S2 Episode 7: Science and Islam in the 19th Century with Dr Sarah Qidwai

In this episode, Rachael and Richard talk with Dr Sarah Qidwai, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Regensburg, Germany. Sarah’s work explores transnational and local perspectives on scientific disciplines during the long nineteenth century. In this episode, we discuss the focus of Sarah’s doctoral thesis, the Muslim polymath Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898), and her latest project entitled ‘Scientism and Empire’ while examining how disciplines such as astronomy, geology, and evolutionary biology operated within the confines of Empire in the 19th Century.

(This episode was recorded in December 2021)

This podcast is 47 minutes and 13 seconds long.

The keywords associated with this episode are:

  • History
  • Evolution
  • Islam
  • South Asia
  • Empire

To learn more about Sarah’s work, we recommend you check out:

Qidwai, S (2020) “Aligarh’s Scientific Society: All But Forgotten” in Oxford of the East: Aligarh Muslim University (1920-2020). Edited by A.R Kidwai (Delhi: Viva Books), 258-274
 
Qidwai, S (2020), Sayyid Ahmad Khan: A Familiar Figure in an Unfamiliar Historical Setting https://mosseprogram.wisc.edu/2020/03/11/qidwai/
 
Qidwai, S (2019) “Re-Examining Complexity: Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s Interpretation of ‘Science in Islam” in Rethinking History, Science and Religion: Exploring Complexity. Edited by Bernard Lightman (Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press), 50-64
 
Qidwai, S (2018) “Darwin or Design: Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s Views on Human Evolution” in The Cambridge Companion to Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Edited by Yasmin Saikia and Raisur Rahim. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 214-232