Science and World Cities: Thinking Urban Knowledge and Science at Large (16th-18th century)

Itinerario ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Romano ◽  
Stéphane Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
World History ◽  
Global Dimension ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Social Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Intellectual Networks ◽  
Circulation Of Knowledge

Through its focus on the question of circulation, world history attained a central position amongst the historical configurations in the last decade. Indicative of our fundamentally changing world, the past thereby reveals itself to have been shaped by commercial, human and intellectual flows of global dimension. The history of science has been particularly receptive to such methodological developments, especially with regard to works influenced by a markedly social approach to science and knowledge, which has focused for some time on the analysis of intellectual networks. From the French provincial Enlightenment to Athansius Kircher's circles—including the relationships of patronage of mathematicians and court philosophers—social, intellectual and epistemological configurations have been designed, allowing us to consider different scales in the circulation of knowledge.

The History of Science as European Self-Portraiture

2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
LORRAINE DASTON
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
Scientific Revolution ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
World History ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Image ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
History Of

Since the Enlightenment, the history of science has been enlisted to show the unity and distinctiveness of Europe. This paper, written on the occasion of the award of the 2005 Erasmus Prize to historians of science Simon Schaffer and Steven Shapin, traces the intertwined narratives of the history of science and European modernity from the 18th century to the present. Whether understood as triumph or tragedy (and there have been eloquent proponents of both views), the Scientific Revolution has been portrayed as Europe's decisive break with tradition – the first such break in world history and the model for all subsequent epics of modernization in other cultures. The paper concludes with reflections on how a new history of science, exemplified in the work of Shapin and Schaffer, may transform the self-image of Europe and conceptions of truth itself.

EPITAFIES OF THE RELATIVES OF HADJI IBRAHIM AL-URADI AS A SOURCE ON THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE SCIENTIST AND ON THE HISTORY OF GIDATL

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Sh M Khapizov ◽  
M G Shekhmagomedov
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Medieval History ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Arabic Script ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Culture ◽  
The Look ◽  
Cultural Monuments ◽  
Written Sources

The article is devoted to the study of inscriptions on the gravestones of Haji Ibrahim al-Uradi, his father, brothers and other relatives. The information revealed during the translation of these inscriptions allows one to date important events from the history of Highland Dagestan. Also we can reconsider the look at some important events from the past of Hidatl. Epitaphs are interesting in and of themselves, as historical and cultural monuments that needed to be studied and attributed. Research of epigraphy data monuments clarifies periodization medieval epitaphs mountain Dagestan using record templates and features of the Arabic script. We see the study of medieval epigraphy as one of the important tasks of contemporary Caucasian studies facing Dagestani researchers. Given the relatively weak illumination of the picture of events of that period in historical sources, comprehensive work in this direction can fill gaps in our knowledge of the medieval history of Dagestan. In addition, these epigraphs are of great importance for researchers of onomastics, linguistics, the history of culture and religion of Dagestan. The authors managed to clarify the date of death of Ibrahim-Haji al-Uradi, as well as his two sons. These data, the attraction of written sources and legends allowed the reconstruction of the events of the second half of the 18th century. For example, because of the epidemic of plague and the death of most of the population of Hidatl, this society noticeably weakened and could no longer maintain its influence on Akhvakh. The attraction of memorable records allowed us to specify the dates of the Ibrahim-Haji pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, as well as the route through which he traveled to these cities.

Reframing the Sciences of the Long Eighteenth Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 58-66
Author(s):  
Giuliano Pancaldi
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Half Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Long Eighteenth Century ◽  
Past Half

Here I survey a sample of the essays and reviews on the sciences of the long eighteenth century published in this journal since it was founded in 1969. The connecting thread is some historiographic reflections on the role that disciplines—in both the sciences we study and the fields we practice—have played in the development of the history of science over the past half century. I argue that, as far as disciplines are concerned, we now find ourselves a bit closer to a situation described in our studies of the long eighteenth century than we were fifty years ago. This should both favor our understanding of that period and, hopefully, make the historical studies that explore it more relevant to present-day developments and science policy. This essay is part of a special issue entitled “Looking Backward, Looking Forward: HSNS at 50,” edited by Erika Lorraine Milam.

