90045 - History of Science and Technology

Learning outcomes

The course provides an introduction to the history of science and technology and aims at reconstructing the main material, intellectual and institutional factors of the development of science since Renaissance Europe

Course contents

Course title: "Science and art in Italy from the Renaissance to the modern age"

The course is set out in an introduction to the history of science with particular emphasis on its methodological aspects and in a reconstruction of the main physical, intellectual and institutional factors that have characterized the scientific knowledge in Europe from the Renaissance to the modern age. The course will be specifically committed to the history of the naturalistic collections, the scientific tools, and the practices relating to the exploitation of objects and other artefacts of historical, scientific and technological interest. In this regard, the collections of the Musei di Palazzo Poggi in Bologna will be examined, and they will be the subject of a specific seminar. The seminar aims to illustrate the birth of experimental science in Bologna during the 18th century within the context of the Istituto dell’Accademia delle Scienze (the Institution of the Academy of Science), with particular reference to the organisation of the new laboratories and to the modern view of scientific tools.

Main topics (for each topic about 120 minutes of lesson):

• the Book and scientific communication

• The legacy of Euclid: the invention of perspective

• Ptolemy's authority: Astronomy and cosmography.

• The ancient astronomical instruments.

• Earth globes and celestial globes: Vincenzo Maria Coronelli

• Science and art: the representation of the body; of botany and technical drawing

• Botany, pharmacopoeia and pharmacy jars

• Science Museums: from the study, to the rooms of wonders, to the naturalistic museums. The case of Ulisse Aldrovandi.

• Topography and fortifications: prospective -topographic instruments

• The collecting of the Medici: the hall of the geographical maps of Palazzo Vecchio; the cosmography of Cosimo I;The study of Palazzo Vecchio by Francesco I; The cosmography room of Ferdinando I

• The astronomical revolution: Copernicus, Galileo Galilei

• Galileo Mathematician and philosopher of Cosimo II and the problem of longitude

• The Accademia del Cimento: the glass of Medici

• The sciences of war Luigi Ferdinando Marsili and the Academy of Sciences of the Bologna Institute

• The medical ceroplasty in Bologna: from objects to instruments. The case of Anna Morandi Manzolini.

• Laura Bassi Veratti's laboratory: tools of 18th-century physics. Electricity and electric machines

• The laboratory for private study at the institution The laboratories: the case of Antoine Lavoisier

• Science and technology between seven and eight hundred: the London Universal Exposition of 1851

On the first day of class the teacher will verify that this program has been read and understood in all its parts.

Receipt:

During the period of the lessons the teacher receives, by appointment to be fixed by writing to the address sandra.linguerri@unibo.it, on Wednesdays from 1 to 2 pm at Palazzo S. Croce, Via Guaccimanni 42, Ravenna

Outside the lectures period the teacher receives Monday from 10 to 11 - by appointment to be fixed by writing to the address sandra.linguerri@unibo.it - in his own studio in Via Zamboni 38, Bologna, II floor (studio 4.07)

Period: II semester

Schedules, classrooms, start date of lessons: The course follows the educational calendar of the School of Arts and Cultural Heritage. Beginning of the course, schedules and classrooms will be published by the Educational Office of the School

It is strongly recommended that you look assiduously at the notices that the teacher puts on his site to report any changes to the calendar.

Students are asked not to request changes to the teaching calendar.

Readings/Bibliography

The following textbooks are indicated as reference study material, that is, they constitute the teaching material. Students must obtain books before classes start (a program for non-attending students is not indicated because the course requires compulsory attendance). 

Beretta M., Storia materiale della scienza. Roma, Carocci, 2017,

Bianucci P., Storia sentimentale dell'astronomia, Longanesi, Milano, 2012, pp. 19-31; 38-110.

F. Camerota, M. Miniati, I Medici e le Scienze. Strumenti e macchine nelle collezioni granducali, Giunti, Firenze, 2008, pp. 59-89; 141-152; 167-185;205-217; 221-228; 229-247; 249- 281; 285-323, 327-335. 301-305; 327-335

 

AA.VV., Il restauro degli strumenti scientifici (Firenze 23 aprile-1 maggio 1988), Firenze, Alinea editrice 1988.

