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Towards A New Approach To Medieval Cross- Cultural Exchanges
-
Sonja Brentjes
,
Alexander Fidora
Published/Copyright:
October 10, 2014
Abstract
This paper discusses the interpretive approach to cross-cultural transfer of knowledge as proposed by early twentieth-century scholars, in particular Charles Homer Haskins, and their successors after the Second World War. It describes this approach as teleological, linear, mono-cultural and static. It traces the changes that several historians of mathematics, science and medicine proposed to this type of observer narrative and shows that in the 1990s the validity of several basic claims of Haskins’ approach was questioned. New claims were formulated, new domains included in the debate and greater attention was paid to the analysis of participant narratives. After analyzing these new trends, the paper outlines directions and views which future research needs to explore for creating a dynamic, open and non-linear model that allows for the participation of many different cultures in the production and transfer of knowledge.
Keywords: Historiography; history of religion; science and medicine; crosscultural transmission of knowledge; observer and participant narratives
Published Online: 2014-10-10
Published in Print: 2014-9-1
© 2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Academic Challenges In A Changing World
- Papers
- Towards A New Approach To Medieval Cross- Cultural Exchanges
- Hindered Passages. The Failed Muslim Conquest Of Southern Italy
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- Reviews
- Michael Borgolte/Matthias M. Tischler (Ed.): Transkulturelle Verflechtungen Im Mittelalterlichen Jahrtausend. Europa, Ostasien Und Afrika, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2012, 271 Pp.
- Wiebke Deimann: Christen, Juden Und Muslime Im Mittelalterlichen Sevilla. Religiöse Minderheiten Unter Muslimischer Und Christlicher Dominanz (12. Bis 14. Jahrhundert) (Geschichte Und Kultur Der Iberischen Welt 9), Münster In Westfalen: Lit, 2012, 368 Pp.
- Michelina Di Cesare: The Pseudo-Historical Image Of The Prophet Muḥammad In Medieval Latin Literature. A Repertory (Studien Zur Geschichte Und Kultur Des Islamischen Orients. N. F. 26), Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2012, 541 Pp.
- Karen L. Fresco/Charles D. Wright (Ed.): Translating The Middle Ages, Farnham/ Burlington: Ashgate 2012, Xiv + 222 Pp.
- Reinhold F. Glei (Ed.): Frühe Koranübersetzungen. Europäische Und Außereuropäische Fallstudien (Bac – Bochumer Altertumswissenschaftliches Colloquium 88), Trier: Wvt Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2012, 266 Pp.
- Sarah Lambert/Helen Nicholson (Ed.): Languages Of Love And Hate. Conflict, Communication, And Identity In The Medieval Mediterranean (International Medieval Research 15), Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, Xxix + 284 Pp., 9 Figures, 2 Tables.
- News
- Foundations in Medieval Societies. Crosscultural Comparisons. A Project of the European Research Council at the Humboldt University of Berlin
- Transcultural Entanglements In The Medieval Euromediterranean (500–1500)
Keywords for this article
Historiography;
history of religion;
science and medicine;
crosscultural transmission of knowledge;
observer and participant narratives
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Academic Challenges In A Changing World
- Papers
- Towards A New Approach To Medieval Cross- Cultural Exchanges
- Hindered Passages. The Failed Muslim Conquest Of Southern Italy
- Of ‘Pious Traitors’ and Dangerous Encounters. Historiographical Notions of Interculturality in the Principality of Antioch
- Disputes About Purity in Late Medieval Iberia. Interreligious Contacts and the Polemical Language of the Mudejars
- Reviews
- Michael Borgolte/Matthias M. Tischler (Ed.): Transkulturelle Verflechtungen Im Mittelalterlichen Jahrtausend. Europa, Ostasien Und Afrika, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2012, 271 Pp.
- Wiebke Deimann: Christen, Juden Und Muslime Im Mittelalterlichen Sevilla. Religiöse Minderheiten Unter Muslimischer Und Christlicher Dominanz (12. Bis 14. Jahrhundert) (Geschichte Und Kultur Der Iberischen Welt 9), Münster In Westfalen: Lit, 2012, 368 Pp.
- Michelina Di Cesare: The Pseudo-Historical Image Of The Prophet Muḥammad In Medieval Latin Literature. A Repertory (Studien Zur Geschichte Und Kultur Des Islamischen Orients. N. F. 26), Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2012, 541 Pp.
- Karen L. Fresco/Charles D. Wright (Ed.): Translating The Middle Ages, Farnham/ Burlington: Ashgate 2012, Xiv + 222 Pp.
- Reinhold F. Glei (Ed.): Frühe Koranübersetzungen. Europäische Und Außereuropäische Fallstudien (Bac – Bochumer Altertumswissenschaftliches Colloquium 88), Trier: Wvt Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2012, 266 Pp.
- Sarah Lambert/Helen Nicholson (Ed.): Languages Of Love And Hate. Conflict, Communication, And Identity In The Medieval Mediterranean (International Medieval Research 15), Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, Xxix + 284 Pp., 9 Figures, 2 Tables.
- News
- Foundations in Medieval Societies. Crosscultural Comparisons. A Project of the European Research Council at the Humboldt University of Berlin
- Transcultural Entanglements In The Medieval Euromediterranean (500–1500)
