Download or read book Shores of Knowledge New World Discoveries and the Scientific Imagination written by Joyce Appleby and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Uncommonly good…makes a compelling case that…intellectual curiosity not only changed Europe, but launched modernity." —Cleveland Plain Dealer When Columbus first returned to Spain from the Caribbean, he dazzled King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella with exotic parrots, tropical flowers, and bits of gold. Inspired by the promise of riches, countless seafarers poured out of the Iberian Peninsula and wider Europe in search of spices, treasure, and land. Many returned with strange tales of the New World. Curiosity began to percolate through Europe as the New World’s people, animals, and plants ruptured prior assumptions about the biblical description of creation. The Church, long fearful of challenges to its authority, could no longer suppress the mantra “Dare to know!” Noblemen began collecting cabinets of curiosities; soon others went from collecting to examining natural objects with fresh eyes. Observation led to experiments; competing conclusions triggered debates. The foundations for the natural sciences were laid as questions became more multifaceted and answers became more complex. Carl Linneaus developed a classification system and sent students around the globe looking for specimens. Museums, botanical gardens, and philosophical societies turned their attention to nature. National governments undertook explorations of the Pacific. Eminent historian Joyce Appleby vividly recounts the explorers’ triumphs and mishaps, including Magellan’s violent death in the Philippines; the miserable trek of the "new Argonauts" across the Andes on their mission to determine the true shape of the earth; and how two brilliant scientists, Alexander Humboldt and Charles Darwin, traveled to the Americas for evidence to confirm their hypotheses about the earth and its inhabitants. Drawing on detailed eyewitness accounts, Appleby also tells of the turmoil created in the all societies touched by the explorations. This sweeping, global story imbues the Age of Discovery with fresh meaning, elegantly charting its stimulation of the natural sciences, which ultimately propelled Western Europe toward modernity.
Download or read book Voyages and Visions written by Jaś Elsner and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 1999 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A much-needed contribution to the expanding interest in the history of travel and travel writing, Voyages and Visions is the first attempt to sketch a cultural history of travel from the sixteenth century to the present day. The essays address the theme of travel as a historical, literary and imaginative process, focusing on significant episodes and encounters in world history. The contributors to this collection include historians of art and of science, anthropologists, literary critics and mainstream cultural historians. Their essays encompass a challenging range of subjects, including the explorations of South America, India and Mexico; mountaineering in the Himalayas; space travel; science fiction; and American post-war travel fiction. Voyages and Visions is truly interdisciplinary, and essential reading for anyone interested in travel writing. With essays by Kasia Boddy, Michael Bravo, Peter Burke, Melissa Calaresu, Jesus Maria Carillo Castillo, Peter Hansen, Edward James, Nigel Leask, Joan-Pau Rubies and Wes Williams.
Download or read book Dami o de Gois written by Elisabeth Feist Hirsch and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars have given relatively little attention to sixteenth-century Portuguese humanism, although Portugal's vital influence on the humanistic thirst for learning has been readily acknowledged. Through her heroic explorations of distant lands and dangerous sea routes, Portugal infected many humanists with the excitement of discovery, none more than Damiao de Gois, Portuguese student of history. Gois, although generally little known, was - in his life and finally as a victim of the Inquisition in Portugal - thoroughly representative of the course of sixteenth-century Erasmian humanism in Portugal; in addition he deserves recognition in his own right as a contributor to modern historiography. Portugal's explorations and the atmosphere of passion for discovery that prevailed in Lisbon had as strong an influence on Gois during his early years as that of the school of Erasmus, the "prince of humanists" who was eventually to become his personal friend and guide. Gois's two great chronicles of the Portuguese kings John II and Ma nuel I culminated a life spent as diplomat, composer, art collector, articulate pleader for religious tolerance, and scrupulous student of history. A factual report of Gois's life - in the main outlines accurate but not complete - exists in Portuguese, and a short resume of his life has been published in English, but so far no full study has been available in any language.
