معرفی
Regula Forster is a Professor of Islamic History and Culture at the University of Tübingen, where she has served since 2020. She currently holds the position of Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty of Humanities. Previously, she was Professor of Arabic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin (2018-2020) and an SNSF professor at the University of Zürich (2016-2018). Her academic journey includes a junior professorship at Freie Universität Berlin (2008-2018) and post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford (2007-2008).
- PhD (Dr. phil.) from University of Zurich (2005)
- Habilitation from Freie Universität Berlin (2015)
- Studied German, Arabic, and Philosophy at Universities of Zürich, Tübingen and Birzeit (1994-2000)
Professor Forster's research focuses on the intersection of literature, science, and religion in the Islamic world. Her primary areas include Arabic alchemy, particularly the works of Ibn Arfa' Ra's, knowledge transmission through literary forms, Quranic exegesis, and cultural exchanges between East and West. She examines how scientific knowledge was conveyed through dialogues, poetry, and other literary forms in medieval Arabic texts.
Her publication record shows a strong focus on alchemy in the Islamic world, with numerous articles analyzing alchemical poetry, manuscripts, and the relationship between religious scholarship and scientific practice. She has also made significant contributions to understanding the transmission of Aristotelian knowledge through texts like the Sirr al-asrār/Secretum secretorum across cultural boundaries.
Professor Forster has organized and participated in numerous international conferences and workshops on Islamic studies, alchemy, and manuscript culture. She serves as editor for the 'Islam' section of Orientalistische Literaturzeitung since 2009 and has edited special issues on alchemy in the Islamicate world.
She leads a major research project on the Alchemist Ibn Arfa' Ra's and his poetry collection Šuḏūr aḏ-ḏahab ('The Gold Splinters'), examining how traditional religious scholarship in the Arab-Islamic world was reconciled with 'secret science' such as alchemy. This project involves extensive manuscript research across multiple institutions worldwide.
