The Invention of Science in Hebrew

A free Shorstein Center public lecture featuring Leo Corry, President of The Open University of Israel. About the Lecture: The opening of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1925 was seen by many as a fundamental milestone on the way to a modern spiritual and intellectual renaissance of the Jewish people in their national home. At this time, modern Hebrew had not yet been adopted as the primary language of instruction in the region and a new scientific language for learning at the university needed to be established. Drawing on sources from the Haskalah and Ben-Yehuda movements of the late 19th century, this talk explores the beginnings of institutionalized, higher mathematical research in Mandatory Palestine and the creation of the modern Hebrew language necessary for conducting and communicating it. Speaker Bio: Leo Corry is a historian of mathematics, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University, where he was Dean of Humanities, currently serving as President of the Open University of Israel. His research spans several areas of interest including, among others, the history of modern mathematics and physics, the Hebrew Euclidean tradition in the Middle Ages, and the history of science in the Israeli and the Latin Amercian contexts. He has published nine books and dozens of research articles. His book, A Brief History of Numbers (Oxford University Press, 2015) has been translated into six languages, including Turkish and Chinese. He was awarded the Kadar Family Award for Outstanding Research at Tel Aviv University (2022) and the Albert Leon Whiteman Prize of the American Mathematical Society for exceptional scholarship in the history of mathematics (2024). Additional Event Information: • This event will be held in person at the Judaica Suite in Smathers Library • The event is free to attend and open to all Parking Information: • Parking is available at the 147 NW 16th St. Parking Lot: A surface pay-by-text lot located directly across the street from Smathers Library. Questions: email [email protected]