Handbook home
Magic, Reason and Science, 1450-1750 (HPSC30034)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Email: gerhardw@unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
The subject will look at the categories of magic and reason in early modern Europe, especially in their role in the emergence of modern science. While magic and reason are often regarded as polar opposites, their relationship is often more complex. We will study how ‘magical thinking’ was understood in early modern Europe, how it was practiced in different fields of knowledge - from alchemy and demonology to medicine, technology and mathematics, and how these magical practices were transformed in the development of early modern science. We will also discuss what happened to the magical worldview in the eighteenth century, the period often held to be the Age of Reason. A particular emphasis of the subject will be on the complex relationship between scientific or philosophical change and social or cultural processes.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject should:
- Demonstrate familiarity with the major intellectual, social and political developments of the period from the fifteenth through to the eighteenth centuries
- Be able to examine intellectual positions and their historical development
- Understand the complex interaction between different forms of experience that contributed to the emergence of modern science
- Be able to put their own position in an historical perspective
- Have developed effective written communication and presentation skills (written and oral), and the ability to collaborate constructively within the classroom
- Be able to conduct independent research including the appropriate use of primary and secondary sources in mounting an historical argument
- Demonstrate ethical integrity in written work and classroom activities.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Historigraphical Essay
| Mid semester | 30% |
Book Report
| Second half of the semester | 30% |
Research Essay
| During the examination period | 40% |
Hurdle requirement: 1. Attendance hurdle requirement: This subject has a minimum requirement of 80% attendance at tutorials, seminars, or workshops. There is an expectation that students attend lectures. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Hurdle requirement: 2. Late Penalty and Assessment hurdle requirement: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at five per cent (5%) of the possible marks available for the assessment task per day or part thereof. All pieces of assessment must be submitted to pass the subject. Each submitted assessment must be complete, constitute a genuine attempt to address the requirements of the task and will not be accepted after 20 University business days from the original assessment due date without written approval. | Throughout the semester | N/A |
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Gerhard Wiesenfeldt Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 36 hours: - A 1.5 hour lecture every week for 12 weeks and a 1.5 hour tutorial every week for 12 weeks Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 26 February 2024 to 26 May 2024 Last self-enrol date 8 March 2024 Census date 3 April 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 3 May 2024 Assessment period ends 21 June 2024 Semester 1 contact information
Email: gerhardw@unimelb.edu.au
Time commitment details
170 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Subject readings will be available online.
Recommended texts and other resources
- Margaret Osler, Reconfiguring the World: Nature, God, and Human Understanding from the Middle Ages to Early Modern Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopknis University Press, 2010.
- Lorraine Dason and Katharine Park, Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750. New York: Zone Books, 1998.
- Martin Jay and Sumathi Ramaswamy (eds.), Empires of Vision: a Reader. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014.
- Subject notes
Note: This subject is jointly taught by the History and History and Philosophy of Science disciplines and is an elective in both majors.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Major History and Philosophy of Science Major History - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 11 April 2024