Important notice
The course guide is provisional.
The PDF version of the course guide may take a few days to become available in the DDD.
From the Ancient to the Modern World through Islam: Humans and Nature
Code: 45757Credits: 5
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| History of Science: History, Heritage and Scientific Communication | OP | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Jaume Sastre Juan
- Email :
- jaume.sastre@uab.cat
Teaching staff (external to UAB)
- Miquel Forcada
- Jesús Galech Amillano
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are none.
Objectives
Offers a wide perspective of classical medicine and natural sciences, their acculturation in Islamic societies and the influence of these societies in the modern period. It does so through different geographies, spaces, objects and actors, and through the analysis of transversal issues such as gender, religion or colonialism.
Learning outcomes
- CA21 (Critically evaluate the processes of transmission and transformation of medicine and natural sciences in the Arab-Islamic civilisation and their contributions to European scientific development.) Critically evaluate the processes of transmission and transformation of medicine and natural sciences in the Arab-Islamic civilisation and their contributions to European scientific development.
- CA22 (Explain to specialised and non-specialised audiences the multicultural elements of science from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.) Explain to specialised and non-specialised audiences the multicultural elements of science from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.
- CA23 (Explain to specialised and non-specialised audiences the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality, and power of medicine and the natural sciences from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.) Explain to specialised and non-specialised audiences the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality, and power of medicine and the natural sciences from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.
- KA20 (Describe the foundations of the history of medical and natural sciences (from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era), as well as the biographical profile of great scientists and natural philosophers of the past.) Describe the foundations of the history of medical and natural sciences (from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era), as well as the biographical profile of great scientists and natural philosophers of the past.
- KA21 (Critically and with historiographical rigor the pertinent information on medicine and natural sciences from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.) Critically and with historiographical rigor the pertinent information on medicine and natural sciences from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.
- KA22 (Describe the secondary literature on the development of natural philosophy, science, and technology from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.) Describe the secondary literature on the development of natural philosophy, science, and technology from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.
- KA23 (Rigorously define the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power of medicine and natural sciences from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.) Rigorously define the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power of medicine and natural sciences from the classical tradition and medieval Islamic societies to the modern era.
- SA20 (Organise information regarding the origins of modern science, compiling it, classifying it and presenting it in a clear and coherent way.) Organise information regarding the origins of modern science, compiling it, classifying it and presenting it in a clear and coherent way.
- SA21 (Identify what doctors and naturalists of the classical and medieval traditions knew, thought and acted, as well as the institutions in which they developed their activity and their influence in the modern era, incorporating the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power.) Identify what doctors and naturalists of the classical and medieval traditions knew, thought and acted, as well as the institutions in which they developed their activity and their influence in the modern era, incorporating the dimensions of gender, race, class, materiality and power.
Contents
1. The acculturation of the classical legacy in Islamic societies: Abbasid Baghdad and Umayyad Cordoba.
2. The rethinking of medicine: conceptions of medicine and the development of major manuals (from Hunayn ibn Isḥāq to Avicenna).
3. The birth of the Arab alchemical tradition: Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, al-Rāzī, and their influence.
4. Nature: animals and plants among writers, physicians, and philosophers.
5. The contributions of al-Andalus to medicine, botany, and agronomy.
6. Muslims and Christians in the 12th century: philosophers and translators.
7. The influence of Islamic scientific culture in Europe.
8. From alchemy to chemistry: experimental philosophy.
9. Medicine and pharmacy in the modern era.
10. Colonial nature.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous work | 75 | 3 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, SA20, SA21 |
| Exercises | 20 | 0.8 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, SA20, SA21 |
| Classes and seminars | 30 | 1.2 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, SA20, SA21 |
The course covers the medieval period and up to the emergence of modern science. The teaching methodology combines lectures with student participation through discussion of the proposed readings and the resolution of exercises and practical cases.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and participation | 20% | 0 | 0 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, SA20, SA21 |
| Essay 2 | 40% | 0 | 0 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, SA20, SA21 |
| Essay 1 | 40% | 0 | 0 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, SA20, SA21 |
The assessment includes both the attendance and participation of the students and the completion of written exercises. These will be two essays of about 1,200 words each related to the contents of the subject and following the guidelines indicated by the teachers. One essay oriented to the medieval time period and the other to the 15th-17th centuries.
