History of Science and Technology to Newton (Hist4010)

History of Science and Technology To Newton (Hist4010)

History of Science and Technology From Newton (Hist4020)

History of scientific thought and technology from primitive times to the Scientific Revolution (4010) and from the Scientific Revolution to the landing on the Moon (4020) with emphasis on the development of the underlying philosophical presuppositions of scientific inquiry and relationship between science, technology and society.

A two web based courses sequence offered by Dr. Roy J. deCarvalho of the History Department at the University of North Texas.

Hist4010 is not a pre-requisite for Hist4020 or vice-versa. Each course is an independent unit. For more information e-mail the instructor.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor ...... Roy J. deCarvalho, Ph.D.

Home page ......

E-mail ......

OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES

The goal of the course is to foster historical and philosophical awareness of science and technology, acquaintance with the variety of cultural and ethnic contributions to the development of science and technology, and understanding of the relationship between science, technology and society. The objective is to show that changes in the underlying philosophical presuppositions of scientific thought explain revolution and thus also scientific progress. It is expected to foster a critical examination of the thought and method implicit in the student's scientific activity and world view and a deeper understanding of the social implications of science and technology. The achievement of the course's objectives will be evaluated through exams, written assignments, participation at the class conference board, and e-mail interaction with the instructor.

This course has three modes of evaluation: quantitative, qualitative and participative. The quantitative mode evaluates the student knowledge of basic facts, events, and names a college graduate should be acquainted with. This mode requires the ability to know and memorize information. The qualitative mode in the form of written reports focuses on analytical skills and the ability to understand and articulate a point of view. The participative mode evaluates the student ability to communicate ideas, present what has been learned and conduct a rational and well informed discussion. The quantitative mode (examinations) is 50%, the qualitative mode (reports) is 20%, and the participative (participation at the Discussion Board) is 20% of the final grade (the remaining 10% is a Contact requirement).

COURSE ORGANIZATION

As a web based course students meet and do all course work in virtual space. Anyone anywhere in the world with a reliable internet connection and minimal internet knowledge can enroll in this course. There are no meetings in the traditional physical classroom. The course utilizes the new technology of the information age in order to deliver and improve upon traditional undergraduate education in history. It also seeks to familiarize students with on-line communications and introduce students to the internet as a working environment and research tool.

The course home page is the main entrance to the course facilities. Only registered students with a valid userid/password can access the course home page at .

The most important facilities of the course home page are: Conference Board and Modules 01-10. The other facilities allow students to e-mail the instructor and Blackboard technical support, change password, and link with the virtual UNT Librarian, instructor home page, course syllabus and a technical guide to Blackboard. The Calendar reminds students of the various stages, tasks and deadlines of the course. Turnitin facility allows students to perform a plagiarism check up on their surf-the-net reports.

The Class Conference Board is the course's virtual classroom where students and instructor meet regularly. It resembles an internet social network. It is divided into several forums (each module has its own forum, for example). It allows students to post messages and discuss with their peers and instructor course related matters. Students are expected to read the Class Conference Board at least once every day. Internet etiquette applies. Vigorous intellectual debate about course related matters is expected.

Chat Room. Participation in the chat room is not a course requirement. It is a 24 hours lounge where students can meet synchronously and "talk" freely.

Modules 01-10, introduce the student to the traditional wisdom or basic knowledge in the field. Those are the notes students should have written if taking the traditional classroom delivery of this course. At the end of each module a very basic "WWW Links" page lists names and topics related to the lecture notes. Students are required to write a surf-the-net report discussing the World Wide Web resources on the name or concept of their choice.

Plagiarism report check-up.A Turnitin tool that allows students and the instructor to check the surf-the-net reports for academic integrity.

DEADLINES

All study related to each module, including the module's exam and surf-the-net report, must be completed before the module deadline. After that date the module site will be closed and the next module introduced. All exams are available between 1AM and 11PM.

