The AlchemEast project is devoted to the study of alchemical theory and practice as it appeared and developed in distinct, albeit contiguous (both chronologically and geographically) areas: Graeco-Roman Egypt, Byzantium, and the Near East, from Ancient Babylonian times to the early Islamic Period.
PhD seminar organized by Raffaella Campaner, Lucia Maini, Marianna Marchini and Matteo Martelli in the framework of the “Making Science Happen” series (University of Bologna and University Ca’ Foscari, Venice)
May 25, 2022, Department of Chemistry ‘G. Ciamician’ (Navile district), Bologna
The AlchemEast team is part of this workshop, organized by Donna Bilak at the Loretz Center, which convenes scholars working at the intersection of sciences, artisanal practice, and humanities. Three talks by AlchemEast members:
June 7-10, 2022, Lorentz Center, Leiden
Lecture delivered by Matteo Martelli at the University of Barcelona
May 19, 2022 @ 4:00 PM (GMT), University of Barcelona
Informal presentation and performace by Marianna Marchini and Lucia Raggetti in the framework of the “Pint of Science” Global Science Festival 2022 (9-11 May 2022).
May 11, 2022 @8:00 PM, Birreria popolare, Bologna
AlchemEast Reading Sessions and Workshop organized by Matteo Martelli. Two days devoted to the reading of primary sources followed by 1-day workshop. Invited speakers: Godefroid de Callataÿ, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, Sébastien Moureau and Petra Schmidl.
Two papers delivered by AlchemEast team members:
May 2-4, 2022, Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, Bologna (Hybrid).
International Conference organized by Matteo Martelli (University of Bologna, ERC project AlchemEast) and Maria Michela Sassi (University of Pisa, PRIN 2017).
This conference brings together the expertise of historians of science and technology on the one hand, and archaeologists and historians of ancient art on the other, in a wide-ranging exploration of the production methods and uses of colour substances in the Greek and Roman worlds and in the ancient Near East. This project, strongly multi-disciplinary and the first of its kind, relies on the investigation of a variety of sources, from ancient scientific and technical literature to archaeological data and results of chemical analysis.
Two papers delivered by AlchemEast team members:
April 18-19, 2022, University of Pisa
Lecture delivered by Matteo Martelli in the framework of the project Alchemies of Scent (PI Sean Coughlin)
April 25, 2022 @ 4:30 PM (GMT), Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague
Paper delivered by Gabriele Ferrario at the International Conference Power, Religion and Wisdom: Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy in al-Andalus and Beyond. Convened by Godefroid de Callataÿ (Université catholique de Louvain), as part of the ERC project PhilAnd. Sponsored by Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS)
March 29 – April 1, 2022, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Lecture delivered by Eduardo Escobar as part of the Food For Thought Lecture Series
February 2, 2022 @ 12:00 PM (EST), Columbia SIPA (Online)
Write up on the talk, ‘Embracing Uncertainty: Babylonian Habits of Thinking in the Modern World’
Short paper delivered by Matteo Martelli at the roundtable 4th Turba Meeting: The Female Presence in Alchemy, organized by Jo Hedesan (University of Oxford).
Here are the titles of the short talks:
December 10, 2021 @ 17:00 (GMT), Online
YouTube video of the roundtable