History of Modern Science-E2
| Numbering Code | U-LAS00 10021 LE34 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ First semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | Lecture |
| Target Year | All students | Target Student | For all majors |
| Language | English | Day/Period | Tue.3 |
| Instructor name | D'SOUZA, Rohan Ignatious (Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies Professor) | ||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course | Broadly, in part one [semester: April-September], the course will introduce students to some of the main ‘historiographical debates’ that have shaped our understanding of modern science. In the standard narrative, the period between the discoveries of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and the mathematical formulations of Isaac Newton (1642-1726/27) has generally been considered to have inaugurated the scientific revolution. This course, however, will aim to view the same period as actually marked by an equally important shift that defined modern science: heralding the end of Aristotelianism and the re-emergence of Platonism. | ||
| Course Goals | By introducing students to some of the historiographical debates on the origins and defining features of what constitutes modern science, this course aims to achieve three main goals: a) a basic introductory understanding of some of the main ideas of the leading thinkers on modern science; b) a biographical sketch of the natural philosophers of the period leading up to the ‘Scientific Revolution’ and c) how history as a disciplinary field debates modern science as a distinct historical moment. | ||
| Schedule and Contents |
Each class will comprise a 90 minute session; involving a lecture of 60 minutes and followed by a 30 minute interactive discussion in which student participation will also be elicited through either group or individual presentations. Four themes will be covered in this class and each theme will be covered in three to four weeks.(Total : 14 classes and one feedback ) a) Plato's (429?-347 B.C.E.) and Aristotle's (384-322 B.C.E.) b) From Geocentricism to Heliocentrism c) Mechanical Philosophy to the Newtonian World View d) The Scientific Revolution |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy |
There will be a regular cycle of written submissions and feedback through class discussions. The idea is to develop a credible capacity for reading and writing amongst those who take up the course. Evaluations will be based on two tutorial assignments, which will carry a 50% grade for each. |
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| Course Requirements | None | ||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | Students will be expected to have read at least five pages of pre-assigned reading, at the very minimum, before attending each class. | ||
| References, etc. |
The Scientific Revolution, Steven Shapin, (University of Chicago Press 1996), ISBN:978-0226750217 Reconfiguring the World: Nature, God and Human Understanding from the Middle Ages to Early Modern Europe, Margaret J. Osler, (The John Hopkins Press: Baltimore 2010), ISBN:978-0801896569 Science and the Modern World, Alfred North Whitehead, (The Free Press: New York 1967 [1925]), ISBN: 978-0684836393 Science and the Raj : a study of British India, Deepak Kumar, (Oxford University Press; New Delhi 2006 (2nd edition) [1995]), ISBN: 978-0195680034 Science for the Empire: Scientific Nationalism in Modern Japan, Hiromi Mizuno, (Stanford University Press: Stanford 2008), ISBN:978-0804776561 |
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| Related URL | |||
