BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students possess a critical understanding of the origins and the first institutional developments of the seventeenth-century scientific revolution, with particular attention to the cosmological break, Galileo's battle for the freedom of research, and the birth of the first European scientific academies. This knowledge provides the foundation for developing the ability to critically reflect on the historical genesis of knowledge and its institutions.
In particular, students acquire:
- knowledge of the epistemological transformations that led, in the seventeenth century, to the birth of modern science;
- knowledge of the historical relationship between science, power, and religion, starting from the case of Galileo;
- knowledge of the first forms of institutionalisation of scientific knowledge and their role in building a research community;
- critical reasoning skills in reading historiographical sources;
- contextualisation skills applied to the relationships between knowledge, institutions, and freedom of research, transferable to the critical reading of contemporary educational contexts.
The course contributes to the educational objectives of the Degree Programme in Educational Sciences by providing tools for historical-critical analysis that cut across the cultural and methodological competences required by the educator's professional profile.
Course Prerequisites
Teaching Methods
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of a written test comprising 3 open-ended questions, to be completed within a maximum time of two hours. Each answer is awarded a maximum of 10 points, according to the following criteria: a) relevance of the answer to the question; b) analytical and synthetic ability; c) appropriateness of language. The final grade, expressed out of thirty, corresponds to the sum of the points obtained in the three answers.
The exam covers the entire programme, in order to verify students' knowledge of the topics covered. Examples of the specific format of the written test will be provided during lectures. Results will be published on the University's Sportello Internet
Contents
Part I – The origins of the scientific revolution
- The cultural and intellectual legacy of antiquity and the Middle Ages: the epistemological obstacles to the new science
- The world of engineers and craftsmen; the culture of secrecy
- New discoveries and "things never seen before": the transformation of the image of nature
Part II – The cosmological revolution and Galileo's battle for the freedom of research
- The new heavens: the break with traditional cosmology
- Galileo: the telescope, astronomical discoveries, method
- The relationship between science and religion: the meaning of Galileo's battle in defence of the freedom of research
Part III – The plurality of worlds and the new philosophies of nature
- The idea of infinite worlds and the crisis of closed cosmology
- Mechanical philosophy: nature as a machine
- Chemical philosophy: alchemical traditions and the new chemistry
- Magnetic philosophy: new models for explaining nature
Part IV – The cultural, social, and institutional factors of the new science
- From universities to academies: continuity and transformation of the institutional spaces of knowledge
- The first European scientific academies: Paris, London, Bologna
- The birth of scientific periodicals and the new communication of knowledge
The programme is identical for attending and non-attending students.
Online Resources
More information
Non-attending students are encouraged to register on the course’s Moodle platform, within the e-learning section, to access the materials discussed during lectures and to participate in the learning activities.