Module Schedule of exams

Module 01

September 18 (T)

Module 02

October 05 (F)

Module 03

October 23 (T)

Module 04

November 13 (T)

Module 05

December 08 (Sat)

Other important dates

First day of classes ...... August 29

Labor Day...... September 03

Thanksgiving holiday...... November 22-25

Last day of classes...... December 07

Finals week...... December 8-14

REQUIREMENTS

Students are required:

to have minimal computer/internet skills (e.g, know how to operate e-mail, participate in an internet bulletin board and surf the net)

to study the web based five lecture modules

to read the textbooks

to take five examinations (one exam for each module) before the module deadline

to write five surf-the-net reports (one report for each module) and post it at TII and the class bulletin board before the last day of the module deadline

actively participate in course related discussions at the class conference board

initiate with instructor at least one e-mail exchange per module. This contact requirement is cancelled whenever course enrollment is more than 30 students.

Activity Description % of grade

Exams Each of the 5 modules has an exam. Total of five exams. Each exam is 10% of the final grade. Exams have three sections of equal weight: multiple-choice, identification items and essay. Exams' essays and ids come from the modules' review section. 50%

Surf the net reports Students surf the net and write a report reviewing the WWW resources on each of the topics covered by the modules. One report for each of the five modules. (Total of five reports; each report is 4% of the final grade) 20%

Participation Students engage in meaningful discussions about the web reports or any course related topic at the class conference board. 20%

Contact Students must initiate at least one e-mail exchange per module with the instructor. Students are strongly encouraged to contact the instructor at any time. This requirement should be understood as the taking of attendance. The contact requirement is cancelled whenever course enrollment is more than 30 students. Students will then be automatically awarded 10 points. 10%

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL ON-LINE EXAMS

All exams are on-line. The grade of incomplete and make-ups will be granted only in exceptional cases (see regulations at the Undergraduate Catalog ), specifically the sections on the Grading System and the Incomplete).

One exam per module. Exams have three parts: multiple-choice, identifications (you will be asked to answer three out of four ids) and essay (one essay out of two). Exams are available only during the dates stated at the Syllabus. Once ready to take an exam students should click the "hot" exam link at the Exams 06-10 link at the left mavigation bar. For information about the content of the exams read the page About The Exam of each module.

Grades Policy. There are five exams (one per module). Each exam is worth a maximum of 50 points. See the table above.

Delivery. Bb delivers all questions at once. All questions can be revisited at any time before delivering the quiz. Make sure to save each question individually by clicking on the Save Answer following each question.

Duration. Exams have a duration between 60 and 90 minutes. You should dedicate about 25 seconds to each multiple-choice question, 20 minutes to the ids section, and 20 minutes to the essay section. There is a digital clock at the exam page so students can keep track of time. Exam software disallows answer submission if time has expired. Unanswered questions are considered incorrectly answered questions. I have instructed BB to kick out the student once the time limit is reached. Bb will automatically save your exam as is at that point.

Timing and Attempts Allowed. Students are allowed only one exam taking attempt. They should religiously follow the schedule and timing of the exams. A missed exam will count as a missed grade (e.g., zero score). There will be no exceptions to the exam schedule and timing.

Make-ups. Make-ups will be allowed only in cases of medical or family emergencies.

Feedback and grades policy. Once an exam is submitted to the course instructor a confirmation message is delivered. The exam score will be released after the exam period has ended and the instructor has graded all exams.

The grade of incomplete and make-up exams will be granted only in exceptional cases (see regulations at the Undergraduate Catalog).

TEXTBOOKS

Hist4010

David C. Lindberg, The Beginnings of Western Science (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).

Thomas Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957-1990).

Hist4020

Steven M. Beaudoin (Ed.), The Industrial Revolution (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003), ISBN 0618220259.

* Banesh Hoffmann, Albert Einstein: Creator & Rebel (New York: Viking Press, 1972), ISBN 0670111813. *

Peter J. Bowler, Evolution: The History of an Idea (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), ISBN 0520063864.

All texts are available at the UNT bookstore and any other book store.

* Spring 2012: Banesh text on Einstein is now out of print. Item is cancelled until there is a new edition or reprint. Do not buy an used copy because not all students will be able to get one.

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS

The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.

