Razieh S. MOUSAVI

Position
Research Grant Holder
E-mail
raziehs.mousavi@unive.it
Website
www.unive.it/people/raziehs.mousavi (personal record)
Office
Department of Humanities
Website: https://www.unive.it/dep.humanities

My academic interest covers a multidisciplinary exploration of the history of science and environmental history. After winning a scholarship at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, I pursued my doctoral studies at Humboldt University, obtaining my PhD in 2023. My research focused on a ninth-century Arabic astronomical treatise, shedding light on the crucial role of seasonal knowledge in harnessing water resources within the expanding urban centers of the Abbasid Empire. One of the main goals of my project was to facilitate a dialogue between the history of astronomy and other scholarly fields, with the intention of gaining a more profound understanding of humanity’s historical engagement with nature.

In January 2024, I joined Ca' Foscari University of Venice as a postdoctoral fellow within the project “Science, Society, and Environmental Change in the First Millennium CE (SSE1K, ERC Grant Agreement 101044437)” directed by Professor Helen Foxhall Forbes. My research here continues to focus on the history of astro-meteorology during the early Islamic centuries. Moreover, I am exploring the development of ecological perspectives and environmental determinism during the spread of Islam in the late first millennium CE. I have also completed courses in digital humanities and am interested in applying digital tools to expand the scope of historical studies.

Alongside my proficiency in English, German, Arabic, and Persian (native speaker), I am also capable of working with Latin and (Biblical) Hebrew in my research. In September 2024, I organised a panel titled “Regulating Life with the Seasons: Seasonal Knowledge and Practices in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies” at the 11th Conference of the European Society for the History of Science (ESHS) in Barcelona, Spain.

Currently, I am working on a monograph based on my doctoral dissertation, teaching courses on environmental history in Islamic societies, and engaging in topics related to religion and science. Furthermore, I am writing several papers and participating in collaborative projects on the history environmental science in the Islamic world.