Set in a continuum that goes back to antiquity and reaches out to mediaeval and early modern Europe, the Arabo-Islamic history of science and knowledge is an incredibly rich field that poses specific teaching challenges in terms of conveying its great variety. The overarching goal of my teaching is to communicate its peculiar features in a sound historical frame that includes its textual tradition, social components, and material elements. Though far from being a simple hinge, connecting antiquity to the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the Arabo-Islamic scientific and technical tradition also offers the didactic possibility to demonstrate the development of science and knowledge in a longue durée perspective and across different cultures. On the one side, it allows us to reconnect with the antique and late antique tradition; on the other, it extends a bridge towards mediaeval Europe.
Below, I outline some keywords that introduce the main lines of my teaching: