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Great Inventors of the Ancient World Preliminary Syllabus & Course Outline

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Great Inventors of the Ancient World Preliminary Syllabus & Course Outline CLA 46 Dr. Patrick Hunt Spring Quarter 2014 Stanford Continuing Studies http://www.patrickhunt.net Great Inventors Of the Ancient World Preliminary Syllabus & Course Outline A Note from the Instructor: Homo faber is a Latin description of humans as makers. Human technology has been a long process of adapting to circumstances with ingenuity, and while there has been gradual progress, sometimes technology takes a downturn when literacy and numeracy are lost over time or when humans forget how to maintain or make things work due to cataclysmic change. Reconstructing ancient technology is at times a reminder that progress is not always guaranteed, as when Classical civilization crumbled in the West, but the history of technology is a fascinating one. Global revolutions in technology occur in cycles, often when necessity pushes great minds to innovate or adapt existing tools, as happened when humans first started using stone tools and gradually improved them, often incrementally, over tens of thousands of years. In this third course examining the greats of the ancient world, we take a close look at inventions and their inventors (some of whom might be more legendary than actually known), such as vizier Imhotep of early dynastic Egypt, who is said to have built the first pyramid, and King Gudea of Lagash, who is credited with developing the Mesopotamian irrigation canals. Other somewhat better-known figures are Glaucus of Chios, a metallurgist sculptor who possibly invented welding; pioneering astronomer Aristarchus of Samos; engineering genius Archimedes of Siracusa; Hipparchus of Rhodes, who made celestial globes depicting the stars; Ctesibius of Alexandria, who invented hydraulic water organs; and Hero of Alexandria, who made steam engines. Some ancient inventors are also anonymous, such as the creator of the Baghdad Battery in ancient Parthia. Then there are the fascinating but quasi-mythical inventors such as flying pioneer Daedalus and Hyperbius of Corinth, who, according to legend, invented the potter’s wheel. As the course moves along, we will also see how these mechanical innovators came up with inventions that changed the arc of history, improved human lives, and made an indelible mark on their own civilizations. Course Requirements: Students attend lectures and complete assigned readings from assigned or recommended texts, and supplemental texts as provided. Most students will take the course for No Grade Requested (NGR, just show up for class & enjoy the lectures). If taken for grade and credit (as MLA or prospective students must fulfill), a brief 10 page critical paper will be completed with topic having prior instructor consent. Students attending for credit must attend each session. Required and Recommended Course Texts: Brian Fagan, ed. Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World. Thames & Hudson, 2004 (required). This book will be at the Stanford bookstore. Henry Hodges. Technology in the Ancient World. Penguin / Barnes and Noble, 1992 ed. (recommended). This book can be found at Amazon.com (many used copies) Note: There are also supplemental online readings assigned for many class sessions. CLA 46 Course Outline: 4/2 Introduction to Homo Faber: Lithic Stone Technology, Paleolithic onward Reading: Fagan, 10-20 (Intro., Technologies) and chs. 1-6 Stone to Bone Tools, 21-33; Hodges, Intro., ch.1, 3-20; P. Hunt, “Flint” from Seven Stones: A Cultural History of Stone (to be provided as attachment) 4/9 Egyptian and Minoan Foundations: The Myths of Imhotep and Daedalus Reading: Fagan, Stone Architecture, Wheel, chs. 14 & 32, 66-70, 134-37; Hodges, Hunting to Farming, ch. 2, 21-52 4/16 Gudea of Lagash and Mesopotamian Irrigation: Canals and Persian Qanats Reading: Fagan, Irrigation, ch. 22, 97-100; Hodges, Early Farming, ch. 3, 53-89; P. Hunt, “Gudea of Lagash”, Great Lives From History: Ancient World, 2004 (to be provided as attachment); Angela Chapman, “Gudea and the Gods: Intersecting Policy and Prophecy” Studia Antiqua 6.1 (2008) 41-9”(to be provided) 4/23 Glaukos of Chios and Hyperbius of Corinth Reading: Fagan, chs. 8-10, Pottery, Copper, Bronze, Iron, 37-48; Hodges, ch. 4, Ships and Metallurgy, 90-133; Herodotus, History I.25 (to be provided) Pliny, Natural History VII.57 “Inventors of Various Things” (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D 57) 4/30 The Baghdad Battery and the Invention of Sails Reading: Fagan, Sailing and Oared Vessels, chs. 39-40, 159-65; Hodges, ch 5, Chariots and Sea-Going Ships, 134-67; P. James “Baghdad Battery” (to be provided) 5/7 Aristarchus of Samos and Hipparchus of Rhodes Reading: Hodges, Greek & Roman Engineers and Machinery, ch. 8, 208-41; J. J. O’Connor and E. F. Robertson. “Aristarchus of Samos, 310-230 BC”; “Hipparchus of Rhodes, 190-20 BC, University of St. Andrews, (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Aristarchus.html) (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hipparchus.html) 5/14 Archimedes of Siracusa Reading: Archimedes, The Sand Reckoner, University of Waterloo Math Dept. (http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/navigation/ideas/reckoner.shtml); “Archimedes Screw,” Kenyon College Physics Dept. (http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Fluids/Archimedes_Screw/Archimedes_Screw.html) ; 5/21 Heron of Alexandria, Ctesibus of Alexandria Reading: Hodges, ch. 6, Greeks, Roads and Transportation, 168-207 J. J. O’Connor and E. F. Robertson. “Heron of Alexandria, ca. 10-75 CE” U. St. Andrews (http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Heron.html) 5/28 The Barbegal Mill and Roman Mining Reading: Fagan, Mills and Watermills, ch. 23, 101-04 “France: Barbegal water Mills” World Archaeology 54 (2012) (http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/france-barbegal-watermills.htm) 6/4 The Antikythera Mechanism Reading: “Antikythera Mechanism: The Clockwork Computer”, Economist, Sci. & Tech. 2002 (http://www.economist.com/node/1337165) (http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/project/publications/scientific-american-2009) Note: instructor reserves right to amend schedule and readings .
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