UNESCO CONFERENCE EXAMINES MEANS OF ENHANCING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 008601

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS
STATE FOR IO/UNESCO Kevin Pilz, OES BARRIE RIPIN,
OES/STAS ANDREW W. REYNOLDS
STATE FOR NSC GENE WHITNEY
STATE FOR NSF INTERNATIONAL OFFICE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNESCO KSCA SOCI SCUL KISL TSPL FR
SUBJECT: UNESCO CONFERENCE EXAMINES MEANS OF ENHANCING
HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN ISLAMIC WORLD



1. Summary and Introduction: An international
conference on "The Introduction of History of Science
in the Higher Education Level of the Muslim Countries"
took place December 15-16, at UNESCO; the conference
was organized by UNESCO's Culture Sector, with the
participation of the Natural Sciences Sector. The
conference included roughly 25 participants, mainly
academics in history, science and medicine from Muslim
countries, including Syria, Iran, and Turkey. Two
professors from American universities also
participated.


2. The aim of the conference, according to one of the
organizers, was to study means of enhancing the
teaching of the history of Science at the university
level in the Islamic world; knowledge of the pioneering
achievements of Muslim scientists and scholars between
the eighth and fifteenth centuries will encourage
Muslim youth to pursue the study of modern science.
The "hidden agenda" is to turn the attention of these
youth from "traditional schools and fanaticism."
Discussion of next steps (PARAS 4-9) was hampered by
the fact that the event had not been coordinated with
UNESCO'S Education sector. End Summary and
Introduction.


3. Participants at the conference agreed that the
history of science is often overlooked in secondary and
higher education curricula. The utility of coursework
in the history of science was discussed, with many
agreeing that its dissemination is limited by the fact
that some researchers claim that the study of the
history of science will not enhance success in modern
science. For this reason, additional efforts are
needed to raise the interest of students in the history
of science, outside the framework of the "religion
versus science debate". It was agreed that in teaching
the history of science in Muslim countries, the link
between religion and science must be discussed, as
there are over 750 verses mentioning science in the
Koran. In addition, Historical influences must be
considered when establishing curricula. Participants
noted that few Muslim researchers and scientists are
well known for their work, in comparison to Western
researchers and scientists.

Participants from U.S. Institutions Outline Challenges


4. On day two, Dr. F. Jamil Ragep, a self-described
Arab-American (Ph.D. Harvard) and acting-chair of the
Department of the History of Science at the University
of Oklahoma, highlighted the declining interest in the
U.S. in teaching the history of science in the Islamic
world. He said that prominent positions have gone
unfilled at Harvard, Brown, Yale and New York
University but that his own employer - the University
of Oklahoma where he holds a permanent position in a
history of science program - is a bright exception. He
noted how odd it is that the University of Oklahoma is
"more concerned about the history of Arabic/Islamic
science than Cairo University. Sadly, this is the
case."


5. Dr. Gul A. Russell, professor of History of
Medicine and the Humanities at Texas A&M University
Health Science Center (Ph.D. Indiana) suggested a task
force to create guidelines, through UNESCO, to enhance
the teaching of the history of science in the Islamic
World at top institutions in the East and the West. She
said these could be modeled on guidelines put out by
the History of Science Society. (Note: the
participation of the two American experts was described
by a Culture sector contact as "invaluable". End
Note.)

Training Trainers -- without the Education Sector?


6. Over the course of the conference, participants
discussed possible "recommendations" that could emanate
from the meeting. Participants agreed that in order to
introduce the study of the history of science in
universities in the Muslim world, more teachers -
"trained in an objective way" -- are required. To
achieve this, some participants advocated fostering
inter-institute cooperation to develop a model
curriculum. It was suggested that scholars, sponsored
by Islamic universities, study the history of science
in Western universities, including in the United States
and Great Britain. This suggestion was dismissed due
to the high percentage of students who do not return to
their home institutions after completing such studies.


7. Despite the consensus on the need for more
"training of trainers" to teach the history of science
-- as well as on the need for more research and
dissemination of findings -- precise modalities
remained TBD. When a participant asked: "How do we
train people in the history of science?", the absence
of anyone from UNESCO's Education Sector was
highlighted. The conference was organized by UNESCO's
culture sector, with the participation of the science
sector; no one with teacher education expertise from
the Education Sector was present to field questions on
this issue.


8. Participants also raised the possibility of UNESCO
making a film highlighting the accomplishments of
Muslim scientists. They tossed around other ideas
before deciding to create a drafting committee to come
up with recommendations to be shared with the UNESCO's
Natural Sciences Sector. A culture sector contact
envisaged two areas of future work: one relating to
higher education -- he assured us that the Education
Sector's input would be solicited; the other relating
to the "popularization" of the history of science, via
high school studies and publications. On funding, our
contact confided that UNESCO's budget had provided
11,000 USD for the conference, the rest coming from
"The World Islamic Call Society." Funding for any
follow-up activities would need to be considered.


9. Comment: We find the lack of prior consultation
with the education sector in preparing this event
worrisome. Nilse Ryman, chief of staff to
ADG/Education Peter Smith, said he would look into why
there was no coordination between the science and
culture sectors and the education sector in the run-up
to this meeting. End Comment. KOSS