Jörg Matthias Determann's Blog, page 6

Review of Recent Activities by Working Group on Star Names

Very many thanks to Wayne Orchiston and his colleagues at the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (JAHH) for publishing a paper by our Working Group on Star Names, which is part of the International Astronomical Union! Our article is entitled “The IAU Working Group on Star Names (WGSN): A Review of Recent Activities.” It appeared in the JAHH 28, no. 1 (2025): 280–86. Special thanks to Susanne Hoffmann, our group’s chair, and to Yang Boshun for making this possible! My further appreciation goes to Doris Vickers, Eric Mamajek and Danielle Adams for their leadership and to all our co-authors for their contributions. The JAHH is a publication of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Find this open access content on SciEngine: https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.140-2807...

Merve Tabur reviews Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life in IJMES

Thank you, teşekkürler, takk, and dank u to Merve Tabur of the University of Oslo and Utrecht University for reviewing my book Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life (I.B. Tauris). Her discussion appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES) 56, no. 4 (November 2024): 686–88. She writes: “As a text that offers South–South comparisons by putting into dialogue texts that have never been studied together before, Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life is commendable in its scope, goals, and methodological choices. The book’s accessible language and interdisciplinary approach make it a compelling read not only for scholars and students of history, literature, and cultural and religious studies but also for general readers curious about ufological imaginations.” IJMES is published by Cambridge University Press under the auspices of the Middle East Studies Association of North America. This content first appeared on Cambridge Core on February 28, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002074382500....

Presentation at Qatar Faculty Forum panel at Northwestern University

I have an abundance of gratitude to Esmat Zaidan and Byrad Yyelland for moderating a panel with Ghizlane Bendriss, Yasemin Celikkol, Sara Hillman, Maryam Al-Sada, Mysti Rudd, Jeffrey Squires and me. This edition of the Qatar Faculty Forum was entitled “Privileging Multiple Ways of Knowing: Perspectives from Education City.” It took place at Northwestern University in Qatar on April 23, 2025. I thank Caroline Rodrigues, Rodel Losa and Roberto Billote for their essential logistical and technical support. You can view the slides of my presentation “Researching Science Fiction with Diverse Teams of Students” on Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/128967718/Re...

Maria Determann wins Arabic calligraphy competition at Doha English Speaking School

My congratulations and تهانيني to my daughter Maria on being one of the winners of the Arabic calligraphy competition at Doha English Speaking School (DESS). I thank the school’s Department of Islamic Studies and Arabic for awarding her a certificate. My special appreciation and تقديري الخاص go to her Arabic and Qatar history teachers, Amany Housiny and Hadeel Alrejjal, for developing her handwriting. You can find the list of winners and their pictures in the school newsletter dated April 24, 2025: https://secure.smore.com/n/f48n0

Presentation at McKesson in celebration of MENA Heritage Month

I have a sky full of gratitude to Amanda Coleman and Ayman Beydoun of McKesson Corporation for inviting me to speak about astronomy in celebration of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Heritage Month. My presentation, which I gave on April 23, 2025, is entitled “Space and the Stars in Middle Eastern Heritage.” Yousra Lahbabi served as event contact for our session on Microsoft Teams. I also thank my colleague Michael Forder at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for introducing me to Amanda back in September. You can find my visuals on Prezi: https://prezi.com/view/93C1Mq01nF23av...

Qatar Faculty Forum session on Privileging Multiple Ways of Knowing

I express my heartfelt thanks to Byrad Yyelland for inviting me to speak at a panel of the Qatar Faculty Forum (QFF) entitled “Privileging Multiple Ways of Knowing: Perspectives from Education City.” Our session, which is moderated by Esmat Zaidan and Byrad, will take place at the Projection Theater at Northwestern University in Qatar on April 23, 2025, between 12 and 2pm. I greatly look forward to talking about “Researching Science Fiction with Diverse Teams of Students.” I am also super-excited to learn from my fellow panellists Ghizlane Bendriss, Yasemin Celikkol, Sara Hillman, Maryam Al-Sada, Mysti Rudd and Jeffrey Squires. Lunch will be served. You can find more information about previous QFF events here: https://www.instagram.com/qatar_facul...

Curiosity Entangled with Roger Highfield

I owe a very deep debt of gratitude to Rick Coyle for bringing Roger Highfield and me together for a conversation. This episode of Curiosity Entangled is entitled “Aliens, AI, and Humanity’s Destiny in Space.” It was released on the YouTube channel of Accelerator Media as well as on X and Spotify on April 5, 2025. Rick, Roger and I used Riverside.fm. I thank my wife, Jeanne Vaz, for supporting my recording from our living room in Doha. Also in the background of our operation were Natasha Singh and Will Dave of the Science Museum Group. Accelerator Media is a non-profit organization that seeks to inspire long-term thinking about our shared future. The YouTube address of episode 4 of Curiosity Entangled is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wne1J...

Online conference on the Histories of Islam and Science in 2026

Since getting to know him in 2021, I have felt nothing but gratitude and admiration for Shoaib Ahmed Malik. Now at the University of Edinburgh, he invited Majid Daneshgar of Kyoto University and me to co-convene an online conference on the Histories of Islam and Science. The second in a series of Islamic Colloquiums of Edinburgh (ICE), it will take place in July 2026. The submission deadline for abstracts is March 27, 2026. You can find our call for papers on a webpage of the School of Divinity, New College, University of Edinburgh: https://divinity.ed.ac.uk/news-and-ev...

Peter Gould commencement keynote speaker at VCUarts Qatar

I express my sincerest gratitude to Peter Gould for agreeing to serve as our commencement keynote speaker at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar in 2025. Earlier this academic year, I had nominated him for this role for a second time (after 2022/2023). I thank my colleagues in Strategic Engagement and our Dean’s Office, including Amir Berbić himself, for making his appearance possible. Back in November, I was fortunate to join Lejla Nikšić, Maya Roeder and Isabel Latayan in welcoming Peter to our campus for an initial visit. While giving Peter a tour of our building, we also introduced him to several of our other colleagues, including Mohammad Suleiman and Yasmeen Suleiman. Find out more about our commencement ceremony here: https://qatar.vcu.edu/academics/comme...

Article on the Limits of Generative Artificial Intelligence

It has been a year since I last thanked Mohamed Elhawary and his colleagues at Al-Fanar Media for publishing an article of mine. My new essay published today is entitled “Testing the Limits of Generative Artificial Intelligence with Your Students.“ The Arabic title is “اختبر الذكاء الاصطناعي التوليدي مع طلابك.” Charles Huckabee was quick and thorough in editing my text. All my pieces of writing are the products of conversations with many people. This time, I would like to mention the members of my “GUQ friends” WhatsApp group, and especially Khalid AlHashmi and Chris Alario. Jeanne Vaz proofread my initial manuscript. Finally, I owe a perennial debt to Patty Paine for her encouragement to reflect on my pedagogy in narrative form. https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2025/03...