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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 6d

📢: Our workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games" at the Berlin Science Week is now sold out. Didn't get tickets? Don't worry, we are planning more workshops in Berlin in the spring of 2026, so stay tuned for updates!

@mpiwg.bsky.social

Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 7d

📢 Tickets for our workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games" are selling out fast! One ticket left! Will you be the last to join us? Check out the workshop details here: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/playin...

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 7d

📢 Tickets for our workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games" are selling out fast! One ticket left! Will you be the last to join us? Check out the workshop details here: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/playin...

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 13d

📢 We are excited to participate in this year's Berlin Science Week with an exhibition "Cosmic Games: Real Gods Play Dice" and a workshop "Playing with the Past: Reconstructing Ancient Games".

@mpiwg.bsky.social

🔗 www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/cosmic...

🔗 www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/playin...

Cosmic Games: Real Gods Play Dice | MPIWG

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science comprises scholars across all Departments and Research Groups, as well as an Administration team, IT Support, Library, Digital Humanities, and Research Communication and Management team.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 14d

📢 A gentle reminder that Prof. Elizabeth Kaske will present her work on "Digital Approaches to a Qing Chinese Boardgame" in the ASTRA colloquium series this morning at 10:00. Still time to tune in via Zoom. See link below.

Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 22d

📢 : On September 24, 10:00-11:00 CET, Prof. Elizabeth Kaske will present her work on using computational techniques to analyze a 19th-century Chinese board game (Shengguan tu 升官圖) modelling promotion in the bureaucracy of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

@mpiwg.bsky.social

Digital Approaches to a Qing Chinese Boardgame | MPIWG

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science comprises scholars across all Departments and Research Groups, as well as an Administration team, IT Support, Library, Digital Humanities, and Research Communication and Management team.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 21d

📢 : The latest ASTRA Our Stories on Dr Hamid Bohloul's exciting research on Persian manuscript marginalia and court astrologers is out now!

"How Reading Persian Manuscript Marginalia Provides New Histories of Astral Sciences"

🔗 : www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/feature-stor...

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 22d

Registration for the event is NOT required. You can join freely via Zoom: eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/68564259061

🔗 : www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/digita...

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

eu02web.zoom-x.de

Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 22d

📢 : On September 24, 10:00-11:00 CET, Prof. Elizabeth Kaske will present her work on using computational techniques to analyze a 19th-century Chinese board game (Shengguan tu 升官圖) modelling promotion in the bureaucracy of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

@mpiwg.bsky.social

Digital Approaches to a Qing Chinese Boardgame | MPIWG

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science comprises scholars across all Departments and Research Groups, as well as an Administration team, IT Support, Library, Digital Humanities, and Research Communication and Management team.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 27d

📢 Day two of our "Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play" starts at 9:30. Today's focus in on South Asian games. Check the programme here:

🔗 www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/games-...

Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play | MPIWG

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science comprises scholars across all Departments and Research Groups, as well as an Administration team, IT Support, Library, Digital Humanities, and Research Communication and Management team.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 28d

This afternoon, in connection with the "Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play" workshop, we are also hosting an Open Play Session for anyone interested in hands-on experience with Asian board games.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/open-p...

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · 28d

📢 Our workshop "Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play" kicks off this morning with papers on nard, chess, and shaṭranj, the medieval form of chess practiced across the Islamicate world.

🔗 www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/games-...

@mpiwg.bsky.social

#games #histsci #astral

Games across Asia: The Primary Sources of Play | MPIWG

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science comprises scholars across all Departments and Research Groups, as well as an Administration team, IT Support, Library, Digital Humanities, and Research Communication and Management team.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Sep 4

Call For Abstracts

Rethinking planetary and sustainability governance through cosmological imaginaries

www.planetstewards.eu/call-for-abs...

Call for Abstracts | PLANETSTEWARDS

Contribute to advancing knowledge and solutions for Earth-space sustainability by submitting your papers to PlanetStewards. Join the conversation and help shape the discourse on stewardship strategies...

www.planetstewards.eu

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Aug 27

Last week, Japan's oldest professional player of the board
game Go retired aged 98. One of the world's foremost scholars of Go, Daniela Trinks, will join the ASTRA research group next week. We are excited to have Daniela on board.

@mpiwg.bsky.social

www.berlinertageszeitung.de/en/Boulevard...

Time to Go: Japan pro board game player retires at 98

Japan's oldest professional player of the board game Go retired on Wednesday aged 98, saying that she can no longer handle "six hours without a break".

www.berlinertageszeitung.de

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Reposted by Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science @mpiwg.bsky.social · Aug 20

Department "Knowledge Systems and Collective Life" seeks a Collaborative Research Coordinator!

🤝 Help expand its community-based, publicly engaged research
🎤 Advise researchers on cooperative methods
📋 Coordinate cooperation agreements

🗓️ Deadline: Sep 28, 2025
🔗 bit.ly/45FXu8R

#HistSci #EnvHist

Collage of three images. The first reads: "Max Planck Institute for the history of Science. Career. We're hiring." The second image shows a researcher presenting at the March 2025 Publications Slam. The third shows a group of people at the institute's courtyard. Second image by Anna Ruhnow, MPIWG 2025. Third image by MPIWG, 2021.

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Aug 19

Did you ever hear of the South Asian board game Dadu? In this short video, Jacob Schmidt-Madsen gives a brief summary of his article "Discovering Dadu: A Ludemic Enigma from South Asia" published in the Board Game Studies Journal (no. 18, 2024). www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKR_...

@mpiwg.bsky.social

Discovering Dadu: A Ludemic Enigma from South Asia

YouTube video by ASTRA

www.youtube.com

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Aug 7

📢 Publication alert!

