The University of Colorado Mediterranean Studies Group
• CU undergraduates apply for Research Assistant (Work-study)
• CU graduate students apply forthe Mediterranean Seminar/ CU Mediterranean Studies Group Program Coordinator
The CU Mediterranean Studies Group is open to interested faculty and graduate students from Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences programs at CU Boulder and neighboring institutions, as well as to the Colorado community. Its aim is to develop Mediterranean Studies at CU Boulder and promote interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion among the broadest possible spectrum, with a view to encouraging research and teaching in the emerging field of Mediterranean Studies. We seek to explore categories of historical and cultural analysis that present alternatives to established national, “civilizational” and continental paradigms and emphasize conflict, exchange and interaction among diverse ethnic, religious and cultural collectives as a force behind innovation and historical development in a wide range of human endeavors. Through the Mediterranean, we seek to interrogate, assess and revise established heuristic categories and the teleological narratives that have emerged out of post-Enlightenment northern European scholarship and that have exercised an effective monopoly on our conception of Modernity and its emergence, and on the nature of cultural identity in general. Our focus is centered on but not limited to the Mediterranean region; scholars working on comparable problems in other regions and other aspects of “Oceanic Studies” are most welcome.
The group focuses particularly on questions relating to ethno-religious and ethno-cultural identity and its construction, inter-communal relations, cross-cultural exchange, innovation and artistic production, movement and migration, the development and expression of hegemonic power and of empire, the role of economics and commerce in these processes. Although the period from late Antiquity to the Early Modern is emphasized, we engage with these themes through the whole of Mediterranean history, from the Neolithic to the Present.
We welcome proposals and suggestions from CU faculty and graduate students for reading group sessions, seminars or works-in-progress workshops both for the present academic year and future.
If you would like to get notifications for our scholarly events, click here; if you are a member of the community interested in events aimed at the public, click here to become a "Friend of the Mediterranean."
We will soon be organizing our program for 2021-22. Proposals for events, including works-in-progress workshops, conferences, and colloquia are welcome. CU faculty and graduate students can apply for support to attend the Mediterranean Seminar workshops, which is slated to resume in February 2022. Click here or suscribe to the Mediterranean Seminar mailing list for updates.
For our organization and sponsors, click here.
For inquires or information regarding our programming, contact mailbox@mediterraneanseminar.org.
2024-2025 Program
#Thursday and Friday 10 & 11 April: “Faking It - Forgery, Fraud, Deception and Dissimulation in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean” The Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2025 Workshop will be held at Case Western Reserve University with the co-sponsorship of Aix-Marseille Université and will feature keynotes by Karoline Cook (Royal Holloway, University of London) and Stefania Tutino (UCLA), three workshopped papers and three roundtable conversations. Apply by 6 January, CFP here.
#Friday & Saturday 28 February & 1 March: The Multilingual Mediterranean” The Winter 2025 Mediterranean Seminar Workshop to be held on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, featuring keynote prssentations byWilliam Stroebel (Comparative Literatures and Modern Greek, University of Michigan) and Dwight Reynolds (Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara) with three workshop papers and three roundtable sessions. Registration (until 15 February) and program here.
Tuesday, 10 December “The Philosopher’s Burden: Ibn Rushd Against the Sophists of His Time” a talk byFouad Ben Ahmed (Al-Qarawiyyin University, Morocco & Harvard University) followed by a discussion with Aun Hasan Ali (RLST), Brian A. Catlos (RLST), and Robert Pasnau (PHIL), 3:30-5:00pm at UMC 245. Limited space is available for Prof. Ben Ahmed’s guest lecture for PHIL4030 “Islamic Philosophy beyond the Middle Ages” on Wednesday 11 December,11:15–12:05. Contact Robert Pasnau (pasnau@colorado.edu) to reserve
#Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 November 2024: “Before the Nation - Diversity and Identity in Pre-Modern Tunisia/Ifriqiya and North Africa (12th - 18th Centuries)” The Mediterranean Seminar Fall 2024 Workshop to be held at the The Tunisia Office of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. Featuring keynote presentations by Brian A. Catlos (University of Colorado Boulder), Cemal Kafadar (Harvard University), and Houssem Eddine Chachia (University of Tunis), with working sessions on Integration and Migraition. Program here.