Download or read book A History of Anthropological Theory written by Paul A. Erickson and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This overview of the history of anthropological theory provides a comprehensive history from antiquity through to the twenty-first century, with a focus on the twentieth century and beyond. Unlike other volumes, it also offers a four-field introduction to theory. As a stand-alone text, or used in conjunction with the companion volume Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, Erickson and Murphy offer a comprehensive, affordable, and contemporary introduction to anthropological theory. The third edition has been updated and fully revised throughout to closely parallel the presentation in the companion reader, making it easier to use both books in tandem. New original essays by contemporary theorists bring theories to life, and portraits of important theorists make it a handsome volume. Sources and suggested readings have been updated, and glossary definitions have been updated, streamlined, and standardized.
Download or read book The Italian 100 written by Stephen J. Spignesi and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An invaluable addition to the Citadel 100 series that ranks the most prominent Italian figures in history--from the Chairman of the Board to the Mayor of New York City Now more than ever, Americans have entered into a passionate love affair with all things Italian, from the world-changing adventures of Christopher Columbus to the drama of opera to Italian cinema to the epic family saga of The Sopranos. The Italian 100 chronicles the rich legacy of Italians and Italian-Americans in a ranking of the most influential 100 and the enduring nature of their contributions. The giants who immeasurably changed the size and shape of our world--Galileo (ranked #1), Christopher Columbus (#2), and Marconi (#3)--grace the top of the list, while artistic and literary giants such as Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Petrarch, and Dante feature prominently. Also profiled are the brilliant (and sometimes despotic) political leaders such as Niccolo Machiavelli, Lorenzo de' Medici, Garibaldi, Rudolph Giuliani, and Benito Mussolini, and geniuses of music, theater, and film such as Vivaldi, Puccini, Pavarotti, Fellini, Scorcese, and Sinatra. The Italian 100 also highlights less-familiar figures who have left legacies of equal magnitude, such as Guido of Arezzo, who invented the musical staff: Leonardo Fibonacci, who introduced Arabic numerals to the Western world, Saint Fabiola, the Roman matron credited with cofounding the first public hospital in Western Europe; and Bartolommeo Cristofori, inventor of the modern piano. Part cultural companion, part historical reference, and part celebration, The Italian 100 is a fresh and sometimes controversial look at a people who, throughout more than fifteencenturies, have had an enormous and profound effect on every aspect of the modern world.
Download or read book New Found Lands written by Peter Whitfield and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-22 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 1998. An exploration narrative can be a tale of adventure and endurance, a technical account of navigation and seamanship, or a political history of the overseas empires that were built up in the wake of the explorers. In New Found Lands, Peter Whitfield takes a different approach. By focusing on the maps that the explorers themselves used, Whitfield reveals how the both the explorers and their patrons understood their expanding world and their place in it, what they were seeking and how they thought they could achieve it, and how they integrated new knowledge into their evolving world view. The maps in New Found Lands present the geographical ideas of the time, making plain the power that came with increasing technical and geographical knowledge. They also serve as evocative and poignant reminders of the limited knowledge of these explorers. For up until very recent times, as these maps show, there have been areas of the world remaining to be explored and "new found lands" to discover. This lavishly illustrated book progresses chronologically, starting with the explorers of the ancient world, covering the East, the New World, the Pacific, Australia and the Modern Era. It will enrich our understanding of the voyages of discovery undertaken over the past 2000 years and will delight any map or history lover. Also inlcludes 150 color and black and white maps.
Download or read book Early Modern Tales of Orient written by Kenneth Parker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Download or read book A History of Anthropological Theory Fourth Edition written by Paul A. Erickson and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2013-04-26 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the latest edition of their popular overview text, Erickson and Murphy continue to provide a comprehensive, affordable, and accessible introduction to anthropological theory from antiquity to the present. A new section on twenty-first-century anthropological theory has been added, with more coverage given to postcolonialism, non-Western anthropology, and public anthropology. The book has also been redesigned to be more visually and pedagogically engaging. Used on its own, or paired with the companion volume Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory, Fourth Edition, this reader offers a flexible and highly useful resource for the undergraduate anthropology classroom. For additional resources, visit the "Teaching Theory" page at www.utpteachingculture.com.
Download or read book Who Do We Think We Are written by Philip Yale Nicholson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text offers a provocative explanation of the force and place of race in modern history, showing that race and nation have a linked history. The author seeks to show the close historical connection of race and nation as each interrelates with the other in shaping and carrying social and institutional practices over many centuries.
