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History of Science to
1700
History 445/445H/645 Section 0101
Fall, 2004
M W F 1100-1150
Information Technology & Engineering Building # 229
UMBC University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Dr. Joseph N. Tatarewicz
Associate Professor, Department of History
Office: Administration Building 702
Phone: (410) 455-2312 (Department)
(410) 455-2036 (Direct)
e-mail: TATAREWICZ@UMBC.EDU
This course is designed to provide the student
with a basic account of the history of science in the west up to and including the
scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. Emphasis is placed on understanding the
ancient origins and development of philosophy of nature and medicine, their maturation
into sophisticated medieval bodies of knowledge and practice, and their renaissance
transformations into recognizable predecessors of modern disciplines. Topics include:
views of nature in traditional societies, Babylonian mathematics and astronomy, Egyptian
medicine, the work of the ancient Greeks, medieval European and Arabic science, the
Copernican Revolution, the relationship between religion and science, and the Scientific
Revolution. The changing historiographic approaches and understandings also will be
addressed, particularly theories of historical continuity and revolution.
Required reading (Histories):
Stephen F. Mason, A History of the Sciences
David Lindberg, The Beginnings of Western Science
Required reading (Primary Texts):
Galileo Galilei, Sidereal Messenger
(Van Helden, Translator)
William Harvey, The Circulation of the Blood
Recommended reading
Arnold Pacey, Technology in World Civilization : A Thousand-Year History.
Edward Grant, The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages : Their
Religious, Institutional, and Intellectual Contexts
Allen G. Debus, Man and Nature in the Renaissance
Richard S. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics.
Grading and Evaluation (see schedule for due dates)
 | Three exams, each 50-minutes long, your choice of essay questions.
Graduate student essays will be graded according to more stringent criteria.
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| Two papers (2,000 words undergraduates; 3,500 words graduate
students; length does NOT include apparatus; follow Department of History Style Sheet;
each paper must use at least two recent sources from Lindberg’s bibliography)
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| One: How does Galileo break with the past in his physics and astronomy? What elements of
continuity with prior traditions remain in his work?
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| Two: How does Harvey break with the past in his intellectual understanding of medicine
and in his practice? What elements of continuity with prior traditions remain in his work? |
Weekly Graduate Student Discussion of Additional Readings
Graduate students will meet weekly with the Professor for a special
discussion session (time and place to be arranged). Each week, Graduate
students must read one professional journal article or book selection, of their
choice, relevant to that week's topic. Each graduate student should post
to the Blackboard discussion group the citation data for the selection and a 500
word abstract and discussion of its contents. Undergraduate students will
be able to follow the graduate student discussions on Blackboard, and are
invited to attend and observe the weekly meeting.
A Word about Newton & Harvey
This course ends with the great synthesis of Newton in physics, mechanics, and
astronomy, which marks a major break in the histories of these fields. Similarly, it
concludes with Harvey's demonstration of the mechanical circulation of the blood, marking
a major change in medical practice and theory. From this perspective, Newton and Harvey
represent the culmination of prior developments and the synthesis of allied work being
done by their contemporaries. History 446/646 (History of Science since 1700) begins at
this transition, and considers Newton, Harvey, and others in their roles as originators of
new approaches.
Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Week of.. |
Topic |
Reading |
Notes |
| 1 - 3 Sep. |
Preliterate knowledge; Mesopotamian
understanding of nature |
Mason 1-4; Lindberg 1-3
Pacey 1-2 |
Ascent of Man, Episode 2: Harvest of the
Seasons
Exercise: observe Venus, Saturn, and Mercury in the early morning sky; start tracking the
Moon
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| 8 - 10 Sep. |
Greeks and the Cosmos. |
|
Cosmos, Episode 1, The Shores Of the Cosmos |
| 13 Sep. |
Aristotle's Philosophy of Nature |
Dictionary of Scientific Biography
(Library Reference) "Aristotle" |
Exercise: New Moon Sept. 14--find the first
visible crescent in the evening sky |
| 20 Sep. |
Hellenistic natural philosophy; rise of
Greek geometry; rival cosmological schemes; Alexandrian synthesis |
Mason 5-7; Llndberg 4-5 |
Project Mathematics, Episode TBD |
| 27 Sep. |
Greek and Roman Medicine; Roman and early
medieval natural philosophy; Islamic Aristotelianism |
Lindberg 6-8; Mason 8-9 |
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| 4 Oct. |
Revival of learning in the west; recovery
and assimilation of Greek and Islamic works; medieval cosmos; sublunary physics. |
Mason 10-11; Lindberg 9-12
Grant; Pacey 3-4 |
First Exam Friday 10/8/2001 (covers
through Lindberg 8, Mason 9) SHOT Annual Meeting |
| 11 Oct. |
Legacy of medieval natural philosophy;
late medieval innovations. |
Pacey 5 |
Exercise: New Moon Oct. 14 - find the first
visible crescent in the evening sky |
| 18 Oct. |
Medieval medicine and natural history |
Mason 12-14; Lindberg 13-14 |
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| 25 Oct. |
Renaissance; Copernicus, the true
conservative and reluctant revolutionary; revival of platonic and presocratic schools. |
Mason 15-18; Westfall 1-3
Debus; Pacey 6 |
Cosmos, Episode 3 The Harmony Of the Worlds |
| 1 Nov. |
Copernican alignments; Galileo's
telescopic discoveries & his "crime." |
Galileo
Westfall; Pacey |
Exercise: Galileo's Observations of the Moon
and Jupiter Second Exam Friday 11/5/2001 (covers through
Lindberg 14, Mason 18) |
| 8 Nov. |
A new physics & a new metaphysics;
Newton as philosopher, scientist, person, and icon. |
Manuel, The Mind of Isaac Newton; Newton
selections (Blackboard) |
Papers on Galileo due Visit the UMBC
Observatory Wednesday, 2:00 pm--meet at the New Physics Building First Floor
Elevators. |
15 Nov.
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The Newtonian Achievement |
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| 22 Nov. |
Renaissance anatomy |
Mason 19-20; Harvey |
Special Pre-Thanksgiving film showing Wednesday: William
Harvey and the Circulation of the Blood, plus selected shorts |
| 29 Nov. |
Harvey's Circulation of the Blood |
Mason 21-22; Harvey |
Third Exam Friday 12/3 (covers Newton) |
| 6 Dec. |
Harvey in context; Newtonian
medicine. |
Westfall 4-5
Pacey 7 |
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| 13 Dec. |
LAST CLASS |
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Papers on Harvey Due |
Basic Reference Sources in the UMBC Library for History of Science
 |
Bynum, W. F., E. J. Browne, and Roy Porter. Dictionary
of the History of Science. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981. UMBC REF:
Q125.D45.
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Gillispie, Charles Coulston, Editor in Chief. Dictionary
of Scientific Biography. New York: Scribners, 1970- (18 vols.). UMBC REF: Q141.D5.
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Holmes, Frederic L., Editor in Chief. Dictionary of
Scientific Biography, Supplement II. New York: Scribners, 1990 (2 vols.. UMBC REF:
Q141.D5 1990.
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Olby, R. C, Cantor G. N. Cantor, J. R. R. Christy, and M.
J. S. Hodge, editors. Companion to the History of Modern Science. New York:
Routledge, 1996.
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History of Science Society. Isis Cumulative
Bibliography 1966-1975: a Bibliography of the History of Science Formed From Isis
Critical Bibliographies 91-100 Indexing Literature Published From 1965 Through 1974.
London: Mansell, 1980.
UMBC REF: Q7405.H6I2
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History of Science Society. Isis Cumulative
Bibliography 1976-1985: a Bibliography of the History of Science Formed From Isis
Critical Bibliographies 101-110 Indexing Literature Published From 1975 Through 1984.
Boston: G. K. Hall, 1989. UMBC REF: Q125.I84 1989 For literature since 1984 see the annual
Isis Critical Bibliography, with the journal issues in the serials
department. Various databases (available via the Kuhn Library web page) index recent literature.
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Basic Journals in the UMBC Library for
History of Science
| Isis: Journal of the History of Science Society
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| Osiris (new series) Special Serial Monograph of the
History of Science Society
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| History of Science
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| British Journal for the History of Science
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| Technology and Culture: Journal of the Society for the
History of Technology
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| Science, Technology, and Human Values: Journal of the
Society of Social Studies of Science and Technology
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| Science in Context
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| Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological
Sciences (Stacks: QC7H69)
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| Social Studies of Science (College Park, McKeldin
Q1.S8112.)
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Send an e-mail message to the Author
Last updated:
07/25/04
Expiration date: Current
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