2023-2024 Program
Monday to Thursday, August 5–8 - Islamic Legal Texts: In Depth (Summer Skills Seminar)
This Summer Skills Seminar introduces participants to Islamic law. The seminar is focused on developing the skill of reading Islamic legal texts as opposed to surveying Islamic legal doctrines. It is designed for beginners seeking to build their capacity to investigate Islamic law. Participants will read the chapters on legal obligation (taklīf) and ritual purity (ṭahāra) in Durūs tamhīdiyya fī l-fiqh al-istidlālī by Muḥammad Bāqir al-Īrawānī (b. 1949). • Instructor: Aun Hasan Ali
Monday to Thursday, 16–19 July “Reading Old French” (Summer Skills Seminar)
This seminar proposes a hands-on introduction (or refresher) to reading medieval French, a particularly important vernacular in medieval Europe. We will look at literary works associated with a wide variety of genres, as well as non-literary documents; texts ranging from the first pieces written in French (ninth century) through the late Middle Ages; texts written in different dialects of langue d’oïl; and texts from across Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Attention will be paid, too, to looking at edited and unedited texts. Basic reading knowledge of modern French is required for this course. • Instructor: Charles Samuelson • Prerequisites: Reading knowledge of modern French
Thursday to Saturday, 11—13 July 2024: "Arcipelaghi" The 2024 "Leggere Mediterranea" Summer School of the Festival Letterario "Mediterranea" directed by Dr. Simonetta Castia (AES, Associazione Editori Sardi), held at Parco di Porto Conte, Alghero, with the support of the Università L'Orientale di Napoli. The school is held in Parco di Porto Conte in Alghero, and is opened to anyone who wishes to be in a convivial modality of conversation about pan-mediterranean approaches to literature/s, with scholars of history of the Mediterranean, cartography, geography and cultural studies, to "re-think" together ways to reflect on the past to build a better future of social and climate justice. Program here.
Monday to Thursday, 8–11 July “Sephardic Culture: An Introduction” (Summer Skills Seminar)
This Summer Skills Seminar provides participants with the an overview of main currents in Sephardic Studies including historial and cultural trends, texts, sources for the period 900-1700 CE, and attending to the potential of this field to enhance your own research and teaching. It is designed with academics in mind, particularly graduate students, postdocs, and professors working in disciplines such as history, literature, religious studies, but all intersted parties are welcome to apply. Participants will receive a completion certificate which may be listed on your CV and other documents such as grant/fellowship applications. The seminar is held via zoom over four days, with two two-hour sessions each day. Particpants are expected to prepare readings in advance of the sessions, which will be a blend of lecture, pair and group discussion, group close readings, and in-class activities. • Instructor: David A. Wacks • Prerequisites: None.
Monday to Thursday, 24–27 June “Reading Arabic Manuscripts” (Summer Skills Seminar)
This Summer Skills Course will build participants’ ability to read handwritten Arabic manuscripts and documents, primarily those written before the twentieth century. It is designed with academics in mind, particularly graduate students, postdocs, and professors working in disciplines such as history, literature, and religious studies. All interested parties with at least two years of Arabic language training are, however, welcome to apply, and attention will be paid to the ways that paleographical skills can enhance diverse forms of research and teaching. Participants will receive a completion certificate which may be listed on a CV and on other documents such as grant/fellowship applications. The seminar is held via Zoom over four days, with two two-hour sessions each day. Participants are expected to prepare readings in advance of the sessions, which will be a blend of lecture and pair- and group-work. • Instructor: Luke Yarbrough • Prerequisites: Participants MUST have the equivalent of at least two years of university-level Arabic.
Monday to Thursday, 17–20 June “Mediterranean Art History: An Introduction” (Summer Skills Seminar)
This Summer Skills Seminar provides participants with an overview of key concepts and methodologies in the study of Mediterranean art history. The course will address the themes of mobility, connectivity, and encounter in relation to the visual culture of peoples and territories across the sea. Participants will acquire an art historical tool kit to assist them in conducting their own research on the visual culture and artistic production of the medieval Mediterranean • Instructor: Karen Mathews • Prerequisites: AP Art History courses or introductory surveys. Some upper division or graduate art history coursework is ideal but not required
Monday to Thursday, 10–13 June “Mediterranean Magic: An Introduction” (Summer Skills Seminar)
This four-day intensive skills seminar will not only provide participants with an overview of magic’s history (broadly defined) throughout the premodern period but also introduce them to recurring patterns in magical practice and representation, significant symbols, and even tools for bringing similar material into their classrooms or personal reflections. As much as possible the content will be catered to participants interests and needs. Medievalists of all disciplines and ranks, graduate students, qualified undergraduate students, library and archival professionals, independent scholars, and modern magic practitioners or enthusiasts are encouraged to apply. • Instructor: Veronica Menaldi • Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites apart from an interest in magic, astrology, and occult science in both culture and literature.
Monday to Thursday, 20–23 May “Reading Archival Latin” (Summer Skills Seminar)
Focussing on the documents in Latin held at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon in Barcelona, this seminar presents an introduction to Latin diplomatics and the reading of unedited archival documents through the incredible rich collection of Barcelona’s ACA. The seminar combines hands-on reading practice with units on different genres of documents, abbreviations, research techniques, dating systems, and other relevant information. Instructor: Brian A. Catlos
Prerequisites: Intermediate reading knowledge of Latin is required, but no previous experience in paleography or diplomatics.
#Friday & Saturday, 26 & 27 April 2024: “Mediterranean Ecologies” The Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2024 Workshop (Saint Louis University). A two-day workshop featuring keynote presentations: “Marx, Braudel, and the Climates of Historical Capitalism” by Jason Moore (Sociology: Binghamton University, SUNY) and “Environment and the State: A History of Slow Violence in the Ottoman Middle East” by Zozan Pehlivan (History: University of Minnesota), and round-tables on Mediterranean Space, Methodologies and Perspectives and Representations. Full program here.
Monday & Tuesday 15 & 16 April 2024: Muhammad U. Faruque (A&S Romance & Arabic Languages & Literature, University of Cincinnati) on Being, Consciousness and the Self: “The Problem of Being: Ontology in Contemporary Islamic Philosophy” (a workshop for CU students & faculty; 15 April, 11:00am–12:30pm • HUMN 230 - register); “Opening Pandora’s Box: AI, ChatGPT, and the Mystery of Consciousness” (a lecture open to CU students, faculty & staff; 16 April, 11:00am–12:15 pm • HUMN 250 - register), and “Sculpting the Self: Islam, Selfhood, and Human Flourishing” (a research colloquium open to the CU community & the Front Range Community; 16 April, 5:00pm–6:30pm • HUMN 250 - register). Registration obligatory - open through April 8.
Thursday 11 April 2024: “Pre-Modern Iberia, the Mediterranean & the Atlantic: New Directions” A Kayden Book symposium for Nuria Silleras-Fernandez, featuring two keynote presentations: “Complexity and its Expression in Medieval Iberian Scholarship” by Michelle Hamilton (Spanish: University of Minnesota Twin Cities) and “Enslaved Women, Race, and Criminality in the Late Medieval Mediterranean” by Michelle Armstrong-Partida (History: Emory University) as well as two round tables, featuring CU and Front Range scholars.
#Friday & Saturday, 9 & 10 February 2024: “Intermediaries, Middle Grounds, Middle Sea” The Mediterranean Seminar Winter 2024 Workshop (University of California Los Angeles). Program and registration here.
#Friday & Saturday, 3 & 4 November: “Mediterranean Studies, Present & Future: The “California School” Twenty Years On”, the Mediterranean Seminar Fall 2023 Workshop (University of California Santa Cruz). See the full program here.
