Science and Mathematics in Islamic Civilization

Catalog description

How do scientific and mathematical ideas originate, transform, and travel across linguistic, religious, and geographic boundaries, reshaped by the societies that adopt and adapt them? How does the scientific tradition of the Islamic world illuminate the nature of science? The course starts with these questions to explore the major scientific and mathematical developments in the Arab/Islamic world from approximately the 8th to the 14th century - the Golden Age of Islam. We will closely study how scientific thought developed through translation movements, critical assimilation of earlier traditions, original innovation, and later transmission into Latin/European contexts. We will also examine the scientific accomplishments of leading intellectuals of Islamic culture, their contributions across science, and the cultural and institutional settings that fostered sustained inquiry and innovation. The course also addresses broader questions about the nature of human knowledge, the meaning of "science" and the scientific method in premodern contexts, and the value of studying the history of science, thereby reconsidering science as a cumulative, cross-cultural, and evolving human endeavor.