Schedule

Weekly Schedule:

Weeks are referred to by the Sunday that begins it. Major course assignments are (generally) due on Mondays while weekly memes are due on Fridays. You should aim to be finished with each week’s learning and participation activities by Saturday.

Aug 24th, Week One:
Learn
  1. read syllabus (this website)
  2. read AHA History Tuning Project: 2016 History Discipline Core
  3. watch week 1 lecture videos
  4. watch week 1 Slack and ImgFlip tutorial video
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. complete the “Getting Started” Canvas module, which includes the following activities:
    • join the class Slack instance
    • post an introduction to #class-participation in Slack – include your preferred name, pronouns, and why you signed up for this course (“I need it to graduate” is a valid reason!)
    • fill out your grade contract
    • take the syllabus review quiz (open book/notes/website and you can repeat the quiz until you pass it!)
  3. OPTIONAL: sign up for a free password manager, e.g. LastPass, Keeper Security, 1Password
Aug 31st, Week Two:
Learn
  1. read Roy Rosenzweig, “Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past,” The Journal of American History 93, no. 1 (2006), 117-146.
  2. watch week 2 lecture videos
  3. watch week 2 Wikipedia tutorial videos
  4. watch week 2 research tutorial videos
  5. OPTIONAL: read Liba Taub, Ancient Greek and Roman Science: A Very Short Introduction
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. create and fill out your Wikipedia user account
    • choose a username and create your account
    • create your “user page” and update it with some of your historical (and other) interests
    • post a link to your user page to #class-participation
  3. read 3-5 of your classmates’ user pages and reply to their Slack posts noting areas where your interests overlap with theirs
Sept 7, Week Three:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Introduction (ix-xiv)
  2. watch week 3 lecture videos
  3. watch week 3 TimelineJS tutorial videos
  4. OPTIONAL: check out this in-development website on medieval finger counting, https://www.fingercounting.com/
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. pick a Wikipedia article on some aspect of 1400-1800 science and post a one paragraph analysis of it to #class-participation
    • how did the article originate? How do the form and structure of the current article relate to earlier versions of the article?
    • how many times has the article been edited? How many of those edits have been reverted? Have there been any major editing controversies?  If so, why do you think they happened?
    • what kinds of sources are cited? How old are they?  Who were their authors? Are the same sources cited repeatedly? Are there any patterns you can see in the types of sources being cited?
    • be sure to include a permalink to the page you analyzed
  3. add your Wikipedia article to the class timeline
    • make sure to include a date and the link to the article
    • take a screenshot of your date/article displayed on the timeline and upload the image to #class-participation
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Wikipedia – add article citation – due TUES, September 8*
  2. Wikipedia – add article image – due TUES, September 8*
Sept 14, Week Four:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapters 1 and 2 (5-41)
  2. read Mauricio Onetto, “The habitability of our planet“
  3. watch week 4 lecture videos
  4. watch week 4 Google Maps videos
  5. OPTIONAL: explore the Map of Early Modern London project
  6. OPTIONAL: John A. Matthews, David T. Herbert, Geography: A Very Short Introduction
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. add a point to our shared “Dream Vacations” Google Maps
    • add a label, change the color, and update the icon on your point
    • take a screenshot of your point and upload the image to #class-participation
  3. look at 3-5 of your classmates’ dream vacation spot posts and reply or add emoji
Assignment(s) Due
  1. TimelineJS – publish your own timeline – due Mon, September 14
Sept 21, Week Five:
Learn
  1. read Sarah Werner, “A practical look at the Practical Science of Printing“ and “Finding women in the printing shop“
  2. watch week 5 lecture videos
  3. explore the Folger Shakespeare Library’s DIY Quarto (if you have easy printer access, try to make your own quarto!)
  4. OPTIONAL: read Caroline Duroselle Melish “A red proof sheet used as printer’s waste“
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. play Adventures in Illuminating then post your results to #class-participation
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Mapping – create point – due Mon, September 21*
Sept 28, Week Six:
Learn
  1. read Jessica Otis, “History of Pre-Modern Mathematics” then watch all three counting board videos displayed on the page under “primary sources” (addition/subtraction, multiplication, and division)
  2. read Ray Schrire, “The Mystery of Humphrey Walcot’s grocery bill and early-modern popular numeracy“
  3. watch week 6 lecture videos
  4. watch week 6 Omeka tutorial videos
  5. OPTIONAL: read Jessica Otis, “‘Set Them to the Cyphering Schoole’: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetical Education, circa 1540-1700,” Journal of British Studies 56, no 3 (July 2017), doi: 1017/jbr.2017.59 (if you are off campus, this can be accessed via the GMU Libraries)
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. create an Omeka item with a picture of an animal (your pet or a random internet animal) and post it to #class-participation
    • be sure to fill out all the appropriate metadata
    • be sure to make the item *public*
    • add it to the “Awesome Animals” collection
  3. look at 3-5 of your classmates’ items and reply or add emoji to their Slack posts
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Mapping – create line or polygon – due Mon, September 28
  2. Mapping – create layers – due Mon, September 28
Oct 5, Week Seven:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 3 (42-60) and 6 (101-120)
  2. read John Dee’s Mathematical Preface to the English translation of Euclid
  3. watch week 7 lecture videos
  4. OPTIONAL: read Jacqueline Stedall, The History of Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. collaboratively transcribe a price list for maintaining a group of armed men in English (Lesson 11 in English Handwriting 1500-1700: An Online Course)
    • the first person to post to #class-participation should transcribe the first item in the list
    • check the Slack channel to determine which lines are next and continue transcribing from there (if someone gets to your lines before you post, reply to their post as if you were following the instructions immediately below)
    • once all the lines are transcribed, the next transcribers should return to the beginning of the document and post their transcriptions as a reply to whoever first transcribed those lines, making note of the places where you differed and offering your opinion as to which of the transcriptions makes the most sense
    • need a hint? the “About this Hand” section on the side gives you some and the AZ and az buttons at the bottom will provide some sample letters
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Omeka – create image item – due Mon, October 6*
Oct 12, Week Eight:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 10 (168-186)
  2. read Katherine Walker, “Almanacs as Underdogs“
  3. skim Hopton 1607. An Almanack and Prognostication [EEBO, sorry about the print quality]
  4. watch week 8 lecture videos
  5. OPTIONAL: Michael Hoskin, The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. post something interesting you noticed about the Hopton almanac to #class-participation
  3. look at 3-5 of your classmates’ posts and reply or add emoji
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Omeka – create iframe embedded item – due TUES, October 13
  2. Omeka – create exhibit – due TUES, October 13
Oct 19, Week Nine:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 11 and 12 (187-220)
  2. read Abbie Weinberg, “From comet tales to bear tails“
  3. read Galileo, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina
  4. watch week 9 lecture videos
  5. OPTIONAL: read Meli, Chapter 18 and 19 (304-334)
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. observe the moon
    1. go outside with a telescope/binoculars (or in a pinch a zoomed in camera)
    2. compare what you can see of the moon with you eyes vs. the telescope
    3. post in #class-participation about if/how your experience of how having a telescope changes your observations
  3. OPTIONAL: try to build your own telescope! there’s lots of DIY instructions on the internet, if you make one add to your #class-participation post about how it worked (or didn’t)
Oct 26, Week Ten:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 4 and 5 (61-100)
  2. read Edward Topsell, Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes, 1607 (EEBO, GMU login required, pick 3 entries)
  3. explore the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Before Farm to Table: Foodways exhibits (British Manuscript Recipe Books; Globalization and the Spice Trade; Colonization, Sugar, and Enslavement)
  4. skim some of the Folger Shakespeare Library’s culinary and medical Recipe Books
  5. watch week 10 lecture videos
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. post something interesting you read about a four-footed beast from Topsell; indicate if it is true or false and why you think Topsell would (or wouldn’t) have known about it
  3. look at 3-5 of your classmates’ posts and reply or add emoji
  4. OPTIONAL: experiment with modernized versions of early modern food recipes (Linked via Webpage) or (PDF) and tell us in #class-participation how it goes
  5. OPTIONAL: are you and/or members of your family dressing up for Halloween? if so, brag about or post a picture of your costume(s)!
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Work plan (one paragraph on expected topic/method, plus a timeline with division of responsibilities if appropriate) – due Mon, October 26
Nov 2, Week Eleven:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 13 and 14 (221-262)
  2. watch week 11 lecture videos
  3. explore the Death by Numbers website*
  4. play this text-based game – can you survive the Great Plague of London? (~15 minutes)*
  5. OPTIONAL: read Meli, Chapter 22 and 23 (369-406)
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. post an interesting or weird way to die you found on Death by Numbers to #class-participation*
    • if the death is listed in the site’s Death Dictionary, add the definition
    • if the death is some sort of accident, murder, etc., speculate on how/why it might have happened
  3. look at 3-5 of your classmates’ posts and reply or add emoji*
  4. post in #class-participation about your (mis)adventures and if you survived!*

