Experiential Learning Opportunities

EXPLORE 4II3: The beginning of science: ancient Egyptian and Babylonian conceptions of time and space (Fall 2021)

Course Outline 

Instructor: Dr. Sarah Symons:  symonss@mcmaster.ca

Instructor: Dr. Eshbal Ratzon:  eshbal@gmail.com

Bio: Dr. Sarah Symons is an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Science, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She was educated in the UK, gaining a BSc Honours Degree in Mathematics and Astronomy and PhD in History of Astronomy in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Leicester. Her research in history of astronomy concentrates on interpreting astronomical texts and instruments from ancient Egypt and investigating how the night sky was perceived, explained, and depicted. She is the editor of the ancient Egyptian astronomy database, an online resource for scholars, and co-edited Down to the Hour: Short Time in the Ancient Mediterranean with Kassandra Jackson Miller in 2019.

Bio: Dr. Eshbal Ratzon is a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University. She holds a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Jewish Studies, both from Tel Aviv University. After the completion of her doctoral dissertation she worked at several institutions as a post-doctoral fellow including Princeton University and the Cohn Institute. Her fields of research are ancient science and Second Temple Jewish literature. She has published several articles about Babylonian astronomy, and its influence on Jewish science.

  This course is a virtual, 3-credit, graded, course which is co-taught in McMaster, Canada, and Tel Aviv University, Israel.

The course addresses the origins of scientific activity – investigating, measuring, and describing natural phenomena and the passing of time – in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia recorded via texts, diagrams, instruments, and the built environment.

Proposed Schedule:

Tutorials:  Thursdays (10:30 - 11:20am) Sept 16th - Dec 2nd, 2021.

Class:  (09:30 - 11:30am)  Oct 19th - Dec 7th, 2021

Prerequisties: NONE