Author: Harufumi Tamazawa
Affiliation: Kyoto City University of Arts / Kyoto University
Country: Japan
Co-Author(s): Kiyomi Iwahashi
Affiliation: National Institute of Japanese Literature
Country: Japan
Title: Workshop to Survey Astronomical Events from Historical Document: Inclusion of (Other) Field
Not all people are interested in astronomy. In order to be sympathetic to those who have major interests besides astronomy, attracting the interests of individuals and getting them to know their relationship with astronomy is the first step. For this purpose, cooperation with not only astronomers and fun of astronomy, but also experts and enthusiasts in other fields is essential.
The workshop to search for candidates for astronomical phenomena from historical documents, was held four times from 2016. In the fourth session conducted in Kyoto in November 2018, the scope of investigation was not limited to astronomical phenomena, but was extended to earth and planetary sciences and disaster prevention research. A questionnaire survey of participants on the day shows that there is a tendency for more participants to be more interested in astronomy than the previous three participants. There were many opportunities for participation by speakers, and it was recognized again that everyday social contribution activities such as lectures by researchers were important for deepening citizens’ interest in academic research. For those interested in history, receiving a lecture by a scientific researcher about astronomical phenomena and disasters described in historical materials can not be understood just by reading only the characters of historical materials, making individual historical facts more realistic It was an opportunity to learn things. On the other hand, the layer interested in astronomy became an opportunity to learn about the past people’s feelings about natural phenomena conveyed by historical historical materials, and to consider the depth of historical historical materials and the relationship between nature and humans different from modern times. The interdisciplinary collaboration type event is a trigger to increase understanding and empathy of both by reading the same historical documents from different viewpoints and sharing them.
References:
[1]: Iwahashi and Tamazawa 2018, Stars and Galaxies, 1, 51-65