Religion, Science, and an Arab Renaissance Man | Peter Hill

Ottoman History Podcast

E568 | Across the 19th century Arab East, or Mashriq, there were two simultaneous but seemingly contradictory trends afoot. On the one hand, new ways of understanding religion, science, and community, often associated with the intellectual 'revival' of the Arab Nahda, ushered in new forms of thought and more fluid subjectivities. On the other hand, movements emerged to reinscribe, intensify, and uphold stricter communal boundaries between religious groups. How did these two trends coexist? The life and thought of Mikha'il Mishaqa (1800-1888) offer some answers. Mishaqa was a doctor, merchant, moneylender, and writer who was raised in Greek Catholicism, lost his faith, regained it, and then converted to Protestantism. Through his many-sided life, his voluminous writings, and his obstinate commitment to 'reason', Mishaqa offers an example of how a single life could integrate these seemingly contradictory trends of 19th century Arab East. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2024/09/peter-hill.html Peter Hill is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanites in Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. He works on the modern Middle East, specialising in the Arab world in the long nineteenth century. His research focuses on political thought and practice, the politics of religion, and translation and intercultural exchanges. He also has a strong interest in comparative and global history. Matthew Ghazarian is a postdoctoral associate in the Program on Agrarian Studies at Yale University. His research and teaching focus on environmental history, political economy, and communal conflict in the Ottoman Empire and the South Caucasus. Ghazarian’s current project examines the links between material conditions - like debt, drought, and hunger - and widening communal divides in the late Ottoman Empire. CREDITS Episode No. 568 Release Date: 16 September 2024 Recording location: Tekke Yokuşu Studio in Istanbul Sound production by Matthew Ghazarian Music: Lili Labassi, "Mazal Haye Mazal" Images, bibliography, and captions courtesy of Peter Hill. Special thanks to Ozan Karakaş for use of the Tekke Yokuşu Studio