A professor whose research interests include the history of Islamic science and the impact of Arabic science on medieval and Renaissance Europe, is the guest lecturer at the next session of the 2003-2004 Annual York-Noor Lecture Series on March 14 and 15, at the Noor Cultural Centre and at York University.
Left: George Saliba
In two lectures titled “Let There Be Light: Greek Science and the Islamic Scientific Tradition” and “Arabic/Islamic Science and the Western Scientific Tradition,” Professor George Saliba of Columbia University will explore the impact of ancient science on modern day scientific tradition. Saliba concentrates his research on the history of Arabic science and has a special interest in the history of Arabic astronomy and the development of planetary theories in medieval Islamic times. He is the author of A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam (1994) and teaches courses dealing with Islamic civilization from classical times to the present as well as courses dealing with Islamic science and the west.
“I study the development of scientific ideas from late antiquity till early modern times, with a special focus on the various planetary theories that were developed within the Islamic civilization and the impact of such theories on early European astronomy,” he says on his Web page. “My most recent research deals with the latest findings regarding the transmission of astronomical and mathematical ideas from the Islamic world to Renaissance Europe during the late fifteenth century and throughout the sixteenth.”
Details of the upcoming session of the York-Noor Lecture Series
Sunday, March 14, 2-4pm
“Let There Be Light: Greek Science and the Islamic Scientific Tradition”
Noor Cultural Centre
123 Wynford Drive, Toronto (DVP/Wynford Drive)
Monday, March 15, noon-2pm
“Arabic/Islamic Science and the Western Scientific Tradition”
Room 010 Vanier College
Keele campus, York University