Janux videos available

Posted on June 21, 2014 by

Cross-posted from ouhos.org

A series of “From the vault” videos is now available from OU’s Janux platform. These short videos, filmed on location by NextThought in the OU History of Science Collections, show rare treasures for a given topic along with a concisely-worded comment or story. Think of them as behind-the-scenes moments in a tour of the rare book vaults. Most are only 5-10 minutes long. They are not recorded lectures; rather than offering comprehensive information about a subject, they are designed to appeal to the imagination, to awaken interest in the history of science by conveying something of the physical presence of the rare books themselves. For this reason, they may be useful as auxiliary instructional resources for other courses across the various natural sciences including physics, astronomy, medicine, biology, geology, meteorology, chemistry, mathematics and engineering, as well as in humanities disciplines such as history, art, literature and the history of science.

Camille Flammarion, L'Atmosphere: Météorologie Populaire (Paris, 1888), p. 163. Colorized by Susanna J. Magruder. Courtesy History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries.To access the videos, go to janux.ou.edu, and look in the Archive section for the History of Science to the Age of Newton course (HSCI 3013). As noted here previously, the course was offered in the 2014 spring semester, but the videos are still accessible to anyone by registering for the free version of the course. (The course icon, “Boldly go…,” may help you spot it quickly.) Within the course in the Janux platform, click the Lessons tab to view course content arranged week by week. The outline below will help you quickly find the videos of interest to you.

Have an iPad? A Janux app makes accessing the videos a breeze.

The numbers in the outline below are discontinuous; only the “From the Vault” videos (FTV) for each weekly unit are included. Not listed below (but equally accessible) are companion videos, filmed in a studio setting, which for each week’s topic invite students to consider what they know of the cultural context (“Starting Assumptions”) and to engage thought-provoking points of view (“Interpretations”).

  1. Week 1, Exploring the Past
    • 1.1 Orientation
      • Science is a Story (1:55 mins)
      • Welcome: Crossing Cultures, Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries (7:57 mins)
    • 1.3 Stonehenge (17:30 mins)
    • 1.4 Shape of the Earth (9:08 mins)
  2. Week 2, Origins of Ancient Astronomy
    • 2.2 Astronomy in Ancient Mesopotamia (4:31 mins)
  3. Week 3, Science in Ancient Egypt and the Aegean
    • 3.2 Ancient Egyptian science (3:45 mins)
    • 3.3 Presocratic Natural Philosophy (2:35 mins)
  4. Week 4, Ancient Greek science
    • 4.2 Pythagoras and Plato (5:03 mins)
    • 4.3 Aristotle (3:58 mins)
  5. Week 5, Hellenistic science
    • 5.2 Hellenistic mathematical sciences (4:01 mins)
    • 5.3 Hellenistic medicine (2:24 mins)
  6. Week 6, Roman science
    • 6.2 Early Roman science (7:42 mins)
    • 6.3 Later Roman science (9:55 mins)
  7. Week 7, Islamic and Early Medieval science
    • 7.2 Islamic science (21:15 mins)
    • 7.3 Early Medieval science (5:04 mins)
  8. Week 8, 14th-century science
    • 8.2 14th-century science (4:05 mins)
    • 8.3 Theories of the Earth (12:14 mins)
  9. Week 9, 15th-century science
    • 9.2 The Printing Revolution (17:01 mins)
    • 9.3 Science and Art from Leonardo to Galileo (4:05 mins)
  10. Week 10, 16th-century Life sciences
    • 10.2 16th-century Medicine (7:13 mins)
    • 10.3 16th-century Natural History (9:23 mins)
  11. Week 11, 16th-century Astronomy
    • 11.2 Astronomy before Copernicus (see Dive Deeper instructions)
    • 11.2 Astronomy after Copernicus (see Dive Deeper instructions)
  12. Week 12, Science in Asia
    • 12.2 Science in Pre-modern Asia (4:26 mins)
    • 12.3 European and Chinese collaboration in the age of Galileo (5:24 mins)
  13. Week 13, Galileo
    • 13.2 Galileo’s works (9:06 mins)
    • 13.3 The Galileo Affair (9:30 mins)
  14. Week 14, 17th-century science
    • 14.2 Competing paradigms (FTV not yet available)
    • 14.3 The Meaning of science (FTV not yet available)
  15. Week 15, Newton
    • 15.2 Newton’s works (FTV not yet available)
    • 15.3 Janus faces (FTV not yet available)

Send questions or comments about the videos to hsci3013@ou.edu.

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This is an ongoing effort and collaboration between NextThought and OU. Yet convenience of access is paramount for me. So I’m hoping that they’ll soon make these videos available through youTube and iTunes U in addition to the Janux app on the App Store.