Science and Medicine in Imperial China—The State of the Field

1988 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Sivin
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
Systems Analysis ◽  
Half Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Professional Societies ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
New Directions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Imperial China ◽  
Past Half

Sinology and the history of science have changed practically beyond recognition in the past half-century. Both have become academic specialisms, with their own departments, journals, and professional societies. Both have moved off in new directions, drawing on the tools and insights of several disciplines. Although some sinologists still honor no ambition beyond explicating primary texts, on many of the field's frontiers philology is no more than a tool. Similarly, many technical historians now explore issues for which anthropology or systems analysis is as indispensable as traditional historiography.

scholarly journals Images as documents for the history of science: some remarks concerning classification

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Helena Roxo Beltran ◽  
Vera Cecilia Machline
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Arts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Times

Studies on history of science are increasingly emphasizing the important role that, since ancient times, images have had in the processes of shaping concepts, as well as registering and transmitting knowledge about nature and the arts. In the past years, we have developed at Center Simão Mathias of Studies on the History of Science (CESIMA) inquiries devoted to the analysis of images as forms of registering and transmitting knowledge about nature and the arts – that is to say, as documents pertaining to the history of science. These inquiries are grounded on the assumption that all images derive from the interaction between the artistic technique used in their manufacture and the concept intended to be expressed by them. This study enabled us to analyze distinct roles that images have had in different fields of knowledge at various ages. Some of the results obtained so far are summarized in the present article.

Popular Literacy and the Roots of the New Writing

1986 ◽  
Vol 168 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Willinsky
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Writing Programs ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Literacy Crisis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Popular Literacy ◽  
20Th Century United States

The place of writing in the curriculum has recently increased in importance under a series of new approaches based on a processing model of how writers write. An overlooked aspect of these new programs in the schools is the degree to which they parallel aspects of an earlier, popular literacy. In a brief recounting of incidents in the history of literacy with a focus on Renaissance Europe, 17th- and 18th-century England, and the 20th-century United States, three historical elements are brought to light which now play a strong part in the new programs. In these programs literacy (a) is sociable, (b) has its roots in nonstandardized language, and (c) places a premium on performance and publication. Insofar as the new writing takes up these aspects of popular literacy, there is reason to feel that it will work to some degree in meeting the current literacy crisis. However, the traditions of popular literacy have both political and social ramifications which warrant our attention. Popular literacy in the past has been entangled in the sensational and subversive and has not always been well received. This history raises questions as to what can be expected and what is desired of this new thrust in writing. The advocates of the new writing programs need to confront the potential of this increased voice, this latest form of popular literacy, which they have begun to encourage.

Perspectives in the World History of Government‐ a Prolegomenon

1983 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Finer
Keyword(s):  
World History ◽  
Thomas Mann ◽  
The Past ◽  
Primitive Society ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of

‘VERY DEEP IS THE WELL OF THE PAST’, WRITES THOMAS MANN, as he begins his Tales of Jacob, ‘Might one not even call it bottomless?’ And indeed so it is if we search out the origins of government down, down, through its many levels in time until we reach only a misty shadow of what might have been some primitive society whose very existence we can but infer from artifacts, from myth and legend – and from an interpolation, unhistorical to be sure for it is mere hypothesis – from what we know of stateless societies still extant in this, our own day.

American Memory, Culture Wars, and the Challenge of Presenting Science and Technology in a National Museum

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROGER D. LAUNIUS
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Smithsonian Institution ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
National Museum ◽  
Historic Sites ◽  
The Past ◽  
Memory Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Memory

Abstract There is no question that the American public has an unabashed appetite for history. This is demonstrated in numerous ways from bestsellers by popular historians to tourism at historic sites and museums to the popularity of films and other media depicting versions of the past. Although historians might think that the discourse presented in most of these forums is simplistic and stilted, little doubt exists that it is passionate. This discussion explores a few of the issues affecting the public's deep fascination with the past, especially in the context of the history of science and technology, and the presentation of these issues in the Smithsonian Institution. These thoughts are tentative and speculative, but, I hope, stimulating and worthy of further consideration.

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