What can we call a science? And what makes it science? Dr Taha Yasin Arslan (Medeniyet University, Istanbul) challenges us to rethink the history of science, proposing new definitions for the term “science”. Join us — and share your ideas.

Dr Taha Yasin Arslan is an assistant professor at the Department of the History of Science of Istanbul Medeniyet University in Istanbul, Turkey. His research deals with the extant astronomical instruments and related manuscripts in the Islamic world. As part of his academic studies, he makes digital and physical reproductions of the instruments that were described in the historical texts. His recent focus is on the transition and transmission of practical astronomical knowledge in the Islamic world between the 13th and 16th centuries.