Thursday, 12 October: “Conceiving Premodern Identities as a Proto-Latinx: How Magic Helped Moriscos Navigate Their Mixed Heritage,” talk featuring Veronica Menaldi (Modern Languages: University of Mississippi) in person only at McKenna 103 from 12:30–1:45pm. Register here.
Thursday, 28 September: “María Magdalena, emblema de un arte en guerra,” a talk in Spanish featuring, Jordi Aladro (Literature: University of California Santa Cruz), in person only at McKenna 103 from 12:30–1:45pm. Register here.
2022-2023 Program
Monday-Thursday, July 17-20 - Reading Old French NEW (Summer Skills Seminar)
This seminar proposes a hands-on introduction (or refresher) to reading medieval French, a particularly important vernacular in medieval Europe. We will look at literary works associated with a wide variety of genres, as well as non-literary documents; texts ranging from the first pieces written in French (ninth century) through the late Middle Ages; texts written in different dialects of langue d’oïl; and texts from across Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Attention will be paid, too, to looking at edited and unedited texts. Basic reading knowledge of modern French is required for this course. Instructor: Charles Samuelson Prerequisites: Reading knowledge of modern French. Application posted in early February.
Monday-Thursday, June 26-29 - Reading Aljamiado Texts (Summer Skills Seminar)
This introduces participants to the fundamentals of reading Aljamía (15th to 17th century Spanish, written mainly in Arabic script). The purpose of the Course is reading actual Aljamiado texts. These texts, specifically chosen for this workshop, will serve as a basis for discussion of different topics related to the history, cultural history and religion of Mudéjares and Moriscos. Instructor: Nuria de Castilla Prerequisites: Reading knowledge of modern Castilian Spanish; familiarity with the Arabic alphabet strongly recommended. No knowledge of Arabic required.
Monday-Thursday, May 22-25: Reading Archival Latin (Summer Skills Seminar)
Focussing on the documents in Latin held at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon in Barcelona, this seminar presents an introduction to Latin diplomatics and the reading of unedited archival documents through the incredible rich collection of Barcelona’s ACA. The seminar combines hands-on reading practice with units on different genres of documents, abbreviations, research techniques, dating systems, and other relevant information. Instructor: Brian A. Catlos
Prerequisites: Intermediate reading knowledge of Latin is required, but no previous experience in paleography or diplomatics Application posted in early February.
#Saturday 13 May: “Death in the Mediterranean I” & “Death in the Mediterranean II”. Panels organized and chaired by Núria Silleras-Fernandez for the 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies, to be held in person at Western Michigan University, at Kalamzoo MI. Featuring: Veronica Menaldi, Univ. of Mississippi; David Bennett, Institute of Ismaili Studies; Filip Radovic, Göteborgs University; Blanca Berjano, University of Colorado–Boulder; Jessalynn L. Bird, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame ; Kelly Thor, Washburn University; and Luis Miguel Dos Santos Vicente, Hamilton College. Full program here.
#Thursday & Friday, April 27 & 28: “Diasporic Legacies of the Mediterranean” The Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2023 Workshop will be hosted by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. This two day meeting includes three workshop papers, a keynote presentations by a keynote presentations by Dr. Eric Calderwood (Comparative Literature and Spanish: University of Illinois, Urbana), and Julia Cohen (History: Vanderbilt University). Full program here.
Friday, 21 April: “Courtly and Queer. Deconstruction, Desire, and Medieval French Literature” - a book celebration featuring Charlie Samuelson (French & Italian), Chris Braider (French & Italian), Suzanne Magnanini (French & Italian) and Julie Singer (Romance Languages and Literatures, Washington University). Moderated by Brian A. Catlos. 4:45-6:15pm • Eaton Humanities 345 • Light refreshments • Register here.
Thursday 2 March [co-sponsored]: “Epigraphy and the Rise of Islam: The Religious Landscape of Pre-Islamic Arabia” a talk featuring Ahmed Al-Jallad (Arabic: The Ohio State University) 5:15—6:45pm HUMN 135.