We are delighted to share the latest publication from ASTRA researchers Jacob Schmidt-Madsen and Anuj Misra.

"A Tree with Many Roots: Introducing the Zysk Collection of Indic Manuscripts", now open access in Manuscript Studies muse.jhu.edu/article/965563

@mpiwg.bsky.social

Project MUSE - A Tree with Many Roots: Introducing the Zysk Collection of Indic Manuscripts

muse.jhu.edu

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Aug 6

📢 We are excited to announce our next High Gravity Talk with @audreytruschke.bsky.social entitled "Fieldnotes from Battles over Indian History, Society, and Sciences" on November 20, 2025, 16:00 at the Leibniz Hall, Berlin. @mpiwg.bsky.social
🔗 tinyurl.com/mr2jrnz5

Poster for High Gravity Talk with Audrey Truschke on November 20, 2025.

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Jul 15

📢 Our next High Gravity Talk entitled "Fieldnotes from Battles over Indian History, Society, and Sciences" will be given by @audreytruschke.bsky.social on November 20, 2025, 16:00 at the Leibniz Hall, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
🔗 tinyurl.com/mr2jrnz5
@mpiwg.bsky.social

Fieldnotes from Battles over Indian History, Society, and Sciences | MPIWG

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science @mpiwg.bsky.social · Jul 11

New podcast episode ☕😌
Jacob Schmidt-Madsen talks to Benjamin Linder on "The Channel” by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) about the history of South Asian #Games and their inherent spiritual and societal meaning 👁️

🎧 bit.ly/44zyeSJ

#HistSci #Cosmology
@astra-mpiwg.bsky.social

Jacob Schmidt-Madsen in the lobby of the Institute during an event. He demonstrates an Asian board game opposed to the German board game “Mensch ärgere dich nicht” („Man, Don’t Get Angry“). Photo: Sandra Prengel, 2024.

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Jul 9

📢: Jacob Schmidt-Madsen, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Research Group Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA), spoke to 5 Games 4 Doomsday (5G4D) host Ben Maddox about his research on the Indian origins of "Snakes & Ladders"

🔗: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/news/jacob-s...

@mpiwg.bsky.social

Jacob Schmidt-Madsen on the Cultural History of Board Games | MPIWG

Schmidt-Madsen on how "Snakes & Ladders" served as a cosmic roadmap of fate and storytelling on 5G4D

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Jul 8

📢: Our postdoctoral fellow Hamid Bohloul is speaking about "Royal Horoscopes in Persian" in the Research Colloquium ZODIAC next week!

📅: 16 July 2025, 16:00-17:30
🌍: Institut für Wissensgeschichte des Altertums, Arnimallee 10, Raum 010, 14195 Berlin
🔗: www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/zodiac/new...

Research Colloquium ZODIAC, Wissensgeschichte des Altertums and the ASTRA Project, MPIWG: Hamid Bohloul,

www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de

Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA) @astra-mpiwg.bsky.social · Jul 3

📢: Postdoctoral Scholar Jacob Schmidt-Madsen was interviewed by The Channel, a podcast by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), about games, our worldview, and spirituality.

🔗: www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/podcast/sout...

South Asian Games with Jacob Schmidt-Madsen | MPIWG

MPIWG Postdoctoral Scholar Jacob Schmidt-Madsen is interviewed by The Channel to talk about how games reflect societies, how they affect our worldview, and the spiritual meaning they can convey.

www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de

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Reposted by Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanck.de · Jun 24

“The Vera Rubin Telescope will be transformational for my research in #cosmology," says Esra Bulbul, astronomer
@mpe-garching.bsky.social. "With its wide field of view and depth, it will observe billions of #galaxies across vast distances.” www.mpg.de/24900555/ver... @vrubinobs.bsky.social

This image of the Trifid Nebula (small gas nebula at top right) and the Lagoon Nebula (dominant) fits roughly into the field of view of the large 3.200 Megapixel camera at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The image is a composite of 678 individual images, revealing even faint details.

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Reposted by Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)

ISTB University of Vienna, Austria @istb-univienna.bsky.social · Jun 20

@istb-univienna.bsky.social is hiring: We are offering a three-year 50% Postdoc Position in the field of Indology and Himalayan Studies at the ISTB in Vienna. Please circulate this advertisement among qualified candidates.

Closing date for applications: June 26

jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...

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Reposted by Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)

New Scientist @newscientist.com · Jun 18

With the ability to scan the entire southern night sky every three days, the huge Vera C. Rubin Observatory could be about to start solving the mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to Planet Nine

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is about to totally transform astronomy

With the ability to scan the entire southern night sky every three days, the huge Vera C. Rubin Observatory could be about to start solving the mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to Planet Nine

www.newscientist.com

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Reposted by Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)

MAMO Conference 2025 @themamoconf.bsky.social · Jun 12

Wednesday 25th continues our Middle Ages in Modern Games thread: the focus in this hybrid session is 'Periodisation Beyond the West'.
With Muhammad Abdul Karim, Kristina Wittkamp (Passau), and Hirohito Tsuji @tsujihirohito.bsky.social, UEA)! 👇 #MAMOmonth

Session 1B: The Middle Ages in Modern Games (III): Periodisation Beyond the West [Room K018 – hybrid session]
Chair: James Worth
Muhammad Abdul Karim: No Middle Ages in Timor: Understanding the concept of Middle Ages in Temukung: Cultivation in Drylands
Kristina Wittkamp (University of Passau): Medievalisms in Russian-language computer games – depictions of Rus’ between fantasy and historical simulation
Hirohito Tsuji (University of East Anglia): Japanese Stereotypes in Medievalist Games: The Onimusha series

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