@astra-mpiwg
A research group at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) dedicated to studying the astral sciences in trans-regional Asia. https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/research/departments/max-planck-research-group-astra
๐ข: Our Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow Tejas Aralere is giving a talk entitled โIonians, Yavanas, and Kushans: Hellenistic Legacies of Astral Science in Asiaโ in the ASTRA Talks series tomorrow at 3pm (CET).
More information and Zoom link: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/ionian...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข: Our new ASTRA Talks series starts tomorrow! Paul Iversen will deliver a lecture entitled โSeeing Through Greek Time: The Antikythera Mechanism in 3Dโ followed by a hands-on demonstration of the HoloLens 3D mechanism.
๐: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/seeing...
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๐ข: Our Spring 2026 ASTRA colloquium series "Occult Sciences in South Asia: A Non-Western History" kicks off tomorrow with Fabrizio Speziale's talk "Mahoutsโ Secret Language: HumanโElephant Communication in Persianate South Asia"
๐: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/mahout...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข: ASTRA Research Group Leader Anuj Misra is heading off to give a keynote entitled "The Facticity of the Stars: Negotiating Astronomical Knowledge in Early Modern Mughal India" at the IIM Kolkata tomorrow. www.iimcal.ac.in/events/muf2026
In collaboration with the Institute for the History of Knowledge in the Ancient World (Freie Universitรคt), we are delighted to host Alfred Schmid's talk "Hatte die Horoskop-Astrologie einen Gegenstand?" today. Click the link for more details: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/hatte-...
๐ข: Our Spring 2026 Colloquium "Occult Sciences in South Asia: A Non-Western History" starts in three weeks. On Wed 25 Feb 2026, Fabrizio Speziale will talk about "Mahoutsโ Secret Language: HumanโElephant Communication in Persianate South Asia" (online).
๐: tinyurl.com/3enrjt9t
@mpiwg.bsky.social
In the second installment of our โ10 Questions for the Historian of Science,โ I interviewed Audrey Truschke about her research, the state of the history of science, and public engagement within broader global debates. www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/feature-stor...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
We have recently launched our "10 Questions for the Historian of Science"-interview series, in which we ask historians of science about their research, methodologies, impact, and the state of the field today. Check out our first interview with Fangyi Cheng:
www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/feature-stor...
๐ข : If you missed Prof. Chihyung Nam"s lecture on "The Origin of the Game of Go" last December, you can now catch it on our YouTube channel.
๐ : www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kR-...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข If you missed Prof. Chihyung Namโs lecture โThe Origin of the Game of Goโ last week, you can now watch it on our YouTube channel. If youโd like to be notified about upcoming events, feel free to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications.
@mpiwg.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kR-...
๐ข: Our Research Group Leader Prof. Anuj Misra will be teaching in the โTraining week: Global history of astronomy week on primary sourcesโ at the BnF in Paris next June. See link below for more details:
๐: eida.hypotheses.org/seminars-2/2...
๐ข: A gentle reminder that our very own Dr Hamid Bohloul will give a lecture tomorrow (26 Nov, 2025) on "Royal Horoscopes in Persian" in the ZODIAC Colloquium: www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/wissensges...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข: Our High Gravity Talk with @audreytruschke.bsky.social is just over two weeks away. It is free to attend but registration is required. Seats a quickly filling up, so register now to secure your place. www.eventbrite.com/e/fieldnotes...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
#ResearchReels: 1 publicationโ3 minutes๐
Researcher Jacob Schmidt-Madsen presents his article "Discovering Dadu: A Ludemic Enigma from South Asia," published in "Board Game Studies Journal" ๐ฒ
๐ youtu.be/QKR_Zi2MH08?si=QKmwfX9JyEJ
#HistSci #CulturalStudies #GameStudies @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social
"Cosmic Games: Real Gods Play Dice" โจ๐ฒ
Visit us at #Berlin Science Week's CAMPUS to play traditional board games associated with cosmological representations from cultures and societies across the world.
๐๏ธ Nov. 1โ2, 2025
๐@mfnberlin.bsky.social
๐bit.ly/3LtFpV6
#HistSci @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข: Our workshop "For the Fortunate and Fearful Years: The Structure and Content of Persian Nativity Books" kicks off tomorrow! We are excited to have two days of intellectual and artistic discussion of Persian nativity books.
www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/fortun...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข: Our workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games" at the Berlin Science Week is now sold out. Didn't get tickets? Don't worry, we are planning more workshops in Berlin in the spring of 2026, so stay tuned for updates!
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข Tickets for our workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games" are selling out fast! One ticket left! Will you be the last to join us? Check out the workshop details here: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/playin...
๐ข We are excited to participate in this year's Berlin Science Week with an exhibition "Cosmic Games: Real Gods Play Dice" and a workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games".
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/cosmic...
๐ www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/playin...
๐ข A gentle reminder that Prof. Elizabeth Kaske will present her work on "Digital Approaches to a Qing Chinese Boardgame" in the ASTRA colloquium series this morning at 10:00. Still time to tune in via Zoom. See link below.
๐ข : The latest ASTRA Our Stories on Dr Hamid Bohloul's exciting research on Persian manuscript marginalia and court astrologers is out now!
"How Reading Persian Manuscript Marginalia Provides New Histories of Astral Sciences"
๐ : www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/feature-stor...
Registration for the event is NOT required. You can join freely via Zoom: eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/68564259061
๐ : www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/digita...
๐ข : On September 24, 10:00-11:00 CET, Prof. Elizabeth Kaske will present her work on using computational techniques to analyze a 19th-century Chinese board game (Shengguan tu ๅๅฎๅ) modelling promotion in the bureaucracy of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).
@mpiwg.bsky.social
๐ข Day two of our "Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play" starts at 9:30. Today's focus in on South Asian games. Check the programme here:
๐ www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/games-...
This afternoon, in connection with the "Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play" workshop, we are also hosting an Open Play Session for anyone interested in hands-on experience with Asian board games.
www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/open-p...
๐ข Our workshop "Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play" kicks off this morning with papers on nard, chess, and shaแนญranj, the medieval form of chess practiced across the Islamicate world.
๐ www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/games-...
@mpiwg.bsky.social
#games #histsci #astral
Call For Abstracts
Rethinking planetary and sustainability governance through cosmological imaginaries
www.planetstewards.eu/call-for-abs...
Last week, Japan's oldest professional player of the board
game Go retired aged 98. One of the world's foremost scholars of Go, Daniela Trinks, will join the ASTRA research group next week. We are excited to have Daniela on board.
@mpiwg.bsky.social
www.berlinertageszeitung.de/en/Boulevard...
Collage of three images. The first reads: "Max Planck Institute for the history of Science. Career. We're hiring." The second image shows a researcher presenting at the March 2025 Publications Slam. The third shows a group of people at the institute's courtyard. Second image by Anna Ruhnow, MPIWG 2025. Third image by MPIWG, 2021.
Department "Knowledge Systems and Collective Life" seeks a Collaborative Research Coordinator!
๐ค Help expand its community-based, publicly engaged research
๐ค Advise researchers on cooperative methods
๐ Coordinate cooperation agreements
๐๏ธ Deadline: Sep 28, 2025
๐ bit.ly/45FXu8R
#HistSci #EnvHist
Did you ever hear of the South Asian board game Dadu? In this short video, Jacob Schmidt-Madsen gives a brief summary of his article "Discovering Dadu: A Ludemic Enigma from South Asia" published in the Board Game Studies Journal (no. 18, 2024). www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKR_...
@mpiwg.bsky.social