This course explores the various ways that scientists, philosophers, poets, musicians, and literary theorists have tried to reconcile what we see (or think we see) with what we know (or what we think we know) from antiquity to the 21^st-century.  We shall approach the Copernican Revolution as a watershed moment not only for science but for culture as well.  We also will explore the impact of subsequent revolutions in science (Darwinism, Einstein’s theory of relativity, Chaos Theory, and Quantum Mechanics) on the arts and humanities.  What are the benefits of taking an interdisciplinary approach to science, culture, and the arts? What are the limitations?

This course is part of a four-course Honors symposium titled “The Copernican Lens: Dawn and Limits of Certainty in Physical Science and the Humanities.”  Taking its point of departure from the revolution in cosmology introduced by Nicolaus Copernicus, the symposium explores the implications of the Newtonian system of physics and its subsequent displacement by the probabilistic and apparently more subjective systems of relativity and quantum theory.  The implications of this transformation are traced in the realms of literary and visual cultures, philosophical ideas about humans’ place in the world, and historical understandings of the development of science itself.

The course qualifies for “Humanities” credit in the Discovery Program because it focuses primarily on humanistic responses (in literature, visual culture, music, philosophy, and literary criticism) to changing paradigms of scientific inquiry, with a special focus on the Copernican Revolution.  By closely examining literary texts and cultural critique, students will gain an understanding of the methods of literary analysis and critical thinking. 

This course is open to all students, FR-SR.  You do not have to have an Honors affiliation to enroll. 

This course satisfies HUMA in Discovery. 

Required Books:

Students will be expected to purchase the following titles in paperback editions:

• Thomas S. Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (Harvard, 1976).
• Rob Iliffe, Newton: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2007).
• Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago, 2012).
• Dante, The Inferno
• Galileo Galilei, The Starry Messenger
• John Milton, Paradise Lost

Course meets the History major requirement for Group II.

FOLLOWERS OF THE ONE GOD:  AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM

This course focuses on the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Students will learn the fundamental characters of each religion (Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.), read some of their sacred texts (the Bible, the Mishna, the Qur’an), investigate important religious sites (Jerusalem, Mecca, Rome), learn primary religious beliefs, and generally understand the many forms in which these religions are practiced. We will see that religious beliefs affect most aspects of culture, from architecture and art to language to food practices and even to the concept of time. Throughout the course we will stress both those features that the three religions have in common as well as the cultural specificity of their varieties.