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The Cultures of the Sciences from the Renaissance to the French Revolution

Module description

Why is science so powerful? Why is scientific knowledge considered universal and objective? This module seeks to answer these questions by exploration of a critical period in the development of sciences in the West from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It takes a critical historical approach to some of the major events in modern British and European history including ‘The Scientific Revolution’, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution. This module shows how a historical approach to the sciences uncovers the immense amount of work involved in establishing the authority of these enterprises.

This module does not assume any scientific or technical understanding beyond GCSE and assessments will not require any mathematical skill. It will be of particular interest to students who enjoyed HIC1301: World History 2: Science, Environment and Sustainability, but knowledge of this module will not be assumed.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module explores the ways in which a welter of new ideas, practices and institutions were actively put together as aspects of a radical new way of understanding humans, nature and the cosmos. The religious, economic, political and social changes of the period are explored as both the causes and effects of scientific developments. The module will provide you with the ability to critique the common assumption that the sciences were the inevitable outcomes of the human quest to understand and control the environment, and to better understand the places of sciences in other types of history.

The module will also give you solid grasp of the historiography of the sciences and how different historical perspectives can be understood. You will acquire a detailed understanding of key episodes in the early history of the sciences and the broader religious, political, scientific, and economic contexts that they shaped and which shaped them. The critical approach to primary sources assessed in the essay will dovetail with the Level 2 independent study modules and provide excellent preparation for the Level 3 dissertation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the key themes in the sciences and technology in the West since the sixteenth century, together with a deeper knowledge of themes to be selected by students for essay and seminar work
• 2. Demonstrate in oral and written contributions the key developments in the history of science and technology, and link them to broader historical contexts
• 3. Explain how the changing historiography of the sciences and technology

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Analyse and reflect critically and contextually upon historical texts relating to a specific historical period or theme
• 5. Collate data from a range of sources, both primary and secondary
• 6. With limited guidance, deploy historical terminology in a comprehensible manner
• 7. With limited guidance, handle different approaches to history in areas of controversy
• 8. Work with primary sources under direction from the module tutor

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 9. Show evidence of ability to read and use texts and source materials critically and empathetically
• 10. Present material for group discussion and have respect for others reasoned views
• 11. With limited guidance, gather and deploy material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

Historiography of science and technology; the Scientific Revolution?; exploration, trade and new worlds; humanism, books and the occult arts; universities and traditional learning; court society, patronage and the philosophers; war, gender and nature; ideologies and instruments; natural philosophy and popular culture; European imperialism and natural history; technologies and tools of Western dominance; the industrial revolution and Newton; the French Revolution and chemistry; the second scientific revolution and emergence of modern science; conclusions.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bowler, P. and Morus, I. (2005). Making Modern Science.  Chicago: Chicago University Press
• Brooke, J. (1991), Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives.   Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Daston, L. and Park, K. (ed.), (2006).  The Cambridge History of Science.  Volume 3.  Early Modern Science.  Cambridge University Press
• Dear, P. (2011).  Revolutionising the Sciences: European Knowledge and its Ambitions, 1500-1700.  Basingstoke: Palgrave
• Dixon, T.  (2008). Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction.  Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Ede, A. and Cormack, L. (2004).  A History of Science in Society.  Peterborough: Broadview Press
• Fara, P. (2009).  Science: A Four Thousand Year History.  Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Harrison, P. (2015).  The Territories of Science and Religion. Chicago: Chicago University Press
• Henry, J. (2008).  The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science.  Basingstoke: Palgrave
• Jacob, M. (1997).  S cientific Culture and the Making of the Industrial West.  New York: Oxford University Press
• Lightman (ed.), B. (2016).  A Companion to the History of Science. Oxford: Blackwell
• Outram, D. (1997). The Enlightenment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Porter, R. (2003). The Cambridge History of Science. Volume 4. The Eighteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Principe, L. (2011), The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Shapin, S. (1996). The Scientific Revolution.  Chicago: Chicago University Press

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1109
• www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Home
• http://www.enlighteningscience.sussex.ac.uk/home

Key words search

Science, history, religion, magic, trade, imperialism, Renaissance, industry