Discuss the themes and causes of the Scientific Revolution|history of science
Research Paper: (25% of your grade)
We have covered a great deal of time and geographical locations in our class. For the final paper you are to select the central topic of one of our weeks and write a paper that makes an argument as to why this was a period of most overall significance in the history of science. Significance should be measured by its impact on the time in which it occurred, and not by a measure of science today. For example, Ptolemy’s model of the universe is not followed today, but this does not discount the importance of his work in the period in which he lived. Therefore, an argument could be made for any of our weekly topics. Your work is graded not on which week you select, but instead the quality of your argument as to its significance. ( TOPICS FROM CLASS:
Week 1: “Science” in Antiquity
Explain the meaning of science from the Ancient Greeks to the present and the components of the scientific method.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture: Early Culture and Science Connections.
Front Matter
Chapter 1, p. 1-26.
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APUS Library Selections:
Way and the Word : Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece
Geoffrey Lloyd and Nathan Sivin.
Chapter 1, p. 1-15.
Chapter 6, p. 239-251.
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Videos of the Week:
The Archimedes Codex
Forum #1: It is very important that you submit and participate in the Introduction Forum. Please introduce yourself to me and the class. Share where you work or plan to work after completing your program, your family, and any hobbies or special interests. Also tell us why you are taking this course and what you hope to gain from obtaining your degree. In addition, please take a look at the course objectives in the syllabus and discuss the relevance to your career goals
Also, address all of the following questions: What is the significance of science to our society? Why is it important to understand the history of science? What is the relationship between science and culture?
Finally, attest to the AMU/APU Honor Code in the Introduction Forum by reading and replying with your typed signature.
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least three other students by SUNDAY of Week 1.
Week 2: Medieval and Renaissance Science
Analyze the Medieval period in terms of scientific development and relationship to religious thoughts and institutions.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture: Eastern, Medieval, and Renaissance Science.
Chapter 2, p. 27-54.
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APUS Library Selections:
Light from the East : How the Science of Medieval Islam Helped to Shape the Western World
Freely, John.
Prologue, p. ix-xii.
Chapter 3, p. 23-35.
Chapter 5, p. 48-58.
Chapter 16, p. 164-171.
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Video of the Week:
Mysteries of the Middle Ages
Forum #2 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed) (
1. If China had not been so isolated, in what ways do you think science would have developed differently there?
2. Why were the early Muslim caliphs so interested in preserving the ideas of ancient science?
3. Why was practical astronomy so highly cultivated in the Arab world?
4. Describe ways in which the church both supported and retarded scientific activity? in the medieval period. What reasons can you give for this two-sided approach?
5. Science in early China achieved great sophistication, yet was superseded by the West beginning in the Renaissance. Why do you believe this happened?
6. What circumstances of life in Italy and Sicily made these regions fertile ground for the acquisition of classical scientific ideas?
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least two other students by SUNDAY of Week 2.
Answer ANY and ALL follow-up questions in the Week 2 Follow-up Forum by Sunday of Week 3.
Week 3: The Scientific Revolution
Describe the themes and causes of the Scientific Revolution.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture: Revolutions in Science.
Chapter 3, p. 55-78.
Chapter 4, Science & Culture: From Magic to Newton.
Chapter 4, p. 79-104.
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APUS Library Selections:
The Scientific Revolution
Steven Shapin.
Introduction, p. 1-14.
Chapter 1, p. 15-64.
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Video of the Week:
The Clockwork Universe
Forum #3 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed)
1. Why are the 16th and 17th centuries known as the “incubation period of the modern world”?
2. Do you think that science can have revolutions? If so, which aspect of the Scientific Revolution do you find the most revolutionary?
3. What is the meant by the phrase the “death of nature” and it’s relationship to the founders of the Scientific Revolution?
4. What was the significance of magic in relationship to the Scientific Revolution?
5. What were some of the reasons that the new mechanistic view of the universe was important during the Scientific Revolution?
6. Try to state in your own words Kuhn’s thesis regarding the Scientific Revolution.
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least 3 other students by SUNDAY of Week 3.
