More than Meets the Eye: What Made the ‘Printing Revolution’ Revolutionary
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
3:30 p.m. in Keller Auditorium, Geology Building
Reception to follow
A. Mark Smith. Photo by Nicholas Benner
An internationally acclaimed scholar, this year's honored speaker is A. Mark Smith, MU Curators Professor of History in the College of Arts and Science.
A turning point of western civilization, the invention of the printing press in the mid-fifteenth century and the subsequent mass production of books led to a far wider dissemination of texts and ideas than had ever been possible. As a result, the printing press "democratized" reading by widening the reading public. But the printing press did more than just democratize reading; it transformed the way texts were read and assimilated in fundamental ways. Professor Smith will show in his lecture how this transformation occurred and will discuss some of its implications.
Smith isn't a stereotypical historian. He has devoted his career to studying the history of science in European culture, from its roots in antiquity to the early Enlightenment when reason was considered the primary authority. A specialist in the evolution of visual theory and optics, Smith has focused particular attention upon medieval theories of light and vision and their influence on medieval and Renaissance theology, philosophy and art.
Smith's historical research and his numerous grants and fellowships have earned him a place among the top echelon of humanistic scholars. He was one of only a handful of applicants to receive a highly selective 2007 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In addition to teaching and publishing a wealth of books and articles, Smith has edited and translated a series of manuscripts on visual perception and the physics of light that were originally written in Arabic by the eleventh-century scientist Alhacen. Smith had to work with seven different copies of the source manuscript. All were written in Latin during different time periods by scribes from varied geographic areas.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in liberal arts from St. John's College in Annapolis, Md., Smith earned a master's degree in the history of science and a doctorate in medieval history and the history of science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
The annual 21st Century Corps of Discovery Lecture features an outstanding MU faculty member to commemorate the contributions of the Lewis and Clark expedition and to inspire and bring together the university community at the beginning of each academic year. Reinforcing "discovery," one of the University's core values, the lecture is intended to represent MU's diverse academics in science, art, humanities, law, medicine, engineering, education, journalism and business.
