History of Science Online - Course Info - Time tips - Semester at a glance - Weekly assignments at a glance - Timeline - Week 4: Ancient Greek science; Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle

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 classical Greece? (often called the ancient or the Hellenic period; read from "The Dominance of Athens" to the end of this article).
2. Have you read any of Plato's dialogues before? If so, which ones? Did you read them for fun, for a literature class, for a philosophy class, or for some other reason? What did you think of them?
3. Have you read any of Aristotle's works before? If so, which ones? Did you read them for a class? What did you think of them?
4. Have you seen any interesting movies or documentaries about science in the Hellenic era? For example, the History Channel has a "Greece" episode of Engineering an Empire , and an "Athens, Ancient Supercity" episode of Lost Worlds . Have you heard the song "Atlantis" by the 1960's group Donovan? (Music video at You Tube.)
5. **What are some similarities between ancient Greek culture and culture today? How might these similarities help us to understand ancient Greek culture? What are some differences between ancient Greek culture and culture today? How might these differences pose an obstacle to our understanding of ancient Greek culture? What do you think is the chief barrier that obstructs modern appreciation of Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle for the development of science? **
6. The icon for this week is one corner of the Parthenon, on the Acropolis in Athens. Have you seen the Parthenon in Athens, or its full size replica in Nashville? If so, what did you think when you walked inside? Did you see it on television coverage of the Athens Olympics? What do you think the Parthenon conveys about Greek science, philosophy, mathematics, and culture?
   • The Parthenon at Great Buildings Online.
   • The Parthenon replica in Nashville, TN.
   • Optional starting points for further study: Watch the History Channel documentaries linked to above, both of which explore the Parthenon.

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