Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History
Ahmad Dallal is Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and Chair of the Arabic and Islamic Studies Department of Georgetown University. Professor Dallal has taught at Stanford University (2000-3), Yale University (1994-2000), and Smith College (1990-4), having earned a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Columbia University and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut. His academic training and research cover the history of the disciplines of learning in Muslim societies, including both the exact and the traditional sciences, as well as modern and early modern Islamic thought and movements. His books and articles are focused on the history of science, Islamic revivalist thought, and Islamic law. He is currently finishing a book-length comparative study of 18th century Islamic reform entitled Islam without Europe, Traditions of Reform in Eighteen Century Islamic Thought. Professor Dallal arrived in New Haven from Morocco, after having completed a year-long research sabbatical.
The book based on Professor Dallal’s Terry lectures, Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History, is available from Yale University Press.
| February 19, 2008 |
“Beginnings and Beyond” |
| February 21, 2008 | “Science and Philosophy” An overview of key characteristics of the practice of science in classical Muslim societies and the intertwined relationship among three systems of knowledge: religion, philosophy, and science |
| February 26, 2008 | “Science and Religion” Epistemological foundations that brought coherence to multiple traditions of scientific practice |
| February 28, 2008 | “In the Shadow of Modernity” Aspects of the predicament of science in modern Muslim societies |