HPS225H1

Remaking the Past: The Re-creation and Re-enactment of Science and Technology

One path to understanding the knowledge of the past is by attempting to re-create it. From rebuilding and sailing ancient sea vessels to reenacting scientific experiments, re-creation is used to investigate past approaches to technology and science. Using such methods, researchers seek to understand what was known, and also to experience how it was known. But, a persistent question remains: are authentic experiences truly possible across distances of time and culture? The course surveys several academic domains to explore how an array of approaches to re-creation are used and understood. As a term assignment, participants will design and share their own hypothetical re-creation project.