Cosmology and Cultures

Project Home Page

• What is Cosmology? (below, this page)
• What is the Cosmology and Cultures project? (below, this page)
  • Unit 1: Native American
  • Unit 2: Ancient Nonwestern
  • Unit 3: Greco-Roman
  • Unit 4: Medieval and Islamic
  • Unit 5: Early Modern and Modern
• Project Consultants and how to apply
• Timetable

What is Cosmology?

Cosmology in the broadest sense encompasses the nature and physical structure of the universe:

• How large is the universe?
• What is it made of?
• What is it like?
• What is the human place within it?

Throughout history, conceptions of the heavens have both shaped and mirrored human culture. The intellectual and cultural mapping of these conceptions expresses the spirit of various cultures as clearly as any work of art. Cosmic visions, past and present, are a powerful catalyst for cultural reflection and social transformation.

What is the Cosmology and Cultures project?

The Cosmology and Cultures curriculum project is funded by a $50,000 grant from the American Council of Learned Societies as part of a program on "Innovation and Vitality in Contemporary Liberal Education," sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The Cosmology and Cultures project explores both historical and contemporary ways of thinking about cosmological issues through fifteen or more programs arranged in a five-unit series. The Cosmology and Cultures project will develop about three or more programs for each of the five units. The five units and examples of possible programs for each are summarized in the following table.

Unit (click for sample materials)	Sample Programs
1. Native American cosmologies	•Medicine Wheels: Rock Calendars of the Sun, Moon, and Stars •Stories of the Earth and Sky
2. Ancient Nonwestern cosmologies	•Mathematical Astronomy in Ancient Mesopotamia •Egyptian Astronomy, and Coffin-lid Star Clocks •Sanskrit Cosmology •Chinese Cosmology
3. Greco-Roman cosmologies	•The Spherical Earth •Plutarch's On the Face in the Moon •Measuring Earth, Sun, and Moon
4. Medieval and Islamic cosmologies	•Islamic Cosmology •Dante's Universe •Chaucer's Astrolabe •Medieval Views of the Plurality of Worlds
5. Early Modern and Modern cosmologies	•Kepler's Cosmic Harmony •The Newtonian Universe •The Shape of the Milky Way •Cosmic Visions: C. S. Lewis' science fiction •Plurality of Worlds: Fontenelle to H.G. Wells
Series finalé	A feature planetarium show, Cosmology at the threshold of the next Millenium, will conclude the series with retrospective highlights of each unit (organized as vignettes of the state of astronomy and cosmology at the end of past millenia from 4000 B.C. to the present), culminating with prospective assessments of how the perspectives of various cultures and periods illuminate current views of future human life in space.

The exact topics and precise nature of these programs will depend on the contributions of the Project Consultants (see Timetable). Each program within each unit will consist of a planetarium show combined with supporting educational materials and instructional resources for use before, during, and after the planetarium visit.

Instructional Materials

What instructional materials will support the five Cosmology and Cultures unit topics?

Each planetarium show will integrate automated multi-media presentations with live, personally-guided active-learning projects suited for the specific audience (such as using model astrolabes in the dome). Each program will include curricular materials for both pre-visit and post-visit instruction, such as teachers' workshop manuals, lesson plans, context essays, and other ancillary materials. These instructional resources will be distributed as web pages for convenient remote access and printing by students, teachers, and families.

• Click each topic in the table above for sample educational materials specific to that topic.
• General instructional resources (to be developed for all units) include:
  1. Lesson plans for pre-visit and post-visit activities, including explanations of essential background material and recommended sources of further information.
  2. Context Packets describing the culture's art, literature, and philosophical perspectives where relevant, exploring how these reflected cosmological themes. Significant cultural contexts will be integrated into all of the astronomical activities listed below. The Mabee-Gerrer art museum will be utilized whenever possible; e.g., for Egyptian and medieval artifacts.
  3. Slides, sample student handouts, and overhead masters for classroom use.

The planetarium shows will be designed in various developmentally-appropriate versions for elementary, secondary, university and general public audiences. OBU's planetarium systems allow the creation of modular planetarium shows, so that one may "cut and paste" segments appropriate to particular audiences to create coherent age-specific or background-specific presentations.

Project rationale

OBU's Cosmology and Cultures project seeks to bridge a gap between the traditional liberal arts and the natural sciences by exploring the relations between scientific knowledge and the broader dimensions of human culture. The project involves the active participation of faculty across the curriculum, and employs leading-edge planetarium technology combined with a variety of instructional resources.

OBU is one of the few universities in the midwest with a planetarium dedicated to science instruction in an undergraduate liberal arts context. The multi-media theater features a Goto GS-T star projector and includes state-of-the-art auxiliary systems (cf. technical specifications). The Cosmology and Cultures series will introduce participants of all ages to past and present perspectives on the Earth's place in the heavens and to the interaction of cultural and intellectual factors which helped shape those views.

Related Pages

Timetable

Consultants needed. How to Apply.

• Applications will be accepted through January 31, 1998.
• Final announcement of project consultants will be made no later than February 7, 1998.

How will the Cosmology and Cultures project affect me?

GNSC 312: History and Philosophy of Science to Newton

The Spring 1998 offering of this course, team-taught by the co-directors, will emphasize the topics of the Cosmology and Cultures project.

References

The Cosmology and Cultures project emblem is not a medieval woodcut...

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©1997 Welcome to the OBU Planetarium web site. These pages have been written by the Planetarium Director, Kerry Magruder; the Unified Studies Natural Science Coordinator, Mike Keas; and the students who work in the planetarium.

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Project co-directors:

• Kerry Magruder, Planetarium Director, Home page or Email
• Mike Keas, Unified Studies Natural Sciences Coordinator, Home page
  • Primary Email: mike_keas@mail.okbu.edu
  • Secondary Email: Newtonkeas@aol.com

Related Web Pages:

• Constellations
• Basic Celestial Phenomena
• OBU Planetarium
• Unified Studies Natural Science
• Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
• Oklahoma Baptist University