Download or read book Henry VII written by Stanley Bertram Chrimes and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founder of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII was a crucial figure in English history. In this acclaimed study of the king's life and reign, the distinguished historian S. B. Chrimes explores the circumstances surrounding Henry's acquisition of the throne, examines the personnel and machinery of government, and surveys the king's social, political, and economic policies, law enforcement, and foreign strategy. This edition of the book includes a new critical introduction and bibliographical updating by George Bernard.
Download or read book The Worlds of Christopher Columbus written by William D. Phillips and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Columbus was born in the mid-fifteenth century, Europe was largely isolated from the rest of the Old World - Africa and Asia - and ignorant of the existence of the world of the Western Hemisphere. The voyages of Christopher Columbus opened a period of European exploration and empire building that breached the boundaries of those isolated worlds and changed the course of human history. This book describes the life and times of Christopher Columbus on the 500th aniversary of his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. Since ancient times, Europeans had dreamed of discovering new routes to the untold riches of Asia and the Far East, what set Columbus apart from these explorers was his single-minded dedication to finding official support to make that dream a reality. More than a simple description of the man, this new book places Columbus in a very broad context of European and world history. Columbus's story is not just the story of one man's rise and fall. Seen in its broader context, his life becomes a prism reflecting the broad range of human experience for the past five hundred years. Respected historians of medieval Spain and early America, the authors examine Columbus's quest for funds, first in Portugal and then in Spain, where he finally won royal backing for his scheme. Through his successful voyage in 1492 and three subsequent journeys to the new world Columbus reached the pinnacle of fame and wealth, and yet he eventually lost royal support through his own failings. William and Carla Rahn Phillips discuss the reasons for this fall and describe the empire created by the Spaniards in the lands across the ocean, even though neither they, nor anyone else in Europe, know precisely where or what those lands were. In examining the birth of a new world, this book reveals much about the times that produced these intrepid explorers.
Download or read book Newton s Apple and Other Myths about Science written by Ronald L. Numbers and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-04 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Guardian “Favourite Reads—as Chosen by Scientists” Selection “Tackles some of science’s most enduring misconceptions.” —Discover A falling apple inspired Isaac Newton’s insight into the law of gravity—or did it really? Among the many myths debunked in this refreshingly irreverent book are the idea that alchemy was a superstitious pursuit, that Darwin put off publishing his theory of evolution for fear of public reprisal, and that Gregor Mendel was ahead of his time as a pioneer of genetics. More recent myths about particle physics and Einstein’s theory of relativity are discredited too, and a number of dubious generalizations, like the notion that science and religion are antithetical, or that science can neatly be distinguished from pseudoscience, go under the microscope of history. Newton’s Apple and Other Myths about Science brushes away popular fictions and refutes the widespread belief that science advances when individual geniuses experience “Eureka!” moments and suddenly grasp what those around them could never imagine. “Delightful...thought-provoking...Every reader should find something to surprise them.” —Jim Endersby, Science “Better than just countering the myths, the book explains when they arose and why they stuck.” —The Guardian
Download or read book Distant Lands and Diverse Cultures written by Glenn J. Ames and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2003-07-30 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Utilizing contemporary accounts of India, China, Siam and the Levant, this study provides rich detail about these exotic lands and explores the priorities that shaped and motivated these bold envoys and chroniclers. Ames and Love offer a fascinating look at the symbiotic nature of cross-cultural interaction between France and the major trading regions of the Indian Ocean basin during the 17th century. During this period of intense French interest in the rich trade and cultures of the region, Louis XIV and his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert in particular were concerned with encouraging French travelers, both clerical and lay, to explore and document these lands. Among the accounts included here are those of François Bernier, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, and François Pyrard. Because these accounts reflect as much about the structures and priorities of France as they do about the cultures they describe, Ames and Love hope their analysis bridges the gap between studies on early modern France and those on the major Asiatic countries of the same period. Their findings challenge the current thinking in the study of early modern France by demonstrating that overseas expansion to Asia was of considerable importance and interest to all segments of French society. Specialists in traditional internal French history will find much in this study of European expansion to complement and supplement their research.
