University of Vermont
Fall 2010 Term
Physics Department
Honors 195C
Course Description & General Information
Instructor:
Prof. Joanna Rankin, A514 Cook Bldg. Office hours: W 1–2; Th 3-4 pm
Textbooks:
James Evans: The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy (Oxford University Press; 1998; ISBN 0-19-509539-1). REQUIRED
David Ewing Duncan: The Calendar: The 5000-Year Struggle to Align the Clock and the Heavens—and What Happened to the Missing Ten Days (Fourth Estate; London, 1999; ISBN 1-85702-979-8). REQUIRED
Chartrand: Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky (Random House, New York, 1991; ISBN 0-679-40852-5). RECOMMENDED
Course Abstract:
This course will examine the history and practice of astronomy from the ancient Babylonians, Greeks, and Egyptians, through the Islamic renaissance, and up until the 16th century in Europe. While Babylonian astronomy drew on traditions and practices that were then old, its remarkable development during this time period made it the most technically developed of the ancient sciences. Indeed, it was classified as a branch of mathematics. Many of the concepts and methods of ancient astronomers remain valid and are still the foundation of modern astronomy, so in some regards, this course will be a lot like an introductory course covering material before the invention of the telescope. Of course, astronomy has developed a great deal since then, but an equinox is still an equinox! Or, put differently, knowledge of the positions of the Sun and the Moon are the starting points for every calendar, and this gives us a chance to look at many calendars cross-culturally.
To understand the great ingenuity of ancient astronomers, we will want to develop a command of what they were actually doing, so the emphasis will be on repeating their calculations and observations. We will learn a great deal about the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets, in many cases through our own observations. Usually we will learn to understand a phenomena first, without imposing any particular theoretical overview. Then we will see how they were explained in detail by ancient astronomers. Most of the topics that we investigate will be treated in enough detail for us to put into practice techniques that were developed by ancient, medieval and Renaissance astronomers but that are still perfectly valid today. Thus you will learn to make sundials using techniques invented some 2200 years ago. And you will learn enough about planetary theory to actually be able to calculate the position of Mars in the zodiac for any date you care about. We will study the construction of calendars and clocks of several different sorts and trace the history of the Gregorian calendar in use today.
While the emphasis will be on technical astronomy we will devote some attention to the connections between astronomy and other aspects of ancient culture. Knowledge of the sky has been very highly regarded in many cultures—as it is today—so we must ask what significance astronomy has had and what uses it has been put to over the centuries. How it is connected to art, religion, commerce and science overall? Indeed, from the Greeks on, astronomy was as much a humanity as a science.
Reading Assignments:
Please study the various reading assignments in Evans, Duncan and Chartrand for background BEFORE attending the relevant lectures and discussions in class. This will make for much more interesting, fruitful and lively classes—and it will greatly facilitate your own learning process. Thus Sections 2.1-2.8 in Evans, for instance, should be completed before class on Sept. 15 (see Syllabus).
Exercises:
Evans provides a number of exercises at the end of each chapter, and I will occasionally give you a few more to do. Most of these exercises should be done in your notebooks, but I will ask you to submit several finished assignments during the term.
Culture/Calendar Papers:
You will write and hand in two papers during the term, a 5-10 page “culture” paper by October 22nd and your 10-15 page “calendar” paper by the 4th December. Both of these papers will focus on the culture you select, and this choice should be made as early as possible in the term so that you can give me a paper proposal and bibliography by Sept. 24th. The research for these papers constitutes a major part of the course work, and it must be started early if it is to be successful. Different cultures have different relationships with the sky and for some of the most interesting ones you will surely need to look at the holdings of other libraries and obtain materials by interlibrary load. There is a good deal of information about some cultures on the web, and this can serve as a useful beginning point, but in generally such information is shallow and you will need to depend on books and scholarly articles.
Please assess the quality of your writing at the beginning of the course and make sure that you hand in well constructed and thoroughly proof-read papers. If your writing skills are in need improvement, please use these assignments to improve them—meaning that you take the effort to write your papers early and then rewrite them through several drafts with critiques from others.
Sky Observations:
No course in astronomy is complete without some opportunities to study the night sky, and much can be done to orient and familiarize yourself with the sky with very little equipment. You will, however, need a small flashlight (and, best, a piece of red plastic to cover the light), a notebook, and a drawing compass.
You have two primary aids which will help you in learning more about the night sky: First look at the Audubon Guide and read the Introduction and the sections appropriate for the current month. Second, we will probably be able to distribute sky charts and other aids from Sky and Telescope magazine and elsewhere.
We will try to organize several night sessions to help you as possible, and these will be announced by email a few hours beforehand. Most of your observations, however, will be made on your own. Clear nights tend to occur most often early in the term. Please also note that the Moon phases are given on the Syllabus for your information.
Discussions:
Please do your part to make our class discussions lively and useful to you. This is not a lecture course but a tutorial—that is, my role is to help you learn the material, surely by introducing much of it, but also by responding to your questions and concerns. Therefore, please make a habit of jotting down questions during your studies—so that you can come to each meeting with a written list of questions that you would like to see answered in the hour. Active participation in these discussions will be noted and rewarded (see below).
Participation:
Your participation grade is based on your questions and comments, either in class or after class, and on your lecture attendance record.
Exams:
We will have a mid-term and a final examination. The mid-term is scheduled for our class period on Thursday, Oct. 29th. The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, December 15 at 8:00 pm, venue to be announced. The exams will consist of a mixture of question types, including simple problems. We will make every effort to insure that you will have plenty of time to complete the exams and that you will not be rushed.
The final exam is cumulative and thus will cover all of the material we have studied throughout the term, but of course with emphasis on the second half of the term.
Grading:
The various components of the course will be weighted approximately as follows:
Homework questions and problems 20%
Night Sky Observation Projects 20%
Mid-Term Exam 10%
Research Papers 20%
Participation and Discussion 10%
Final Exam 20%
Scholarship:
Good scholarly practice is expected in every aspect of the course--above all, honesty, good organization and legibility. No written work should ever be shown to another student prior to submission. Work exhibiting flagrant violations of minimal scholarly standards (i.e., poor construction or organization, misspellings) will be returned ungraded for re-submission and penalized appropriately. University policy dictates that academic dishonesty cases cannot be handled by the faculty member and must be referred to the academic deans for adjudication.