Answer ANY and ALL follow-up questions in the Week 3 Follow-up Forum by Sunday of Week 4.
Week 4: Science in the Enlightenment
Summarize the relationship between Enlightenment ideas and science and the emergence of collaborative and specialized scientific activities.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture, The Enlightenment.
Chapter 5, p. 105-132.
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APUS Library Selections:
Enlightenment and the Intellectual Foundations of Modern Culture
Louis K DupreÌ.
Introduction, p. ix-xiv
Chapter 1, p. 1-17.
Chapter 2, p. 18-44.
Conclusion, p. 334-339.
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Video of the Week:
The Invention of Air
Forum #4 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed)
1. What is the relationship between 18th century science and the philosophy of the Enlightenment?
2. What were some of the key scientific specializations that emerged in the 18th century? Is it a positive or negative development for science to become segmented into narrow fields of inquiry?
3. What role did women play in the promotion of popular science?
4. Why do you think Lavoisier was so successful, and why did he receive so much acclaim from the scientific community during his lifetime?
5. What role did the invention of new laboratory apparatuses play in the advancement of chemical knowledge in the 17th and 18th centuries?
6. What were the significant developments in chemistry during the Enlightenment? Why do you think chemistry did not develop as a distinct scientific field before the 18th century?
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least 3 other students by SUNDAY of Week 4.
Answer ANY and ALL follow-up questions in the Week 4 Follow-up Forum by Sunday of Week 5.
It is recommended you take Quiz #1 this week.
Week 5: 19th Century Biology
Examine the ramifications of the Darwinian Revolution on today’s ideas.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture, Romanticism and Charles Darwin.
Chapter 6, p. 133-158.
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APUS Library Selections:
Charles Darwin.
Michael Ruse.
Introduction, p. x-xii.
Chapter 1, p. 1-20.
Chapter 2, p. 21-53.
Chapter 12, p. 287-307.
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Video of the Week:
Charles Darwin, Geologist
Forum #5 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed)
1. In what ways does the 19th-century era known as Romanticism compare and contrast with the period of the Enlightenment in the 18th century?
2. Explain some of the most significant advances in medical science in the 19th century.
3. Who were some of the scholars that considered evolutionary ideas before Darwin? How did their ideas contrast with his?
4. Why did Darwin wait so long to publish On the Origin of Species?
5. What explains the persistent discussion and debate of Darwin’s theory of evolution even though it was first published over 150 years ago? Why hasn’t the debate concluded?
6. What was the significance of Darwin’s voyage? Do you think that Darwin could have developed his theories of evolution without having taken his five-year ocean voyage? Why or why not?
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least 3 other students by SUNDAY of Week 5.
Answer ANY and ALL follow-up questions in the Week 5 Follow-up Forum by Sunday of Week 6.
Current Events Paper is due by Sunday night at 11:55PM Eastern.
Week 6: 20th Century Medicine and Physics
Appraise the development of the history of medicine and physics in the 20th century.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture, 20th Century Medicine and Physics.
Chapter 7: p. 159-186
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APUS Library Selections:
A Short History of Physics in the American Century
David C. Cassidy.
Introduction, p. 1-5.
Chapter 1, p. 6-24.
Chapter 2, p. 25-51.
Chapter 3, p. 52-71.
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Video of the Week:
Einstein’s Greatest Mistake
Forum #6 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed)
1. What one advancement in 19th-century science most affected 20th-century medicine? Defend your position.
2. What one advancement in 19th-century technology most affected 20th-century medicine? Defend your position.
3. What were some of the main challenges that physicists faced as they entered the 20th century?
4. In what ways did Einstein’s theory of relativity resonate with the culture? Do you see examples even today where this has an impact?
5. When did physics “come of age” and what did this mean for the profession?
6. What were some of the key challenges that physicists faced during the Depression?
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least 3 other students by SUNDAY of Week 6.
Answer ANY and ALL follow-up questions in the Week 6 Follow-up Forum by Sunday of Week 7.
Week 7: 20th Century War and Space Science
Describe the relationship between science and politics in the 20th century and the related revolutions in physics and space science.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture, War and Space in the 20th Century.
