Hybrid Knowledge and the Historiography of Science

Rethinking the History of Astronomy between Second-Century CE Alexandria, Ninth-Century Baghdad, and Fourteenth-Century Constantinople

Authors

  • Alberto Bardi Department of the History of Science at Tsinghua University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24117/2526-2270.2021.i11.09

Keywords:

Astronomy, Astrology, Hybrid Knowledge, Alexandria, Baghdad, Constantinople

Abstract

Originating in the field of biology, the concept of the hybrid has proved to be influential and effective in historical studies, too. Until now, however, the idea of hybrid knowledge has not been fully explored in the historiography of pre-modern science. This article examines the history of pre-Copernican astronomy and focuses on three case studies—Alexandria in the second century CE; Baghdad in the ninth century; and Constantinople in the fourteenth century—in which hybridization played a crucial role in the development of astronomical knowledge and in philosophical controversies about the status of astronomy and astrology in scholarly and/or institutional settings. By establishing a comparative framework, this analysis of hybrid knowledge highlights different facets of hybridization and shows how processes of hybridization shaped scientific controversies.

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Published

2021-12-25

How to Cite

Bardi, Alberto. 2021. “Hybrid Knowledge and the Historiography of Science: Rethinking the History of Astronomy Between Second-Century CE Alexandria, Ninth-Century Baghdad, and Fourteenth-Century Constantinople”. Transversal: International Journal for the Historiography of Science, no. 11 (December). https://doi.org/10.24117/2526-2270.2021.i11.09.