by Kerry Magruder

A series of “From the vault” videos is now available on OU’s Janux platform and at the Janux site on YouTube. 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.

To find the videos on YouTube, go to the Janux section (where videos from many courses are posted) and find the History of Science Online playlist.

To access the videos on the Janux platform, 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)
     • Exploring the Past, Orientation: 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)

In addition to the above “From the Vault” videos for each week, there are also videos for “Starting Assumptions” and “Interpretations.” Watch these on Janux at YouTube or on the Janux platform.

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