CERAMATHS - DMATHS seminar: presentation by Pierre Ageron

The CERAMATHS Mathematics Department seminar will welcome Pierre Ageron (University of Caen - Normandy) at 2pm on Thursday, December 12, 2024, for the following talk:

Arab mathematics after its "golden age"

When we talk about the Arab sciences, particularly mathematics, we traditionally evoke a "golden age", which would have been followed by a "decline". This talk will examine this schema and its limits. When does the golden age end? What are the symptoms and causes of decline? Are there any signs of renewal? We'll be focusing in particular on the massive and little-known phenomenon that, from the end of the XVI^th century to the beginning of the XX^th, saw countless texts relating to the mathematical sciences being translated from Western European languages into Arabic or the other languages of Muslim peoples. This was first and foremost the work of individuals who, through their atypical life paths, found themselves in the position of cultural intermediaries: a few examples will be given below. Their efforts were sometimes taken up and amplified by reformist or enlightened leaders, who attempted the scientific modernization of their countries from the inside.