JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS IN SPAIN: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AND EXCHANGE
While in most of medieval Europe, Christians predominated numerically and culturally, in Medieval Iberia, they were often overshadowed by people of the other two monotheistic faiths, Islam and Judaism. How did Muslims, Jews and Christians living in close proximity understand and structure their relations with each other? The course seeks to answer this and other questions as it explores the culturally diverse world of the Iberian Peninsula from the Visigoth prelude through the momentous events of 1492 (the expulsion of the Jews, the Christian conquest of Granada, and the inauguration of the conquest of the Americas) to the forced conversion of the Muslims and the expulsion of the Moriscos (the forcefully converted Muslims and their descendants) between 1609-1614. Themes include: identity and cultural definition; religious violence; gender and sexuality; political structures, material culture, tolerance and intolerance; acculturation and appropriation. Materials to be studieed: historical srouces and contemporary movies.
Two identical sections are offered. One meets on Tue and Thu at 2:00-3:15, the other on Tues and Thu 12:30-1:45.
For more information, contact: Daniel Hershenzon, LCL at daniel.hershenzon@uconn.edu