Per la parte seminariale i testi da studiare sono i seguenti:

Tega W., Introduzione, in Anatomie accademiche. I Commentari dell'Accademia delle scienze di Bologna, vol I, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1986, pp. 9-43.

A.A.V.V., Il teatro della natura di Ulisse Aldrovandi, Editrice Compositori Bologna, 2001, pp. 9-50; pp. 56-59; 83-115.

Focaccia M., La ceroplastica medica a Bologna: da oggetti a strumenti, in Una scienza bolognese? Figure e percorsi nella storiografia della scienza, a cura di A. Angelini, M. Beretta, G. Olmi, Bologna, Bononia University Press, 2015, pp. 207-222.

Cavazza M., Il laboratorio di casa Bassi Veratti, in Laura Bassi. Emblema e primato nella scienza del Settecento, a cura di L. Cifarelli, R. Simili, Editrice Compositori, Bologna, 2012, pp. 103-119.

During the lessons we will refer to contents on the following websites:

Museo Galielo Firenze https://www.museogalileo.it/; Museo di Palazzo Poggi Bologna www.sma.unibo.it/it/il-sistema-museale/museo-di-palazzo-poggi

On the first day of class the teacher will verify that this program has been read and understood in all its parts.

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons

Active participation is encouraged, including asking questions and discussing issues to be expanded on. Lectures will alternate with seminars; students will have the opportunity to attend conferences given by experts, to watch videos and explore websites, and to visit museums and/or libraries. At the end of each lesson, 15 minutes will be dedicated to questions, requests for clarification, etc.Students will be required to write a short dissertation on a topic assigned by the lecturer and which will be discussed during lectures and will count towards the final grade, up to a maximum of three points. For the preparation of this essay students will have 5 hours of individual work corresponding to a week of lessons.

A visit to the Museums of Palazzo Poggi in Bologna and to the Corsiniana Library in Ravenna is scheduled. Day and time will be communicated during the course.

Assessment methods

Oral exam of the duration of 30/40 minutes approximately.

The exam will be structured in three parts: 1) evaluation of the thesis that the student presented in the classroom during the last lessons of the course (see section Teaching methods). The evaluation will not be expressed with a vote but with a judgment: suitable / not suitable. The day of the exam: 2) three short initial notional questions (dates, names, closed questions, recognition of the image of a scientific instrument) to verify the careful reading and knowledge of the exam texts. Example of a closed question: In which year did Galileo Galieli publish the Sidereus Nuncius? For each wrong answer two points will be deducted. 3) Two / three open questions of more general-interpretative cutting. Example of an open question: What role has the telescope played in the astronomic research of Galileo Galilei?

The evaluation of the answers to the open questions follows the following criteria:

The oral examination aims to evaluate the critical and methodological abilites developed by the student. The assignment will be marked on the basis of the student’s ability to gather and select the appropriate information to be able to effectively illustrate and link topics and issues

Specifically :

The achievement of an organic and articulate view, the detailed knowledge of the sources, the ability to critically analyze the arguments put forward and the appropriate use of language will result in excellent marks (28-30L). A correct knowledge of the sources, but no critical analysis, and an appropriate use of the language, but at times imprecise, will result in a good mark (25-27). Mnemonic learning of the subject, ability to synthesize but inability to critically elaborate on the topic, appropriate use of language but no use of specific language will result in a fair mark (22-24). Minimal knowledge of the course and/or inappropriate use of language will result in low marks (18-21). Severe lack of knowledge, severely inappropriate use of language and lack of critical thinking and organization skills will result in a fail.

The use of textbooks, notes or any electronic device is not allowed during the examination.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint (they constitute an aid to the lesson and not educational material and therefore will not be distributed. The teaching material is the one indicated under the heading Texts / Bibliography), DVD and scientific documentaries, website, visit museums.

Office hours

See the website of Sandra Linguerri