Abstract

gloknos Annual Lecture Series – Sonja Brentjes (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science)

Abstract: In my talk I wish to make a case for strengthening empirical studies of knowledge available across cultures without anchoring it in any specific theoretical approach. Over the years, I have come across an increasing number of theory-guided studies of knowledge transfer across the Old World or between the Old and New World that produced results contradicting empirically derived knowledge about such processes. As one step to regain a better empirical grounding of our theoretical debates and to overcome dichotomic evaluations of cross-cultural movements of knowledge, we are currently undertaking an interdisciplinary long-durée project for most parts of the Old World about visual representations of the heavens and their relations to materials, narratives, social status, and cultural meaning. I will present this project and some of its themes, objects, and methods. In the second part of my talk I will discuss my earlier work on a number of maps and how those empirical studies changed my outlook on relations between various societies in Europe and in the Islamicate world.

Attendance at this lecture is free but spaces are limited, so please email the organiser to reserve your seat, at sjp229@cam.ac.uk. You can also visit the CRASSH website: www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/28170

gloknos is initially funded for 5 years by the European Research Council through a Consolidator Grant awarded to Dr.Inanna Hamati-Ataya for her project ARTEFACT (2017-2022) ERC grant no. 724451.