History of Astrology as an Academic Field of Study with Steven Vanden Broecke
In episode 60 of the podcast I have the pleasure of talking with Professor Steven Vanden Broecke, a well known scholar on the history of astrology. We discuss the history of astrology as a discipline and field of study within the academia. Steven Vanden Broecke is a Full professor at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Department of History, University of Ghent. He has written many papers on the history of astrology and his book "The Limits of Influence: Pico, Louvain, and the Crisis of Renaissance Astrology" (2003) was quite influential in the field.
For an overview of Steven Vanden Broecke's work, see:
https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/steven.vandenbroecke
https://ugent.academia.edu/StevenVandenBroecke
Note: this episode was recorded an year ago, but technical difficulties and other delays led to a later publication.
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Iberian-American reportorios: Cosmology, Knowledge & Astrology with Sergio Orozco-Echeverri
In this episode I speak with researcher Sergio Orozco-Echeverri, Associate Professor at the Instituto de Filosofía, Universidad de Antioquia, and the principal researcher at the project: Repertorios. An alternative history of knowledge. We discuss his project on Reportorios, an early modern form of almanac in the Iberian world, and its importance in the transmission of astrological and astronomical knowledge.
For Sergio Orozco-Echeverri's work, see: https://edinburgh.academia.edu/SergioOrozcoEcheverri
The Repertorios project page: https://ratiotemporis.com
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Meteorology and Celestial Influence in the Enlightenment
In this episode I talk with Simon Dolet about his research on astrometeorology in the early eighteenth century. Simon is a PhD candidate at the Côte d’Azur University (Nice) and has been studying the role of astrology in the history of meteorology. His project is a continuation of his MA "L'astrologie saine de Giuseppe Toaldo. Un astro-météorologue dans la République des sciences" (2022).
Simon's publications and work can be found here: https://cmmc-nice.academia.edu/SimonDolet
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Astrologers in 15th-century Cairo with Fien de Block
In this episode, I talk with Fien de Block about her research on astrologers and astrological practices in the fifteenth-century Sultanate of Cairo. This was the subject of her PhD thesis titled "(Re)drawing the lines: the science of the stars in the late fifteenth century Sultanate of Cairo" (2020). Fien de Block is currently a guest professor and a researcher at the University of Gent.
Her publications and works can be found here: https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/fdblock.deblock
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Astrology in the Ottoman court with A. Tunç Sen
In this episode, I talk to Professor Tunç Şen, Assistant Professor at the Department of History of Columbia University. He is a historian of the Ottoman Empire interested in intellectual, cultural, and political history. Is PhD thesis “Astrology in the Service of the Empire: Knowledge, Prognostication, and Politics at the Ottoman Court, 1450s-1550s” (2016) focuses the astrological practices and practitioners of the Ottoman Court.
For more see on his work, see: https://history.columbia.edu/person/tunc-a-sen/
Some related articles:
“Books on Astrology, Astronomical Tables, and Almanacs in the Library Inventory of Bayezid II (co-authored with Cornell H. Fleischer,” in Treasures of Knowledge: An Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library (1502/3-1503/4), eds. Gülru Necipoğlu, Cemal Kafadar, Cornell H. Fleischer (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 767-821.
“Reading the Stars at the Ottoman Court: Bāyezīd II (r. 886/1481-918/1512) andhis Celestial Interests,” Arabica 64/3-4 (2017): 557-608.
“Practicing Astral Magic in Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Istanbul: A Treatise onTalismans attributed to Ibn Kemāl (d. 1534),” Journal of Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft 12 (2017): 66- 88.
Ad Astra presents a series of academic conversations with researchers on the history of astrology. It offers to a wider audience the main academic debates and works on the historical role of astrology in culture, science, and society. While it focuses primarily the historical study of astrological practices and methodologies, it also addresses other topics, such as current research, challenges, findings, astrological documents, new publications, and conferences.
The Ad Astra podcast is hosted by Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro, and is part of The Astra Project – http://theastraproject.org
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