An argument that one might still find frequently about premodern Arabic historiographical and biographical writing, despite all recent findings to the contrary, is that they are derivative and repeat much of what other authors have said before. This argument has, in fact, been made towards a larger segment of premodern Arabic literature and has been rebuked in a number of other fields, as well. In this post, I will argue that one aspect might actually be understood better by comparison with current social media practice.
Continue reading “Ruminations on publishing pre-print”New Publication: Devotional Annotations: Preserving the Family’s Memory in Arabic Manuscripts
Very surprisingly, last week my article in the special issue of Religions on “Domestic Devotions in Medieval and Early Modern Europe” was published. The entire publication process was refreshingly professional and fast.
Continue reading “New Publication: Devotional Annotations: Preserving the Family’s Memory in Arabic Manuscripts”Medieval Damascus: Was there no garbage problem ever?

Reading two articles on Medium, one about rat kings and another about an early car named by its creator Horsey Horseless and which featured “a life-size replica of a horse head, down to the shoulders, and attaching it to the front of a carriage“, I got into thinking. I have to add here that I am no specialist in this field.
More specifically, together these articles made me wonder what did Medieval Damascenes do with their garbage and how did they avoid to have recurrent garbage crises? Obviously, they did not have to worry about plastic piles but the garbage they did have to worry about was still of a rather smelly nature. As the exhibit from the Frankfurt historical museum shows, there was a lot of other waste as well. Continue reading “Medieval Damascus: Was there no garbage problem ever?”