Download or read book Handbook for History Teachers written by W. H. Burston dec'd and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-24 with total page 931 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1972, Handbook for History Teachers is intended to be a general and comprehensive work of reference for teachers of history in primary and secondary schools of all kinds. The book covers all aspects of teaching history: among them are the use of sources, world history, art and history; principles of constructing a syllabus and the psychological aspects of history teaching. The bibliographical sections are arranged on three parts: school textbooks, a section on audio-visual-aids and, finally, books for the teacher and possibly for the sixth form. It thoroughly investigates and critiques the various methods employed in teaching history within classrooms and suggests alternatives wherever applicable. Diligently curated by the Standing Sub-Committee in History, University of London Institute of Education, the book still holds immense value in the understanding of pedagogy.
Download or read book Moorings written by Josiah Blackmore and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delving into the Portuguese imperial experience, 'Moorings' enriches our understanding of historical and literary imagination during a significant period of Western expansion.
Download or read book The Great Ages of Discovery written by Stephen J. Pyne and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2021-02-23 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than 600 years, Western civilization has relied on exploration to learn about a wider world and universe. The Great Ages of Discovery details the different eras of Western exploration in terms of its locations, its intellectual contexts, the characteristic moral conflicts that underwrote encounters, and the grand gestures that distill an age into its essence. Historian and MacArthur Fellow Stephen J. Pyne identifies three great ages of discovery in his fascinating new book. The first age of discovery ranged from the early 15th to the early 18th century, sketched out the contours of the globe, aligned with the Renaissance, and had for its grandest expression the circumnavigation of the world ocean. The second age launched in the latter half of the 18th century, spanning into the early 20th century, carrying the Enlightenment along with it, pairing especially with settler societies, and had as its prize achievement the crossing of a continent. The third age began after World War II, and, pivoting from Antarctica, pushed into the deep oceans and interplanetary space. Its grand gesture is Voyager’s passage across the solar system. Each age had in common a galvanic rivalry: Spain and Portugal in the first age, Britain and France—followed by others—in the second, and the USSR and USA in the third. With a deep and passionate knowledge of the history of Western exploration, Pyne takes us on a journey across hundreds of years of geographic trekking. The Great Ages of Discovery is an interpretive companion to what became Western civilization’s quest narrative, with the triumphs and tragedies that grand journey brought, the legacies of which are still very much with us.
Download or read book Exploring the Interior written by Karl S. Guthke and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2018-05-24 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fascinating collection of essays Harvard Emeritus Professor Karl S. Guthke examines the ways in which, for European scholars and writers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, world-wide geographical exploration led to an exploration of the self. Guthke explains how in the age of Enlightenment and beyond intellectual developments were fuelled by excitement about what Ulrich Im Hof called "the grand opening-up of the wide world”, especially of the interior of the non-European continents. This outward turn was complemented by a fascination with "the world within” as anthropology and ethnology focused on the humanity of the indigenous populations of far-away lands – an interest in human nature that suggested a way for Europeans to understand themselves, encapsulated in Gauguin’s Tahitian rumination "What are we?” The essays in the first half of the book discuss first- or second-hand, physical or mental encounters with the exotic lands and populations beyond the supposed cradle of civilisation. The works of literature and documents of cultural life featured in these essays bear testimony to the crossing not only of geographical, ethnological, and cultural borders but also of borders of a variety of intellectual activities and interests. The second section examines the growing interest in astronomy and the engagement with imagined worlds in the universe, again with a view to understanding homo sapiens, as compared now to the extra-terrestrials that were confidently assumed to exist. The final group of essays focuses on the exploration of the landscape of what was called "the universe within”; featuring, among a variety of other texts, Schiller’s plays The Maid of Orleans and William Tell, these essays observe and analyse what Erich Heller termed "The Artist’s Journey into the Interior.” This collection, which travels from the interior of continents to the interior of the mind, is itself a set of explorations that revel in the discovery of what was half-hidden in language. Written by a scholar of international repute, it is eye-opening reading for all those with an interest in the literary and cultural history of (and since) the Enlightenment.
