>>Get your backpack ready: it's time to plan
a trip! This week, in our whirlwind tour of
the history of science, let's travel to Stonehenge.
We will also survey the history of ideas about
the shape of the Earth. These topics are specially
chosen to help us think about historiography.
Historiography is a fancy word that means
how to interpret the past. I hope you'll make
some meaningful and unexpected discoveries
this week, as we begin to explore the strange
new world of pre-modern history of science.
Though we have just a limited time to visit,
we'll not be like tourists who seek fast food
at McDonald's. Our aim will be to get to know
the makers of Stonehenge, and those who investigated
the shape of the Earth before Columbus, in
terms of their own place and time, not just
in terms of modern science.
Have you visited Stonehenge, or any other
similar stone circle? Have you watched any
movies or documentaries about Stonehenge?
You may be surprised at some of the ways people
have interpreted Stonehenge. What did the
makers of Stonehenge make it for? How did
they use it? What answers to these questions
have been given in the past? How can we answer
such questions today? What can we learn from
the case of Stonehenge about how to interpret
the past?
Likewise, you may be surprised at the story
of the shape of the Earth. Who discovered
that the Earth is round? What evidence did
they have? When did this discovery become
widely known? What can we learn from this
story about how to interpret the past? The
stories of Stonehenge and the shape of the
Earth both lead us to the stars. Thomas Carlyle
asked, "Why did not somebody teach me the
constellations, and make me at home in the
starry heavens, which are always overhead,
and which I don't know to this day?"
The nighttime sky is part of the common heritage
of humanity, embodied in the stories, art,
music and culture of every pre-modern people.
When was the last time you went outside and
watched the stars? When was the last time
you visited a planetarium, or learned to recognize
a new constellation? Can you find the Big
Dipper? The Little Dipper? Can you use the
Big Dipper to find other constellations? Can
you identify the Winter Hexagon or the Summer
Triangle? Orion the Hunter? Leo the Lion?
Cygnus the Swan? What are your favorite constellations
and constellation stories? Have you noticed
the days growing shorter in the fall, and
longer in the spring? Have you noticed how
the sun rises at different locations on the
eastern horizon, depending on the time of
year? Have you ever tried to track the motion
of the Sun around the constellations over
the course of a year? Or track the Moon around
the sky in the course of a month?
Would it surprise you to discover that early
civilizations, even pre-literate communities,
were familiar with the nighttime sky, and
followed the motions of the planets against
the background of the constellations?
Whenever we're planning a trip to places and
times in the past, we want to better understand
what people thought they were up to. What
are some similarities between our culture
today and people in the past? How might these
similarities help us to understand the science
of the past? What are some differences between
our culture today and people in the past?
How might these differences pose an obstacle
to our understanding of what they were up
to? Are we even aware of the night sky that
they took for granted? What do you think might
be the chief barrier that obstructs our modern
appreciation of science in the past?
Look at this colorized woodcut, which I've
chosen as the icon for the course. What stands
out to you in this woodcut? What do you see?
What details interest you? What does this
illustration have to do with the history of
science? Have you seen it before? Do you know
where it comes from? Do you think it makes
an appropriate icon, or theme or symbol, for
this course? What does it mean to you?
To me, this woodcut means that we have set
out on a journey of discovery and exploration.
To me, that red figure is you, seeking the
unknown. Please share your thoughts on these
things. As we begin our journey into past
times and places, to explore the story of
science in premodern cultures, what are your
starting assumptions?
