HISTORY 235D: The Trial of Galileo: Science, Politics, and Religion (HISTORY 335D, ITALIAN 233, ITALIAN 333, RELIGST 235X)
In 1633, the Italian mathematician Galileo was tried and condemned by the Roman Inquisition for advocating that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the cosmos. The Catholic Church did not formally admit that Galileo was right until 1992. Examines the many factors that led to the trial of Galileo and looks at multiple perspectives on this signal event in the history of science, politics, and religion. Considers the nature and definition of intellectual heresy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and examines the writings of Galileo's infamous predecessor Giordano Bruno (burned at the stake in 1600). Looks closely at the trial documents and related literature to explore the many different histories that can be produced from Galileo's trial. What, in the end, were the crimes of Galileo? Seminar meets regularly in Special Collections to give students hands-on experience of rare books and manuscripts, including Galileo's own works.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
Instructors:
Findlen, P. (PI)
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