* if you would like to opt out of discussions of death, just send me a Slack message and consider yourself excused from these assignments

Assignment(s) Due
  1. Annotated bibliography (you don’t need to have read everything yet!) – due Mon, November 2
Nov 9, Week Twelve:
Learn
  1. read Meli Chapter 7 (121-136) and 15 (263-278)
  2. watch week 12 lecture videos
  3. OPTIONAL: read William H. Brock, The History of Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
  4. OPTIONAL: read Meli Chapter 20 and 21 (335-368)
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. send Dr. Otis a DM in Slack (or an email if you prefer) about how you’re feeling / doing as we head into the last month of the course
Nov 16, Week Thirteen:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 9 (149-167) and 17 (289-303)
  2. watch week 13 lecture videos
  3. explore mentions of the weather in the Diary of Samuel Pepys (use keyword search to help you find diary entries)
  4. explore the Weather Extremes in Englands Little Ice Age project and read this analysis of the project
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. post a summary of a time the weather affected (or didn’t) Pepys’ daily life and link to the associated diary entry in #class-participation
  3. look at 3-5 of your classmates’ posts and reply or add emoji
Nov 23/30*, Week Fourteen/Fifteen:
Learn
  1. read Meli, Chapter 8 (137-147), 16 (279-287), and Final Reflections (417-426)
  2. read Pamela H. Smith, “Science on the Move: Recent Trends in the History of Early Modern Science“
  3. watch week 14-15 lecture videos
  4. OPTIONAL: read Meli, Chapter 24 (407-416)
Participate
  1. post a meme based on this week’s learning activities
  2. fill out your course evaluation and post to #class-participation when you’ve completed it
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Final project (finished product) – due Mon, November 30

* due to Thanksgiving break, this module runs over 2 weeks

Dec 7, Week Sixteen:
Learn
  1. finish up the learning activities from previous weeks that you haven’t already completed
Participate
  1. post your favorite thing you learned or did this semester to #class-participation
Assignment(s) Due
  1. Project reflection – due Mon, December 7
Final exam

Monday, December 14th, 11:59pm