HHS 466 Water, Wind and Steam: Engineering From 1400-1750
This course is a social and cultural history of engineering in the early modern era, the 15th, 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries. Through a series of case studies involving lecture, reading, and discussion, the course will examine the technical, economic, political, ideological, and cultural factors that can influence the contents, direction, location, and rhythm of engineering innovation. Particular attention will be paid to the emergence of science-based engineering in early modern Europe, and the conditions that were going to lead to its spread throughout the world during the modern period. This course complements HHS 465, from "Caves to Cathedrals: Engineering Until 1500" and "Engineering Empire from 1700 to the Present," but none of these courses is a prerequisite for any of the others.