hey guys! read this course description! i may want to take it - it sounds terrific, but of course, i haven't any history or science background, and my european history is from a levels. and i don't know about reading intensively in medieval latin medical texts, and yet and yet, i can't but feel excited.
History of Science 215. Science and Culture in Late Medieval and Early Modern EuropeSources for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Medicine. Preparation for professional-level research in the history of medicine through intensive reading of printed Latin sources. Focus on learned medical texts, including academic commentaries, practical compilations, consilia, recipes, and charms. Note: Basic reading knowledge of Latin required. History of Science 112 or other background in Medieval or Renaissance European history recommended.
Please note that although the emphasis will be on medical texts, I am very open to interpreting this broadly, so as to tailor the course to the needs and interests of students in it. The emphasis will be on 1) developing skills in reading late Medieval and Renaissance Latin as a fundamental research tool (rather than as a specialized philological discipline); 2) understanding the generic conventions of scholastic texts (principally in medicine and philosophy, which covers a lot of ground in this period); and 3) learning to deal with the formal and typographical difficulties presented by early printed texts (abbreviations, unfamiliar type fonts, codicology of early printed works, etc.) The aim, in other words, is largely practical: to give students interested in scholastic and professional texts--as opposed to neo-Latin or literary texts--the tools, practice, and confidence to use these texts in research.
