Dimensions of Knowledge Oikonomies: Theory and Practice in Premodern Mining and Cosmology

The project investigates the dynamics of cosmological and terrestrial knowledge in premodern times by examining reciprocal relationships between textual, practical and material formations of knowledge discourses concerning non-human nature. The project uses a broad concept of cosmology that includes astronomy, theories of the spheres, geography, mathematics and the conception of Earth. A special focus lies on the ‘momenta’ (such as libraries and networks of knowledge) that generated specific kinds of knowledge in the early modern knowledge oikonomies of cosmology and mining.

A list of publications and events organized by the project can be accessed on the German CRC 980 website.