Hum/H 38 - Leonardo da Vinci & Co.: How to Understand Technological Invention in the Long Renaissance

How do we understand technology? How do we define technological invention? How does technological innovation circulate? This course explores major technological achievements across different historical contexts, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean world between the 14th and 17th centuries. It also examines processes of technological transfer among Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. We will investigate how technological innovations emerged, circulated, interacted, and shaped societies-as well as new ideas in science. Analyzing the concept of invention will be especially useful in critically assessing traditional narratives of rupture-such as the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution-as well as narratives of continuity in the development of scientific knowledge and technology. Students will take part in collaborative projects, including 3D-printing historical tools and machines. They will also work with sources from special collections in libraries, museums, and archives.