Teaching the Scientific Revolution
Dr Robert A. Hatch - University of Florida
Scientific Revolution? No such thing? Never was?
At least by some recent reckonings. So the story goes, if ever there was a 'Scientific Revolution' it is a story of recent invention. It would go like this. Once upon a time, shortly after WWII, there was a lot of talk about the Origins Modern Science, the Mechanization of the World Picture, and the Edge of Objectivity. It was about this time, as the History of Science began to mushroom as a discipline, that the 'Scientific Revolution' became a phrase to reckon with. As a widely acknowledged pedagogical device, as a convenient periodization for organizing events and undergraduate offerings, the 'Scientific Revolution' proved to be a useful invention. And it should be no surprise that historical periodizations are invented. But have we become too sophisticated to ask: 'What - Really - Really - Really happened?' What kinds of fiction are involved? Whose fictions are they? Is there anything to the 'Scientific Revolution' beyond convenient construction? Has the 'Scientific Revolution' (if such a thing existed) gone the way of the Easter Bunny or the White Rabbit? Either option seems fantastic or just good fun. Afterall, what are we to do with the 'Renaissance' or the 'Enlightenment' -- or for that matter, with 'society' and 'sociology' -- or any similar invention? If it's just talk we need to talk.
- Scientific Revolution - Definition - Concept - History
- Scientific Revolution - Teacher's Overview - The Periodization
- Scientific Revolution - Background - Brief Outline
- Scientific Revolution - Brief Outline - Copernicus to Newton
- Scientific Revolution - Timeline - Copernicus to Newton
- Scientific Revolution - Study Guide - Origins to Newton
- Scientific Revolution - Biographies - The Major Figures
- Scientific Revolution - Glossary - Historical Terms & Concepts
- Scientific Revolution - The Chief Systems of the World
- Scientific Revolution - Bibliography - Secondary - Historiography
- Scientific Revolution - Bibliography - Primary & Secondary
- Scientific Revolution - Bibliography - Related Cultural & Social
- Scientific Revolution - Resources & References & Readings
- Scientific Revolution - Research & Teaching - Primary Sources - Teaching Units
- Scientific Revolution - Secondary Readings - Teachers
- Scientific Revolution - Primary Readings - Teachers
- Scientific Revolution - Links - Resouces - Search
- Classroom Teaching - History of Science - Classroom Lesson Plans
- History of Science - Search Engines - Research Links
- History of Science - His-Sci-Links - Societies & Depts
- Other Teaching Resources - Reading & Writing & Studying
The Scientific Revolution HomePage Site Map & Contents
HISTORY OF SCIENCE - A STUDY GUIDE - ORIGINS TO NEWTON
Our Major Science Heroes - Newton - Darwin - Freud - Einstein
