UseFool
Knowledge and manipulation of nature between usefulness and deception in the Arabo-Islamic tradition (9th-15th century)
UseFool brings together a corpus of previously unexplored Arabic technical sources that
illustrate how to exploit the properties of natural substances in order to entertain and
deceive. The project considers for the first time the technical knowledge of nature as
applied by merchants, charlatans, craftsmen, and entertainers in the streets, markets, and
other public and private urban spaces ofthe Arabo-Islamic Mediaeval and early modern
world. Erudite scholars and street performers alike were engaged with the knowledge of
nature and its numerous applications. UseFooI investigates the parallel development of this
interest in the different social and intellectual groups engaged in the transmission ofthis
knowledge and involved in its practice. UseFool adopts the practitioner’s point of view and
studies how both nature and humans are being manipulated, and the kinds of knowledge
that develop around and in response to these practices.
Events
- Bologna, 17-19 June 2026
- 11 October 2024
- 11 December 2023
Replications
UseFool develops a fresh interdisciplinary approach that combines the textual analysis of the sources, tailored in terms of their technical nature, with the hands-on replication of the material reality behind the procedures, and unique attention for the performative and commercial component entailed in these practices. Assuming that no conjurer or expert in general would ever fully disclose their tricks, the project seeks to uncover the crucial technical information omitted by the texts though the replication of their material reality. This integrates and expands the spectrum of replication, in order to study the performative skills and social elements that played a role in the different applications of natural properties.
