Reactions to the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution

Both the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution provoked strong reactions from citizens and institutions. It is essential to understand the scope of these reactions, as they are clear evidence of just how powerful and revolutionary these new political and scientific ideas were.

Have students create a T-Chart that explains the reactions that individual and institutions had to the Enlightenment and new scientific thought. The storyboard should explain the ideas in one column and the reactions in the second column. Here are some examples to consider:

• Galileo’s interaction with the Church
• Rousseau’s ideas on Religion
• Voltaire and the Enlightened Despots

Extended Activity

An easy extension of this activity would be to ask students, “What recent political, social, or scientific ideas have provoked strong reactions in the past ten years?” This could be a prompt for a discussion, a written assignment, or another storyboard!

Student Instructions

Create a T Chart identifying the reactions that individuals and institutions had to new scientific thought and the Enlightenment.

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. In the first column, identify Enlightenment thinkers and scientists and their new theories and ways of thinking.
3. In the second column, identify the reaction to the innovations and theories.
4. Create illustrations using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
5. Save and submit your storyboard.