AP European History
Dr. Lavoie
Module 2.1 - Reading Guide 2
The Rise of Empiricism
Textbook reading Due Today:
 Textbook: Kagan 215-221
Key Terms: (bold and italicized terms are from the AP Key Terms List)
 Royal Academy of London
 Margaret Cavendish
 Maria Cunitz
 Maria Winkelman
 Emilie du Chatele
Questions to Consider
1. In what ways did the thinking of the Scientific Revolution differ from the earlier
innovations of Renaissance Humanism and the Reformation? What challenges did this
present to scholars who wished to cooperate with each other?
2. What new institutions did scholars develop to cooperate and communicate with each
other during the Scientific Revolution?
3. What social, political, and economic functions did scientific societies play in the 17th
century (apart from spreading scientific knowledge itself)?
4. What reasons account for the rarity of women among the scholars of the Scientific
Revolution. Under what conditions might women manage to pursue science?
Source Reading due today
 Primary Sources (in Kagan):
o Cavendish on Scientific Instruments (p. 220)
o Swift on Scientific Societies (p. 223)
 Secondary Source (handout)
o No Scientific Revolution for Women
Questions to Consider
1. Why does Cavendish criticize the fascination with scientific instruments?
2. What are the terms of Swifts satire on scientific societies? Would Cavendish agree
with his critiques?
3. Why do Anderson and Zinsser claim there was “no scientific revolution” for women?
How does this balance with the examples given in the textbook?
In Class Activities:
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WITNITT – Querelle des femmes
Primary source discussion – Cavendish and Swift
DBQ practice – Women in Science DBQ