The Department of Literatures, Languages and Cultures is offering two new Arabic courses this Fall, as a new Minor in Arabic&Islamic studies is being developed:
ARAB 3295 - Al-Andalus: Music, Science and Literature in Muslim Spain (in English) Tue/Thur 6-7.15pm, OAK 401
This course will introduce you to the history, literature and culture of Muslim Spain, through a selection of films and documentaries, original Arabic texts (in English translation), songs, and contemporary historiography. Our journey through this fascinating time and place begins with the first wave of Islamic expansion and the Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula. We will then see how the city Córdoba became one of the most important metropolises in Europe, the seat of an independent Caliphate, and a center of scholarship and learning for Muslims, Jews and Christians. We will witness the fall of Córdoba and the subsequent rise of the kings of Taifas, warlords who vied for political supremacy and intellectual primacy in the Iberian Peninsula. We will read first-hand accounts of the demise of the Taifa kings, as they fell prey to the North African Almoravid troops. Lastly, we will explore the final chapters of Muslim sovereignty in Iberia: the Almohad empire and the Nasrid kingdom of Granada.
ARAB 3212 - Maghribi Texts: Sicily, Spain and the Mediterranean (in Arabic and English) Tue/Thurs 4-5.15pm, OAK 206
In this course we will explore the medieval Western Mediterranean through the eyes of Arab travellers, poets and historiographers. We will follow them through the streets of the great capital cities of the Western Mediterranean: Messina, Qayrawan, Barcelona, and witness scenes from the daily lives of princes, peasants, ruffians and a drunken scholar. We will make the acquaintance of the Arabic-speaking Norman kings of Sicily and enter their pleasure palaces in Palermo. We will learn about the legendary musician Ziryab, who fled his native Baghdad and brought to Spain the songs, dances and trends of the Abbasid court. Our texts will unveil how networks of people and ideas linked the shores of the Mediterranean: the ‘Middle Sea’ emerges from these readings as a crossroad where cultures met and knowledge was exchanged, rather than a diving boundary between hostile worlds.
For more information, contact: Prof. Nicola Carpentieri at nicola.carpentieri@uconn.edu