90063 - History, Science and Society (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The aims of the course is to refine the student’s analytical skills and demonstrate: the ability to interpret both the primary and secondary literature so as to contextualise the history of scientific thought in relation to the history of philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, social and political history and the institutional history of the time; to carry out archival and bibliographical research making use of databases, online catalogues, and bibliographical inventories; to contribute to class discussion with a series of coherent and properly justified comments about the assigned themes (via short presentations and class discussion); to produce a series of written outputs (reviews, reflexive notes, essays) with the appropriate scholarly apparatus (footnotes, bibliography, illustrations), particularly in view of their dissertation.

Course contents

Collecting the World: A global history of science and the environment through 7 objects

How did the tomato become one of the staples of Italian cuisine? How did cocoa, corn, or the potato arrive in Europe? What kind of interest did this generate in naturalists and merchants? Were European governments interested in these rarities as curiosities or as commodities? How did the European worldview change following the discovery of new lands? How did the lives and landscapes of Europe changed as a result?

These are some of the questions that the course will try to address placing the development of new scientific theories and their artistic representations within the broader context of commerce and exploration of new lands in Asia, Africa and America.  

 

The  programme of our classes will be articulated roughly as follows: 

Lecture 1: Introduction to the course

Lectures 2-3 New routes: in search of new scientific paradigms. 

Lectures 4-6 Dürer's Rhino: the history of a global image

Lectures 7-10 We are what we eat: the history of tomato, corn, and pineapple

Lectures 11-14 Exotic treatments: coffe, cocoa and jade

Lectures 14-15 Presentations and brief conclusions

 

Readings/Bibliography

One among these books:

James Delbourgo, Collecting the World: the life and curiosity of Hans Sloane (Penguin, 2017)

or:

Peter Mason, Ulisse Aldrovandi: Naturalist and Collector (Reaktion, 2023)

or:

Giuseppe Olmi, L'inventario del mondo. Catalogazione della natura e luoghi del sapere nella prima età moderna (Il Mulino, 1992)

Available in PDF at: https://books.fbk.eu/media/pubblicazioni/Monografia_17.pdf

The following introductory article:

"Commerce and the Representation of Nature in Art and Science" in Pamela H. Smith and Paula Findlen, Merchants and Marvels: Commerce, science and art in early modern Europe (Routledge, 2002), pp. 1-25.

and two of the essays (articles or book chapters) uploaded on the VLA on which the lessons are based (for those not attending, they need to be different from those indicated below). 

********

Those students who cannot attend at least 2/3 of the classes, should also read: 

rian Cowan, The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse (Yale UP, 2005), introduzione, cap. 1 e 2.

Kate Loveman, ‘The Introduction of Chocolate into England: Retailers, Researchers, and Consumers, 1640-1730’, Journal of Social History vol. 47, no. 1 (2013), p. 27-46

David Gentilcore, La purpurea meraviglia. Storia del Pomodoro in Italia (Garzanti, 2010) [available also in English with the title Pomodoro! A History of the Tomato in Italy, 2010]

 

Teaching methods

The course will be delivered as a seminar. A brief lecture by the professor will be followed by a discussion on the primary and secondary sources assigned for every class. Students' preparation and participation in class discussion are crucial to the success of the course.

Students will be assigned individual presentations based on specific images, articles/texts, or specimens. Each presentation will last 10 max.

Assessment methods

Assessment:

For those attending classes: 50% coursework (essay: 3000 words, on a topic agreed with the professor); 30% oral exam; 20% presentation in class.

For those NOT attending or who do not wish to present: 50% essay; 50% oral exam

-----

Criteria for evaluation:

The course aims to meet the following objectives:

-to demonstrate adequate knowledge of the main aspects of the course;

-to demonstrate the ability to approach critically both the primary and the secondary sources so as to situate the primary sources within the historiographic debate that emerged over time;

-to demonstrate the ability to elaborate a coherent and organic analysis both in writing and orally around a specific theme, aspect, or question (both textual and historiographical), with the aim of reaching some original conclusions based on the evidence in the text(s);

The oral exams will start with the discussion of the essay and proceed to test additional knowledge and skills.

The criteria adopted for the evaluation of the candidate and their work are the following:

1. familiarity with the content of the texts;

2. the ability to understand and analyse the texts;

3. the ability to construct an argument and use evidence appropriately to support it both in writing and orally.

The assessment aims at assessing the methodological and critical skills acquired during the semester. The examination will focus on the student's command of both the primary and the secondary literature. The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course and to contextualise them in their historical period. Top marks (28-30) will be given to students who demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the material discussed in class and contained in the texts, critical and analytical skills, and the ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and cogently. Those students who will demonstrate a good knowledge of the material but tend to repeat it mechanically rather than demonstrate full understanding and the ability to build connections and present an argument will be rewarded with average to high marks (23-27). Students who demonstrate superficial knowledge, gaps in preparation, poor critical and analytical skills and difficulties of expression will receive average to low marks (18-22). Severe lacunae in one or more areas listed above could lead to the student repeating the exam.

Teaching tools

Slides; images; museum visits.

Office hours

See the website of Monica Azzolini