History of Science Online - Course Info - Time tips - Semester at a glance - Weekly assignments at a glance - Timeline - Week 6: Roman Science

Starting Assumptions

#	Due Date	Pts	Activity	Time
1	Tuesday 11:59 p.m.	10	Starting Assumptions Think about what you know already about the culture and period, share your knowledge and experience with other students in the class	30 min.

Questions

1. What most interests you about the historical context of the Roman empire?
2. The icon for this week comes from a depiction of the Pantheon in Rome, a masterful ancient architectural tribute to the gods of Rome, and the best preserved example of Roman architecture today. The huge, open, spherical interior reaches exactly as high as it is wide, and its levels are proportioned according to the square root of 2.
• What would you feel if you entered the Pantheon and could look around?
• Have you enjoyed any works of art (e.g. Dali's Raphaelesque Head Exploding, or architecture, paintings, literature, etc.) that were inspired in some way by the Pantheon?
• Cf. "pantheon" definition, and the Pantheon at Great Buildings Online.
3. Do you read or speak Latin or Italian? If so, what are your favorite works of Latin literature or Italian stories?
4. What most interests you about Roman history? Does Roman history have any special meaning for you? What is your favorite movie or book or TV documentary related to the Romans?
• "Pompeii Secrets Revealed," Digging for the Truth
• "Rome: The Rise," Cities of the Underworld
• "The First Christians," Lost Worlds
5. What most interests you about Italy?
• Does Italian culture have any special meaning for you?
• Do you like Italian food?
• Have you traveled to Italy?
• What is your favorite movie or book or TV documentary related to Italy?
6. What do you know about Roman science? Who is your favorite Roman-era scientist?
7. **What are some similarities between ancient Roman-era cultures and culture today? How might these similarities help us to understand ancient Roman culture? What are some differences between ancient Roman culture and culture today? How might these differences pose an obstacle to our understanding of ancient Roman culture? What do you think is the chief barrier or prejudice that obstructs modern appreciation of science in the Roman era?**

Instructions for Starting Assumptions assignment: Look over the questions and links below; then watch the Starting Assumptions video prompt for this unit at Janux. PART ONE: Write a paragraph, 150 words minimum, in response to any questions that interest you. Post your completed paragraph in the Starting Assumptions discussion stream for this week at Janux. PART TWO: Read the Starting Assumptions posts of at least two other students at Janux. Make another post in the discussion stream at Janux replying to their posts. (If you are the first or second person to post, you will have to check back later to complete this part of the assignment.) IMPORTANT: When you respond, please begin by greeting the persons by name you are replying to, so that they will be more likely to notice that you are replying to them. And over the next several hours, check back and see if anyone comments on your post as well. If you provide interesting comments in response to others, they will be more likely to look for your posts both now and in the future. As you post your paragraph and respond to two other students, complete the Gradebook Declaration in Desire2Learn. Your Gradebook Declaration is subject to the Honor Code. Check all that apply: if you have completed the assignment, you will check all five statements. If you work on the assignment at different times, you may make the Gradebook Declaration incrementally as you complete each part. You may redo the Gradebook Declaration as often as you like up until the due date, if any part is incomplete the first time. Here is the text of the Desire2Learn Gradebook Declaration: (2 points) I have posted my Starting Assumptions (at least 50 words) at Confluence, including a response to the required question(s). (2 points) I have posted my Starting Assumptions (at least 100 words) at Confluence, including a response to the required question(s). (2 points) I have posted my Starting Assumptions (at least 150 words) at Confluence, including a response to the required question(s). (2 points) I have replied to the post of at least one other student. (2 points) I have replied to the post of at least two other students.

	HSCI 3013. History of Science to 17th century Kerry Magruder, Instructor, 2004-14 Brent Purkaple, TA Report typos or broken links	Go to this course at Janux spellcheck.net | wordcounter.net Many thanks to the pedagogical model developed in Mythology and Folklore and other online courses by Laura Gibbs, which have been an inspiration for this course.	Academic Calendar
	This course is currently undergoing major reconstruction to bring it into alignment with the new version of the course at Janux