HIS 112 Unit 5

HIS 112
Unit 5: Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

François-Marie Arouet, better know simply as Voltaire (1694-1778), embodied the essence of the Enlightenement with his relentless critique and satire of government, church and society. This is the work by the renowned French sculptor, Jean-Antoine Houdon, commissioned by Catherine the Great and presently in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. See some other photos of the works in the Hermitage collections.

What you must do in this unit

Read chapter 26 and review chapter 24 in the textbook (chapters 18 and 21 in the Edgar text).
Check the course notes on the Scientific Revolution and the website on the Enlightenment, which was done by Patricia Niles, a former student in this course. I also have notes on Voltaire and his ideas about religion.
Read the American Declaration of Independence.
Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the unit.
Post (or respond) your thoughts/ideas about this unit's reading and assignment in the Blackboard online discussion forum. Do not post your assignment there.
Submit the Required Declaration paragraph.

What you can do in this unit

You may listen to some further information about the Enlightenment from my HIS 102 course.
Check out the National Archives website devoted to the Declaration of Independence, which has images, transcripts and critical articles.
When I teach the HIS 102 course on campus, I usually schedule a class on the development of classical music in the eighteenth century. Here is a link to my class notes on classical music (*.pdf). I have also put on www.nvcc.edu/itunesu/ (under HIS 102) a file with some of the selections of music that I play in that class.

Some videos that you can watch for this unit

See the videos dealing with the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment in the HIS 102 course.
For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the url and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.

Extra Credit Options

Take the short 5-point quiz for chapter 26. Log into Blackboard and look under "Chapter Quizzes." You have five minutes to complete each quiz (multiple-choice questions).
Watch Barry Lyndon and write a one-page paper (Was the movie an accurate depiction of eighteenth-century European life?) for a maximum of 50 points.
In a well-researched, one-page paper (maybe two pages is also ok), explain who fired the first shot of the American Revolution for a maximum of 50 points.
For a maximum of 50 points extra credit, watch Amadeus and write a one-page paper in which you examine which aspects of the European Enlightenment the movie illustrated.
For a maximum of 50 points, read Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (free copy at art-bin.com/art/oweala.html) and explain, in a one-page paper, how his conception of capitalism does or does not match the characteristics of present-day capitalism.
For a maximum of 50 points extra credit, read Nicholas Copernicus, The Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, 1543, excerpts, and write a one-page paper explaining some of the revolutionary ideas found in this text. Please be sure to include quoted material.
For a maximum of 50 points extra credit, in a one-page paper, explain the principle points of Immanuel Kant's idealist philosophy as expounded in his Critique of Pure Reason (free copy at www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/cpr/toc.html).
For a maximum of 25 points extra credit, in a long paragraph, What did Voltaire mean, in terms of the European Enlightenment, when he wrote "let us cultivate our garden" at the end of Candide (free copy at www.literature.org/authors/voltaire/candide/).
For a maximum of 25 points extra credit (maybe more), have a look at Isaac Newton, Principia Mathematica and write a long paragraph explaining some of the revolutionary ideas found in this text. Please be sure to include quoted material.
For a maximum of 25 points extra credit, read Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), The Spirit of the Laws (1748), excerpts, and write a long paragraph in which you explain Montesquieu's main political ideas. Please be sure to include quoted material.
For a maximum of 25 points extra credit, in a long paragraph comment upon Voltaire's criticism of organized religion in his dictionary entry.
For a maximum of 25 points extra credit, read Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): A Discourse Upon The Origin and The Foundation of The Inequality among Mankind, and write a long paragraph in which you explain Rousseau's ideas about inequality. Please be sure to include quoted material.
For a maximum of 10 points, read the Proclamation of Rebellion by King George III as he reacted to the American rebellion (1775) and write a short paragraph summarizing the King's view of his American subjects.
For 10 points maximum extra credit, answer the Declaration study sheet questions.
For extra credit, please suggest a relevant website for this unit of the course. Send the title of the site, the url and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied this unit.