- Al-Andalus and Its Diasporas: From the Middle Ages to the Present

Catalog description

Islamic Spain was a place where ancient and new communities encountered and transformed each other. Known in the Middle Ages as al-Andalus, it continues to occupy the cultural and political imaginations of Spain and the Arab world. This class explores al-Andalus through what defines it in scholarly and popular discourse: its religious communities and the cultural contact and synthesis characterizing them. By placing medieval Spain or “Iberia” into its Mediterranean context, the class traces the development of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities from their beginnings in the eastern Mediterranean and their settlement in Iberia up to the diasporas in the Mediterranean region today. Rather than essentializing religion, we place it in dialogue with language and culture, tradition and innovation. As a writing-intensive seminar, students will engage the cultural and historical themes of the class through writing in daily discussion posts, in-class reflections, midterm essays, and a phased research project on a theme chosen by the student. The course is closed to first-year students.