Generalities:
Each part must be written in its own separate Word, RTF, or PDF document and each part must be submitted through Turnitin using the link provided below.
Pay attention to where you are submitting each file; be sure that each part is going into the right place in the Turnitin dropbox. If anything is unclear, please get in touch with me.
Do not use materials from outside of the course in preparing your answers. You have plenty to work with within the course and additional material will only make it more difficult for you to produce clear, concise answers by the deadline.
(If you disregard this advice, you must cite the outside materials just as you cite the course materials.)
A little advice before we begin
For the identification and short-answer questions, your answers should be firmly tied to the course material. Do not offer a generic answer, but rather explain how it is important to the cases, trends, and issues of our course.
For the essay section, your answer should state a clear thesis and then prove that thesis with specific historical evidence. If you haven’t yet reviewed my comments on your first essay, you would be wise to do so now. Before you start writing, be sure to read the question carefully, understand what it is asking, and establish what your answer will be.
Compose a clear, one-sentence statement of your answer; this is your thesis. Then, work out an outline in which you identify the examples you will use, how each example proves your thesis, and what sources you will cite in describing and analyzing each example.
Only after you have completed these preliminary steps is it time to start writing your answer in full. You can choose to skip these preliminary steps, but then your essay will be weaker.
Part I: Short answer and identifications
Short-answer questions: answer both of the following questions. You should be able to answer each question in a medium-sized paragraph.
1. Briefly explain why Europeans before the Scientific Revolution generally saw art/ars knowledge as inferior to science/scientia knowledge.
2. Explain why early many modern nobles sought to surround themselves with people skilled in scientific or technological matters
Identifications: choose 4 and only 4 from the following list. If you write on more than four I will only grade the first four and ignore the rest. For each term you choose, write a paragraph in which you:
a) provide a clear definition of the term as used in our material, b) identify a source you read in the course in which the term appears, and c) explain the term’s significance to the story of the course so far. Be sure to cover all three parts for each term. Again, though, you can provide the necessary information in a single paragraph.
wheeled heavy plow
3-field rotation
flying buttress
Gothic
flintlock musket
Paracelsus
Francis Bacon
scientific society
inorganic materials
coke process
working class
Lowell, Massachusetts
Part II: Essay
In a focused essay of about 1000 words, respond to the following:
One common definition of technology describes it as “applied science.” To what extent is that label historically accurate in the periods we have studied so far? Use specific examples from across the periods we have studied (from the Middle Ages through the Industrial Revolution) to support your position. Note that to answer this question effectively, you will have to discuss both where the definition holds up well, and where it breaks down.
Your argument must be historical and specific, not philosophical or abstract. Support your case with a detailed examination of a few specific historical examples from across the course so far. The best essays will use both primary and secondary materials from the course to make their arguments. If there are important counter-examples to your argument, explain why you believe they do not really undermine your point. Finally, remember to always cite your sources. Use Chicago-style footnotes and bibliography to do so.