#Friday 3 & Saturday 4 February: “From Mediterranean to Atlantic World,” the Mediterranean Seminar Winter 2023 Workshop ). This two-day meeting includes three workshop papers, a keynote presentations by a keynote presentation by Dr. Roger Louis Martínez-Dávila (History: University of Colorado-Colorado Springs), and three round-tables. Program information here.
Tuesday, 31 January: "The Limits of Integration: Latin Christian meets Arabo-Islamic Culture in al-Andalus,” a mini-colloquium featuring Kenneth Baxter Wolf (Late Antique-Medieval Studies: Pomona College): “Negotiating Dhimmi Christian Identity of Ninth-Century Córdoba,” and Dwight Reynolds (Religious Studies: University of California Santa Barbara): “Musical Cultures in Contact: Influence, Borrowing, or Hybridization?” followed by discussion moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder). 4pm MST, remote via zoom. Register here.
#Friday, 6 January: “Intersecting Identities in the Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean” panel at for the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association (Philadelphia) co-sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America, featuring: Emma Snowden, Hollins University (“The Collapse of Muslim and North African Identities in Christian Chronicles from Medieval Iberia”), Marina Schneider, University of Texas at Austin (“Staging Brotherhood: Confraternities and Processions in Early Modern Iberian Cities”), Gail Hook, George Mason University (“Cypriot Identity Under the Lusignans after the Fall of Acre, 1291”), and Constantine Theodoridis, Princeton University (“European Archives by Other Means: The Ottoman Registers of the "Foreign Nations" in the 17th Century.”)
#Saturday 3 December: “Integrating Islam in the History of Pre-Modern Europe and the West” panel at annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, to be held at Denver CO, featuring Sarah Davis-Secord, Emma Snowden, and Constantine Theodoridis. See the session and program abstracts here.
Wednesday 20 November: “How does a Factual Error became a Historical Fact?: The 1182 “Ritual Murder” in Zaragoza in Antisemitic Propaganda and Modern Scholarship” — a works-in-progress workshop featuring François Soyer (History: University of New England), with respondents: Roger Martínez-Dávila (History: University of Colorado Colorado Springs) and Jonathan Ray (Theology: Georgetown University), moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) at 3pm MST (GMT -7) via zoom. Register here.
Saturday 22 October: “Teaching the Pre-Modern as Mediterranean: The Sea in the Middle & Texts from the Middle” – a conversation featuring: Sharon Kinoshita (Literature: UCSC), Sergio La Porta (Armenian Studies: Fresno State), Thomas E. Burman (Medieval Studies: Notre Dame), and Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: University of Colorado Boulder), on the occasion of the publication of a new textbook and source reader for the history of the pre-Modern West: Thomas E. Burman, Brian A. Catlos, and Mark D. Meyerson, The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650–1650 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2022), and Thomas E. Burman, Brian A. Catlos, and Mark D. Meyerson, eds. Texts from the Middle: Documents from the Mediterranean World, 650–1650 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2022). 3pm MST (GMT -7)
Friday & Saturday 21 & 22 October: “The Mediterranean Origins of the West” The Mediterranean Seminar Fall 2022 Workshop. This two-day meeting includes three workshop papers, keynote presentations by Emily Wilbourne (Musicology at Queens College and the Graduate Center in the City University of New York) and Konstantina Zanou (Italian: Columbia University), three round-tables, a panel session relating to the new textbook and sourcebook The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean World, 650-1650 and Texts from the Middle: Documents from the Mediterranean World, 650–1650 and many opportunities for conversation and collaboration. Program here.
Monday 19 September: “The Exiled Bride: Jewish and Conversa Widows in Early Modern Sephardic Society,” a Works-in-Progress Workshop featuring Rebecca Wartell (Jewish Studies: CU Boulder) with respondents Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese: CU Boulder), Roger Martínez-Dávila (History: CU Colorado Springs), and Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) 12:30–1:45pm • HUMN 335 • register here to receive materials.