The following will be taken into account for the evaluation of the subject:
- Attendance and active participation in the completion of exercises and in the classroom discussion of the proposed readings; weight: 20%.
- 1 essay on medieval science; weight: 40%.
- 1 essay on Renaissance and modern science; weight: 40%.
This subject allows the use of AI technologies exclusively for support tasks such as bibliographic or content-based searches, text correction or translations, always under teachers approval. The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
Bibliography
ALVAREZ DE MORALES, C. & MOLINA, E. (eds.): La medicina en al-Andalus, Fundación El Legado Andalusí, Granada, 1999.
BOLENS, L. : Agronomes andalous du Moyen-Age, Droz, Ginebra-París, 1981.
GARCÍA SÁNCHEZ, E. & ALVAREZ DE MORALES, C. (eds.): Ciencias de la Naturaleza en al-Andalus. Textos y Estudios (1990 i ss., diversos vols.).
GLICK, Th. et al. (eds.): Medieval Science Technology and Medecine. An Encyclopedia, Routledge, Nova York et al., 2005.
GUTAS, D. Greek Thought, Arabic Culture, London-New York, 1998
KENNEDY, E.S. Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences. Beirut, 1983.
LIROLA, J. & PUERTA VÍLCHEZ, J.M. (eds.): Biblioteca de al-Andalus, Fundación Ibn Tufayl, Almería (2004 i ss., diversos vols).
PORMANN, P.E. & SAVAGE-SMITH, E. Medieval Islamic Medicine, Edinburgh U.P., 2007.
RASHED, R. (ed.): Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, 3 vols. London & New York, 1996.
SALIBA, G. Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, 2007.
SAMSO, J.: Las Ciencias de los Antiguos en al-Andalus, Madrid, 1992.
ULLMANN, M.: Die Medizin im Islam, E.J. Brill, Leiden et al.,1970; Die Natur un Geheimwissenschaften im Islam, Leiden et al., Brill, 1972.
VERNET, J.: La cultura hispanoárabe en Oriente y Occidente, Barcelona, 1978 (Reedició amb el títol Lo que la cultura europea debe a los árabes de España, Barcelona, 1999.
Beltrán, A., Revolución científica, Renacimiento e historia de la ciencia . Madrid: Siglo XXI, 1995.
Biagioli, M., Galileo Courtier. The Practice of Science in the Culture of Absolutism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Clavelin, M., La philosophie naturelle de Galilée. París: Albin Michel, 1996.
Cohen, H. F., The Scientific Revolution. A Historiographical Inquiry. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Cohen, I. B., La revolución newtoniana y la transformación de las ideas científicas. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1983.
Dear, P., La revolución de las ciencias. El conocimiento europeo y sus expectativas, 1500-1700. Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2007.
Hall, A. R., La Revolución Científica. 1500-1750. Barcelona: Crítica, 1985.
Henry, J., The Scientific Revolutionand the Origins of Modern Science. Londres: Macmillan, 2008.
Hetherington, N. S. (ed.), Cosmology. Historical, Literary, Philosophical, Religious, and Scientific Perspectives. Nueva York y Londres: Garland, 1993.
Kuhn, T. S., La revolución copernicana. Barcelona: Ariel, 1978.
Sellés, M., y Solís, C., La Revolución científica. Madrid: Síntesis, 1991.
Shapin, S., La Revolución Científica. Una interpretación alternativa. Barcelona: Paidós, 2000.
Shapin, S., y Schaffer, S., Leviathan and the Air-Pump. Hobbes, Boyle and the Experimental Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.
Shea, W., La magia de los números y el movimiento. La carrera científica de Descartes. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1993.
Westfall, R. S., Never at Rest. A Biography of Isaac Newton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
Westfall, R. S., La construcción de la ciencia moderna. Mecanismo y mecánica. Barcelona: Labor, 1980.
Software
Not required.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |