Book Launch: The Optics of Ibn al-Haytham Books IV-V: On Reflection and Images Seen by Reflection

In celebration of the first book to be published by the Warburg with the new University of London Press: The Optics of Ibn al-Haytham Books IV-V: On Reflection and Images Seen by Reflection, translated by Abdelhamid I. Sabra and prepared for publication by Jan P. Hogendijk. 

The celebration will include brief presentations on the importance of Ibn al-Haytham’s Optics in both Islam and the West, followed by a reception.

A 30% discount off the cover price will be made available to attendees.

PROGRAMME

5.30pm: Charles Burnett, Welcome and Introduction.

5.45-6.00pm: Elaheh Kheirandish, ‘Quote Unquote: The Optics of Ibn al-Haytham and Some Remarks by A.I Sabra in His Own Words’

6.00-6.20pm: Jan Hogendijk, ‘A.I.Sabra's translation of Ibn al-Haytham's Optics Books IV and V’

6.20-6.40pm: Saira Malik, ‘The Islamic Scientific Landscape and Optics’

6.40-7.10pm: Nader El-Bizri, ‘Alhazen's Optics in the European milieu’ 

7.10-7.30pm: Reception

Elaheh Kheirandish completed her PhD in the History of Science department of Harvard University in 1991 with Professor A.I. Sabra. She has been a lecturer and researcher at several departments at Harvard, currently at the Classics Department and Center for Hellenic Studies, with various publications on and beyond early optics.

Jan P. Hogendijk is Emeritus Professor of the History of Mathematics at Utrecht University. He had previously studied mathematics and Arabic at Utrecht University, and wrote his PhD on Ibn al-Haytham's work Completion of the Conics. From 1983 to 1985 he was a postdoc at Brown University, Providence RI, not far from Cambridge, Mass. where Professor Sabra lived at that time and was working on Ibn al-Haytham’s Optics. His research interests are the mathematical sciences in Islamic civilization and in the Netherlands. In 2012 he received the Otto Neugebauer Prize from the European Mathematical Society for his work in the history of mathematics.

Saira Malik is Senior Lecturer in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University.  She works on the history of Islamic science.  She is currently working on a project entitled, ‘Islamic science in the Eleventh Century: Ibn Sina on Sight, Light, and Light-Phenomena’.  Her PhD research was on an Arabic commentary of Ibn al-Haytham's Optics. She has published articles on the history and philosophy of science, as well as Islamic studies more generally.

Nader El-Bizri is the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Sharjah.  Previously he held posts at the University of Cambridge, Durham University, and the American University of Beirut, where he was Professor of Civilization Studies and Philosophy. His expertise is in Arabic sciences and philosophy, architectural theory, and phenomenology. He is the General Editor of the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity series for the Oxford University Press.

ATTENDANCE FREE IN PERSON OR ONLINE WITH ADVANCE BOOKING