4 pages

1910 9.0 Science and the Humanities

F/W 2014-2015

Essay I Assignment

Due Date:

By 11:00pm on Nov 3, 2014. Essays can be submitted from Oct 27 to Nov 3. Essays

are to be submitted through the Moodle course website

Length: 4 pp (approximately 1000 words)

In her introduction to Fontenelle’s Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds, Nina

Rattner Gelbart writes that Fontenelle’s “…genius for inventing apt similes and

analogies…, for explaining natural philosophy in terms of everyday thoughts and

experiences, for recognizing and welcoming the fictional dimension of all scientific

speculation, allowed him to ease his reader into difficult, sophisticated material.” (p. xx)

Do you agree? In a well-argued short essay, discuss how well Fontenelle conveys the

nature and details of the mechanical worldview to his literary audience through analogies,

references to familiar experiences, and imaginative speculation. Choose three examples

from the First to the Fifth evening (pp. 9-73) to develop your argument. Draw your

examples from at least two different evenings.

Criteria for Evaluation:

Level of your understanding of the Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds.

Ability to construct a clear, coherent argument and support it with a discussion of

particular examples.

Suitability and effective use of evidence.

Writing style, including good paragraph structure, clarity, and organizational structure.

Good grammar and essay-mechanics (title, spelling, punctuation)

Ability to follow instructions for format.

Format Requirements:

Type your essay, double-spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font.

Use 1-inch margins.

Number your pages.

Include a cover page that gives your title for your essay, your name, your student number,

the course number, the course title, your tutorial leader’s name and the date.

Use MLA in-text citation, and include a Works Cited page.

(http://researchguides.library.yorku.ca/content.php?pid=239540&sid=1976516)

This assignment will be discussed further in tutorial. You may want to consult the

SPARK for additional support. (http://www.library.yorku.ca/spark/)