HOS 599 / HIS 599

Special Topics in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine – Experiments in Early Science

Back to "Spring 2018" courses

What counts as an experiment and how did experiment become the arbiter of scientific discovery? Certain experiments have achieved iconic status: Galileo’s pendulum, Boyle’s air pump, Newton’s ‘crucial experiments.’ But what happens when we reevaluate these from the perspective of ‘borderline’ practices: anatomical dissections, chemical recipes, medical cases, craft techniques? We draw on ancient, medieval and early modern sources, as well as the modern historiography of experiment, to explore the challenge of observing and testing nature. As far as possible, we attempt to recreate practices in class, from glassworking to alchemy.

View this course on the Registrar’s website.

 

View this course on the Registrar’s website.

Seminar in Medieval History: Thirteenth-Century France >>
Humanities Council Logo
Italian Studies Logo
American Studies Logo
Humanistic Studies Logo
Ancient World Logo
Canadian Studies Logo
ESC Logo
Journalism Logo
Linguistics Logo
Medieval Studies Logo
Renaissance Logo
Film Studies Logo