Conveners
S.4.3. Embodied Knowledge: Applied Sciences and Material Practices in Ottoman and Arabic Traditions
- Alper Atasoy
- Deren Ertas (Harvard University)
- Sarah Sabban (Lebanese American University)
Description
Chair: Nazan Karakaş Özür
This paper explores the Arabic notion of al-ṣināʿa, which can be translated as knowledge in practice or applied science, that developed between the 14th and the 18th centuries. It documents the polyvalence of the concept in different contexts and registers of ʿilm (science or knowledge at large) and traces the long and collective process of meaning making around al-sinaʿa that spanned...
At the turn of the eighteenth century, the Ottoman Empire undertook a concerted effort to revive its domestic mining industry, which involved reopening closed mines and excavating in new sites. As part of this state-led initiative, the Keban and Ergani mines were opened in the 1720s. Located in the Upper Euphrates and Tigris River Valley, in present-day Elazığ, they became key suppliers of...
In 1717, the French officer Rochefort presented a proposal to the Ottoman authorities aimed at establishing a specialized engineering corps composed of foreign experts. His plan included military aspects such as fortifications, artillery calculations, technical training and economic recommendations to reduce the Ottoman Empire's dependence on foreign trade. Although Rochefort's proposal was...
