History of Science in the Early Modern World

Catalog description

This course exposes students to the current state of scholarship from the standpoint of historical, legal, sociological, and literary analyses of science in the early modern period. The inadequacy of long-accepted notions of "science" and "modernization" to describe the rapid changes of scientific thought in the early modern era require students to assess the specific value given to such notions by the state, religion, and society in specific cultural and historical contexts. The seminar will also explore the reconceptualization of society and nature in the early modern period and the way in which discoveries in natural philosophy inspired those changes. The exchanges between European and non-European centers of authority during the early modern period helped to shape many of these disputes and scholars' current interpretive frameworks. In particular, we will challenge triumphal narratives of the Scientific Revolution by examining the ways in which geography and local context affected ideas about the natural world, the role of gender in knowledge-making, and how non-elite and artisanal practices also contributed to the creation of early science. A focus throughout the course will be on how the exchanges between European and non-European intellectual communities shaped contemporary understanding of the natural world. The seminar is intended for graduate students in history and related fields who are preparing for the field in Early Modern studies. The seminar is intended for graduate students in history and related fields who are preparing a field in early modern studies.