16th Century Meditations on the Nature of Evidence"
Given on March 3, 2011
On Thursday, March 3, the Meeter Center welcomed Dr. Anja-Silvia Goeing, a postdoctoral scholar from Germany currently holding a visiting fellowship in the History Department at Harvard University. Dr. Goeing is working on a book project on the Zurich Lectorium during the 1560s. The Lectorium was the name of the institution that provided higher education in Zurich during the
Reformation era. In her presentation, Dr. Goeing focused on Konrad Gesner, who taught physics in the Lectorium from 1546 to 1565, and who was known for his production of textbooks and encyclopedias, that organized knowledge into categories, making it easier both to find information and to learn and recall it. Gesner also worked in Zurich as a physician, and thus was able to combine his medical work and his scholarly interests for the benefit of the students at the Lectorium. Those in attendance at the lecture in the Meeter Center benefitted by learning more about Zurich in the Reformation era and its educational approach.