Gerard of Cremona

My final semester has officially begun although I have been doing a little reading and article search for a couple of weeks now. I am still working my way through the Scott L. Montgomery book, Science in Translation. I am only reading one chapter for the purposes of this study, but it is a long chapter and full of information! It's almost a little overwhelming, but I will get through it. As always, I am making notes on what I am reading and highlighting certain passages that I need to research a bit more or plan to quote in my thesis. Don't get me wrong though. I think this is a great book so far! It was actually one that I checked out from the USF Library last semester and decided to purchase a copy for myself. :D


I am also going to be re-reading/skimming through Jonathan Lyons' The House of Wisdom as it is pertinent to Chapter 4 of my Thesis more than any of the other chapters. 

I am in the process of narrowing down my list a bit of the scientists/translators I will focus on for this chapter. Gerard of Cremona is definitely on my "Yes" list! He was probably one of the more important translators and has been compared to Hunayn in method of translation. According to Scott L. Montgomery, "the tremendous contribution [Gerard] made to the Western intellectual tradition...was based on bringing into medieval Latin a large portion of the Arabic-Indian-Persian-Greek synthesis in science..." (p155). I think this is an important point in moving from the Eastern translation movement into the Western as we have to think in terms of what the Arabs brought to the Middle East and it's spread westward from there.

As I have on previous posts, I want to include a picture of Gerard of Cremona, but I am unable to find one. I will keep looking as time permits...

Final Semester....Here I Come!!!

It's almost that time again! Time for a new semester at Vermont College of Union Institute & University. I am so ready for this one to begin. If all goes as planned, it will be my LAST! Yay!!! Ok, I won't party too soon 'cause ya never know. But I am sure all will go well enough.

This being my last semester, I have to put much more effort into completing my thesis. I have 2 and a half chapters to write. The half chapter is the remainder of the Introduction (Chapter 1). I have already begun researching for Chapter 4: The House of Wisdom in the West (or something to that effect). I am looking closely at Andalusia for much of the chapter and will pan out from there for a few pages. I say Andalusia because this is where the Caliphate in the West was located under the Umayyads. I am currently reading a chapter in Scott Montgomery's Science in Translation and making notes of scientists listed within. Here are a few that I am planning to look into a bit more:

• Gerbert of Aurillac
• Adelard of Bath
• Gerard of Cremona
• John of Seville
• Hugh of Santalla
• Dominicus Gundissalinus
• Michael Scot
• Petrus Alfonsi
• William Moerbeke

I am sure I will find others along the way, but this is a start for now.

In other scholarly news, Ovation networks recently aired a special called "Paradise Found: Islamic Architecture and Art".

I caught a little bit of it, more than half way through the program, where the narrator was talking about Cordoba and the Umayyad Caliphate. I am hoping to catch the whole thing sometime in the near future, through the Google link I bookmarked (lol). Apparently, this documentary is a few years old.

Looking at the Ovation website, I did find another program scheduled to air Apri1 11 at 8pm called "Andalusia: The Legacy of the Moors". I will be watching that show, but the following week on April 17 at 9pm.

Semester Break

Well, we have been on break since mid-February and I am starting to get a bit restless. Over the past couple of days, I have slowly gotten back into the research mode. I have found a few articles that I intend to read over the next week or so and have purchased a couple of books that I have had perpetually checked out from the USF library since November. I have two more that I for sure will be purchasing next month. Check back soon for some "words of wisdom" from me about my readings.

Coup!

I found a great resource today while looking up info on one of the subjects of Chapter 3: Encyclopedia of Islamic Science and Scientists edited by M. Zaki Kirmani and N.K. Singh. Do you think I can find it in a library close to me???? NOPE! It's on Google Books in limited preview, which means chunks of it are missing. Ugh!! I did find it through Amazon.com at the nifty price of $320.00 USD. However, it won't even get to me before the semester ends! Guess I will be using Google Books to do some reading on my subjects!

I did find that my school's library has an online version of Gutas' Greek Thought, Arab Culture through eBrary. Yay!!! I can read that one in it's entirety and not have to read the Google Books version.

Ok, back to research I go!

Have a wonderful New Year......

"Lost History"

I began reading this book today (by Michael Hamilton Morgan) and am a bit perplexed. It is published by the National Geographic Society, so I expect some bias in it, however, there seems to be a serious lack of citations. While he does include a rather short bibliography at the end, he does not cite any of his sources within the text itself. I am only about halfway through the first chapter (each chapter is roughly 40 pages long). I want to use this book as a source, but I am finding that I may not be able to due to the citation issue. How can a "scholar" write a book on any subject and NOT cite their sources? While what I have read so far sounds fairly accurate from an historical standpoint (I base this on the previous research I have done in my field of study during my undergraduate education and some classes I have taken), how can I justify using it as a source for my thesis??

First Chapter

I have begun the slow process of writing my Master's Thesis and have one paragraph nearly complete. I still have a bit of reading to do before I can really get into the writing, but I do try to write a little when the thoughts start entering my brain. This way the thoughts are in written form and I can move on. As my dad says, I need to clear the cobwebs from my head. In my studies I have found that many scholars write a chapter on Islam to give background on their work. Islam is, in my opinion, a cornerstone to knowledge and wisdom within the Muslim world. I, too, will incorporate Islam into my thesis to give a little background directly pertaining to the pursuit of knowledge during the early years.

One of the books I am reading is Science in Medieval Islam by Howard R. Turner. I have it on loan from the Gary Library (Vermont College) until the end of the month. I am really enjoying this book! It is more of a text on an exhibit put together several years ago with many, many pictures. The reading is going rather quickly, but I decided to purchase a copy through Barnes & Noble for my shelf. Having my own copy will also allow me to make notes within the book, which is my reading style when in the research mode. I am also reading Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists by Michael Hamilton Morgan. This one is also on my bookshelf on this blog (Shelfari).

I am still working on the timeline (previous post) and will probably not have it completed until near the end of the writing process. That only makes sense because I want to use it as an appendix. One of the other things I have decided to do is incorporate, just after the Chapter #, a quote relating to the chapter. For instance, the Introduction will start with the title of the chapter (i.e. "Introduction") and immediately following a snippet from a Beatles song. Then I will write the actual introduction following that quote. I think, and hope, it will add a little something to my work.

I will leave you with that, wondering which song...

Sources, sources, sources

So I have been browsing the library's journals for articles pertaining to my topic(s): Experiential Learning, Ethics (in the history profession), and the Umayyad Caliphate. Let's just say I am having more luck with the first topic and not so much with the other two. However, there is a wealth of books on the Umayyad's so that is a plus. Last semester I managed to get a "Special Borrower's" card from the University of South Florida's library, so I imagine I will be spending a lot of time there over the next few months! That's one good thing about living in a "college town" - even though Zephyrhills is "retirement central", I am within 20 minutes of the University, so it's a quick commute.

I just completed and submitted my first draft of the Learning Agreement for my Applications class and now I have to finish one for my Advanced Research Methods/Final Document Proposal class. I have to say that this has been an interesting experience so far in my education. Where we received a traditional syllabus from the professors at Michigan State University, at Union Institute & University we actually work with the professor to create one. I came into my Master's program with a little bit of independent learning under my belt from MSU, but I had no idea what I was getting into. I know that I will look back on this time at UI&U with much appreciation.