Posted in History of Science | 3 Comments

Theology and intellectual history video timeline

Posted on June 21, 2014 by

St John's College, NottinghamSt. John’s College in Nottingham, which serves many students preparing for ordination in the Church of England, announces their mission as follows:

“Our core purpose is to inspire creative Christian learning marked by evangelical conviction, theological excellence, and charismatic life, that those who train with us might be equipped for mission in the world of change…”

In a remarkable ongoing project, under the leadership of Tim Hull, they are creating three video timelines, devoted to:

  • the Old Testament,
  • the New Testament, and to
  • Faith and Modernity

Each Timeline is accessed via subscription (only 15 pounds per year) from their website. Home page: http://www.stjohnstimeline.co.uk

For example, the Faith and Modernity Timeline surveys theology and intellectual history from Augustine to the present, promising to become a chronological, multimedia encyclopedia of faith and thought. Here are four examples of videos included on this timeline:

1. Tom Greggs on Karl Barth and Contemporary Theology:


(See also Greggs’ introduction to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.)

2. James Hannam on Galileo, the Catholic Church, and medieval science:

3. Russell Remanning on Natural Theology:

4. Tim Hull on “Faith and Reason, Yesterday and Today”:

The full videos are around an hour long. Half-hour condensed versions like these are available for free on their youTube channel. (I could not find them on iTunes U; hopefully they will consider adding the most convenient means of distribution for iOS users.)

The project consists not just of the videos, but of the Timeline platform that organizes them. The Timeline architecture supports many handy features, explained here.

A version of the Timeline platform designed for iPad is in development, explained here.

To support this ongoing effort, I’ve subscribed now to both the New Testament and Faith and Modernity Timelines.

Convenience of access, rather than cost, is paramount for me, so I’m hoping that they’ll soon make the Timelines available through the App Store or iTunes, as I would then be able to make far better use of them for my own study and reflection.

Many thanks, Tim Hull and St. John’s, Nottingham, for this excellent resource!

Posted in History of Science, Theology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Time capsule

Posted on May 12, 2014 by

Truman Time Capsule

“Who could have imagined 60 years ago all that was to come? For one particular sophomore on campus, the summer of 1954 was shaping up to be pretty exciting…”

Thanks, Laura, for telling this story on your blog!

See KTVO channel 3’s version of the story, with video, here.

Posted in Family | 1 Comment

All at Sea

Posted on March 2, 2014 by

For an “All at Sea” murder mystery game last night, our house became a ship at sea in 1914, filled with more than 25 role-playing guests.

All at Sea
Hannah did it!

All at Sea

All at Sea

All at Sea

All at Sea

All at Sea
Candace played the host

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Sleet and thundersnow

Posted on March 2, 2014 by

This morning we’ve enjoyed the sleet and thundersnow. Area schools have already been canceled for tomorrow; we’re still waiting for word from OU. Meanwhile, we recall the following video:

Susanna in the snow
Susanna in the snow

Susanna, Hannah and Rebekah in the snow

Sleet waterfall
Sleet waterfall

Posted in Family | Leave a comment

Happy Valentine’s!

Posted on February 14, 2014 by

Robert Sabuta, Saint ValentineOne of our favorite Valentine’s Day traditions, ever since 1993, is to read this beautifully illustrated story of Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda. The origins of Valentine’s Day are murky, and there are many persons named Valentinus we might choose to remember, including an important gnostic theologian. Sabuda follows the hagiographic tradition of another Valentinus, an Italian bishop through whom a blind girl was healed. Our family’s annual reacquaintance with this story, as our daughters have grown up reading this beautiful illustrated storybook each year, has surely added greater meaning for us in appreciating this day.

As Joe Tkach says in the video above, “Enjoy the holiday with those closest to you by doing something special, but more importantly reassure them of your love daily.”

Just as an aside, chocolate is a much better way to reassure your valentine than sending some e-cards.

Remember, beans are vegetables. Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. It’s always good to eat your veggies, particularly on Valentine’s day!

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Posted in Holidays | Leave a comment

Grateful

Posted on January 26, 2014 by

Thanksgiving Song

At our Christmas feast, December 25, 2013, we were gathered with family from near and far in my parents’ home in northeast Missouri. Candace, Rachel, Hannah and Susanna worked up this arrangement of the “Thanksgiving Song,” by Mary Chapin Carpenter, which represented our feelings perfectly.

The song is from one of my favorite Christmas albums, Come Darkness, Come Light . Below are the lyrics (as sung above, with two lines revised). SSA arrangement from sheetmusicplus.com.

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Thanksgiving Song

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Grateful for each hand we hold

Gathered round this table.

From far and near we travel home,

Blessed that we are able.

Grateful for this sheltered place

With light in every window,

Saying welcome, welcome, share this feast

Come in away from sorrow.

Father, mother, daughter, son,

Neighbor, friend and friendless;

All together everyone, in the gift of loving-kindness.

Grateful for what’s understood,

And all that is forgiven;
life together, grace so good,
love that keeps on giving.

Father, mother, daughter, son,

Neighbor, friend, and friendless;

All together everyone, let grateful days be endless.

Grateful for each hand we hold

Gathered round this table.

Mary Chapin Carpenter - Come Darkness, Come Light

Posted in Family, Holidays | Tagged , | 1 Comment