Week 7 Honors

Hi! Last night we had our analyses of The Victorians, Chapters 4-5 due. Gabriela has raised a provocative point for discussion, about the justification of conflicting ideas during the age. Please reply to her post on this issue, as well as the other posts if you haven’t already.

On her first issue, I am not sure there was an awareness among those engaged in mathematics and cartography that many of the ideas they were using originated elsewhere. Rather, some saw British superiority in the systemic application of knowledge to solve human problems (that could include technology, of course).

On the second, I very much like the idea of a focus shift to the House of Commons, even when discussing ancient history.

Kailtin has posted an outstanding summary, with a focus on knowledge specialization and science. She also notes a failure to acknowlege other cultures’ and eras’ contributions, and I agree we shouldn’t ignore the uses of pseudoscience. In fact, I will dare to say that one of my least favorite applications of scientific endeavor during this era was what I consider to be the invention of race. Perhaps we’ll get into that later…

This week, we finish reading either Wells’ The Invisible Man (for History 105) or Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea (for History 106). We’ve been rounding up some audio versions for listening if that’s easier for you – see the links for them on the syllabus.

A few quick things to look for. In Wells, note the sense of place – the story takes place ina particular area of England. For Verne, note not only the technology but the social situation of the captain within European society.

Also consider your arrangements to rent next week’s film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It can be rented on either Amazon Movies or YouTube for $3.99. Given our schedules, we will unfortunately not be able to watch together, but I do recommend watching with a friend and taking notes on any connections you find.