early modern natural historical and natural philosophical writings and place these writings in their social, intellectual, and institutional contexts.
3. The ability to research and write about the Scientific Revolution.
4. The ability to communicate ideas about the history of science in oral presentations, written exercises, and oral exams.
5. The ability to participate in and contribute group discussions on the history of science in seminars.
6. The ability to understanding developments in the historiography of early modern science.

There are no prerequisites for attending students.
Non-attending students are required to have taken a class in the history of science either at the bachelor's or master's level.

The course covers the natural history, climatology, and meteorology as practiced in early modern Europe. In particular the course will exam its practices of describing, classifying, and collecting natural specimens. Additionally, it will consider these practices in relation to transformations of early modern medicine, exploration of the world, and new methods proposed by Francis Bacon. Special attention will be given to the intellectual, social, cultural, economic, and institutional contexts of these fields.

Brian Ogilvie, The Science of Describing: Natural History in Renaissance Europe, Chicago, 2006.

Paula Findlen, Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting, and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1996.

Additional readings will be placed on Moodle.

Non-attending students will also be responsible for Harold J. Cook, Matters of Exchange, New Haven, 2007.

The course will be based on seminars.

Oral exam based on research paper, presentation, and readings for course.

English

Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

oral