Professor Biel's course on Early Modern Empires and Enlightenment presented several new challenges to me.  Prior to this class, I had no experience with the enlightenment or how it could be examined from a historical perspective.  Establishing a basic understanding of the enlightenment was a challenge in and of itself.  Not having any existing knowledge meant that I did not even know what sources to consult for preliminary research.

After some class discussions and suggestions from Professor Biel, I chose to look at Natural Religion.  Because this course is heavily focused on enlightenment thinkers and ideas, there is a large emphasis on philosophy and philosophical schools of thought. While this was very interesting, it became difficult to maintain a historical focus with my research while attempting to include these.  There were many instances when I attempted to use sources that were philosophical and my work began to drift from history to philosophy.

Drawing upon my previous experiences with synthesis, I was able to establish a delineation between philosophical debates and their historical relevance.  Rather than comparing and contrasting enlightenment ideas, I was able to focus on the impact they had at the time.  Interpreting and synthesizing sources allowed them to guide my research and helped maintain a historical context.

This course challenged me to apply my knowledge of interpretation and synthesis by determining the historical relevance of sources.  Doing so allowed me to maintain continuity in my work by separating philosophical information from historical material.  Through interpretation and synthesis, I have been able to research enlightenment ideas as they pertain to historical dialogues.