World History

Review essay. Toward the end of the semester, you will select three histories of science and technology published over the last century from the list below, with a balance between earlier and more recent works. You will then write a review essay on all three, critiquing their explicit or implicit assumptions and formal structure, and synthesizing your views as they have evolved over the semester. What is each author’s definition of science, and of the West? Are their historiographies openly eurocentric and teleological, and if so, how do they justify this choice? What do they include and exclude, and why? Do you see any shift in how the history of science and technology has been taught between the 20th century and the 21st? How do you think it should be taught going forward? Your selection of three works must be made by 22 October, and checked out from the library or ordered through ILL by then as well; you may discuss potential choices with me during office hours or by email. Review essays should be around 4,000 words in length, single-spaced, with one-inch margins and a clean 12-point font (i.e., about seven pages, excluding bibliography), and will be graded for both style and substance—a messy text is the surest sign of messy thinking. They are due via Blackboard in doc format on 22 November by 11:59 p.m. No penalties will be levied for late essays, but I will only provide feedback on those turned in by the deadline. This feedback is to your advantage, as you have the option of revising your essay once for a better grade. Revised versions are to be submitted online via Blackboard in doc format. The final cutoff point after which no essays will be accepted or regraded is 8 December at 11:59 p.m. Above is the prompt for my essay. I have the three chosen books that I have to use for my essay below: Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-1800, rev. ed. (New York: The Free Press, 1957). James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn, Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction, 2nd ed. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006). William E. Burns, Knowledge and Power: Science in World History, 2nd ed. (New Yo