Chapter 8, p. 187-210
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APUS Library Selections:
A Short History of Physics in the American Century
David C. Cassidy.
Chapter 4, p. 72-89.
Chapter 5, p. 90-105.
Chapter 6, p. 106-123.
Chapter 7, p. 124-143.
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Video of the Week:
We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program
The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight
Forum #7 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed)
1. Do you feel that the knowledge of how to split an atom is good or bad for society? Explain your answer.
2. What is the relationship between physics and warfare? What was the “physicists’ war”?
3. What is meant by the phrase “taming the endless frontier”?
4. What was the importance of landing men on the Moon? Was it a political, military, scientific, or cultural success? Explain your answer.
5. Define the main components of the “New Physics.” What was its significance?
6. What was the scientific, cultural, and military impact of Sputnik?
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least 3 other students by SUNDAY of Week 7.
Answer ANY and ALL follow-up questions in the Week 7 Follow-up Forum by Sunday of Week 8.
Week 8: Science Today
Explain the recent development in the 21st century sciences and the challenges of globalization, gender equality, and the complex relationship to religious beliefs.
Class Textbook:
Science & Culture, Science Today and Into the Future. Chapter 9, p. 211-234.
Science & Culture, Science and Religion.
Chapter 10, p. 235-256.
Back Matter
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APUS Library Selections:
Science and Religion Around the World
Roland Numbers and John Brooke,
Chapter 12, p. 278-294.
Science and Religion : A Very Short Introduction
Thomas Dixon , Chapter 1, p. 1-17.
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Nobel Prize Women in Science
Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
Chapter 1, p. 1-8
Science and Technology in World History.
James McClellan and Harold Dorn.
Introduction, p. 1-2.
Conclusion, p. 437-439.
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Video of the Week:
History and Future of the Digital Revolution
Forum #8 Answer ONE of the following question; do not answer a question that has already been answered until ALL questions have been addressed)
1. If you could meet one of the women scientists we have read about, who would you select and why? What questions would you ask her?
2. Why was access to scientific disciplines important to women?
3. Is Big Science really “big technology”? Argue your case.
4. Are religion and science in conflict, harmony, or is the relationship best described as “complex”?
5. Do you think it is important for us to understand the origins of the universe? Explain your answer.
6. Is the relationship between science and religion important? Why or why not?
Post your initial response to the Forum by THURSDAY. Respond to at least 3 other students by SUNDAY of Week 8.
MAKE SURE TO ANSWER ANY FOLLOW-UP QUESITONS I POSE TO YOU IN THE WEK 8 FORUM
Quiz #2 must be taken by Sunday night at 11:55PM Eastern.
Research Paper is due by Sunday night at 11:55PM Eastern.
Technical and Formatting Requirements: With this assignment, you will learn how to do proper and adequate research and write a short paper with a central thesis statement. This paper is at least FIVE complete double-spaced pages of text (Times New Roman, font size 12), not including bibliography or title page, and you must cite a minimum of FOUR sources plus our textbook. These sources are as follows:
a. TWO primary sources from the era in which you are writing about. As a reminder, a primary source “is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.” http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html.
b. TWO scholarly secondary sources from peer reviewed journals or books. These must be from reputable publishers (such as university presses for books or databases like JSTOR) as found in the APUS library. What is a secondary source? “A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event.” http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html. Web sites are not approved research for this assignment. Exceptions are scholarly websites and documents available through the APUS Online Library (Wikipedia and other sources like it are not considered a valid academic source).
I will submit all of the final papers into TurnItIn which is a plagiarism checker. If I find evidence of plagiarism, I will give you a zero for the paper. To ensure this does not happen make sure you familiarize yourself with the meanings of plagiarism (see the policies section of this syllabus), take careful steps in your note taking process to avoid a potential for a mistaken plagiarism, and then finally submit your own paper to TurnItIn prior to the course deadline. This review will serve as an important check for you.
You MUST post your Research Paper to the Assignments list in the appropriate section as a Word Document to receive a grade.
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