CONFERENCE BOARD

Participation at the Class Conference Board is a pre-requisite for the completion of this course and 20% of the final grade. All five surf the net reports will be posted at the Class Conference Board. Students are expected to engage in meaningful discussions, criticism and commentaries of their peers' net reports and any other course related topic. Internet etiquette applies.

SURF-THE-NET REPORT

As soon as you finish reading the notes of the modules you should became acquainted with related material available at the internet. You should surf the web exploring topics of the lecture notes that interest you. First and foremost have fun surfing the web exploring any particular theme of the lectures. When you finish the other module requirements (see "module requirements" at each module's home page) you should go back to the WWW pages that most interested you early on. Next you should get approval from your instructor to work on a topic. Students should thus post their claim over a concept or name in the Conference Board and get a topic approval from their instructor. "First come, first serve" policy observed in order to prevent multiple reports on the same item. You should then write a report about such sites/material and post the report at the appropriate forum of the Board. Remember: you need to get approval from the instructor to work on a topic. Surf-the-net reports are 20% of the final grade. This assignment replaces the traditional library or book report. One of the pedagogical goals of this assignment is to become acquainted with the internet as an academic (research) tool. The length of the reports should be around 2000 words.

The web report is not a mere listing of web sites. It can be topic or site centered. A topical report discusses various web sites with information about a specific topic. A site centered report rather focuses on one specific site that specializes in the topic of your choice. Both types of reports should examine the site's content, appearance, structure and any other relevant feature. Students should exercize their judgment concerning the academic integrity of internet material.

It is assumed that students give permission to archive their work and make it available to students of other sessions of this course. Students who do not wish to give this permission or who wish to keep their work anonymous should notify the instructor during the first week of classes. Students should read the reports written by students of previous sessions of this course (4010 and 4020) archived at the Surf-the-Net Reports' Hall-of-Fame (link is at the Module Requirements page).

Reports should be posted at the appropriate forum of the Board and not be posted with the Attachment tool. If a posting's attachment is infested with a virus all students in the class may be contaminated and it will take days, even weeks to get back to normal. Rather write the report in your favorite word processor and then copy and paste it into a compose message at the Board. The instructor will not open and give credit for reports posted as attachments or posted at the wrong forum. No private e-mails with attachments will be accepted by your instructor.

About Wikipedia. My policy concerning the on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia when it appeared a few years ago was that students should refrain from quoting Wikipedia in their reports. However in the last few years Wikipedia has grown to become an internet phenomena and I have noticed that it is a favorite among my students. In order not to become an old-fashion academic living in an ivory tower out of touch with my internet generation students and due to on-going significant student pressure I am relaxing my policy on Wikipedia. Students may quote and cite Wikipedia in their surf-the-net reports as long as Wikipedia is not the only source of information. Students must back up any information gathered from Wikipedia with other sources. By mid-semester we will have a discussion at the Board concerning the academic reliability of Wikipedia and the formulation of a policy for future semesters. I suggest students become acquainted with Wikipedia in order to have an informed discussion.

A Note About Plagiarism and Citation Styles. The Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities, defines plagiarism as 'the deliberate adoption or reproduction of ideas, words or statements of another person as one’s own without acknowledgement.' According to this definition, you commit plagiarism when you copy the work of another person (or internet site) and turn it in as your own, even if you have the permission of that person. For more information about plagiarism and the Code of Student Conduct and Discipline (Revised Fall 2003) go to the Policy Manual UNT, . There is zero plagiarism tolerance at UNT and in HIST4010/20.

Your browser copy/paste facility makes it easy and tempting to import entire blocks of text from an internet site into the composition of your surf-the-wet report. In order to prevent scholarly misconduct students should become acquainted with the proper format of electronic citation and reference. Students must cite material found on the WWW just as they would with material taken from printed sources. How does one cite material that does not have a traditional page number nor sometimes an easily identifiable author? The site Online: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources. Is a web-version of a book on electronic source citation style. It addresses the different citation standards (MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE and other styles) and advices on how to cite information from a variety of different electronic sources, including Web sites, email messages, Web discussion forum postings, Listserv messages, Newsgroup messages, etc.