Friday 16 September: "Skepticism for the Supernatural: Modernist readings of miracles in the Bible and the Quran” a workshop for RLST graduate students featuring Nebil Husayn (Religious Studies: Miami University). 11am – 12:30 pm • HUMN 250
Thursday 15 September: “The Demonization of Malcolm X and the Sanitization of Dr. Martin Luther King” a public talk by Nebil Husayn (Religious Studies: Miami University). 6–7:30 pm • HUMN 250.
Thursday 15 September: “Rehabilitating Ali: Historiography and The Tools of Orthodoxy” a research presentation by Nebil Husayn (Religious Studies: Miami University), with Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) and John Matthew Willis (History: CU Boulder) responding. 12:30–1:45 pm • Space is limited - registration required. Register here.
2021-2022 Program
#Tuesday — Friday 2—5 August: “Reading Aljamiado Manuscripts” with Nuria de Castilla (École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL, Paris)
This four-day workshop introduces participants to the fundamentals of reading Aljamía (15th to 17th century Spanish, written mainly in Arabic script). The purpose of the Course is reading actual Aljamiado texts. These texts, specifically chosen for this workshop, will serve as a basis for discussion of different topics related to the history, cultural history and religion of Mudéjares and Moriscos.
Reading knowledge of Spanish is required; no previous knowledge of Arabic is required. Information and application here.
#4—7 July: Leggere Il Mediterraneo. Narrazioni, Rotte, Immaginari. A summer school featuring Roberta Morosini, Antonio Saccone, Angela Fabris, Blerina Suta, Gianni Maffei, Brian. A. Catlos, Valeria Varriano, Gianni Turchetta, Claudio Fogu and Simonetta Castia. Organized by the Università di Napoli “L’Orientale,” Conservatorio delle Orfane Terra Murata di Procida, Scuola di Alta Formazione dell’ Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”; co-sponsored by the Mediterranean Seminar/ CU Mediterranean Studies Group. For information and registration: lcannavacciuolo@unior.it
#Tuesday - Thursday 28 - 30 June: “Purity, Pollution, Purification and Defilement” The Mediterranean Seminar Summer 2022 Workshop. Co-organized with Moshe Bildstein and Naama Cohen-Hanegbi at Tel Aviv University and Haifa University. See the announcement and call for papers here. Program and registration here.
Monday — Thursday 23 — 26 May: “Reading Archival Latin” with Brian A. Catlos (University of Colorado Boulder)
Focussing on the documents in Latin held at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon in Barcelona, this seminar presents an introduction to Latin diplomatics and the reading of unedited archival documents through the incredible rich collection of Barcelona’s ACA. The seminar combines hands-on reading practice with units on different genres of documents, abbreviations, research techniques, dating systems, and other relevant information. Some reading knowledge of Latin is required, but no previous experience in paleography or diplomatics. Registration and Information here.
#Monday & Tuesday 16 & 17 May: “Coexistence in Practice: Politics, Trade and Culture in the Late Medieval Anatolia and Iberia,” the 2021 MedWorlds conference to be held at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University (Valide-i Atik Mh., Eski Toptaşı Cd. No: 91, Uskudar, Istanbul) on 1 & 2 July 2021, with keynote speeches will be delivered by Brian A. Catlos ( University of Colorado, Boulder, Andrew C.S Peacock (University of St. Andrews), and Emrah Safa Gürkan (Istanbul 29 Mayis University). Further information here.
#Monday—Saturday 9-14 May: Two sessions: Performing Death I: Grief and Emotion in the Medieval Mediterranean, and Performing Death II: Ritual and Remembrance in the Medieval Mediterranean, proposed for the 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo Online: May 9–14).
#Friday & Saturday 6 & 7 May: “Crisis & Displacement”: The Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2022 Workshop: Co-organized with Mayte Green-Mercado (History) Rutgers University Newark (Newark NJ). See the full annnouncement and the Call for Papers. This event features three works-in-progress, two keynote presentations, three round-table sessions, a concert and a reception for winners of the Mediterranean Seminar Book Prizes (2020 & 2021).This is an in-person event only. Registration is free but required in advance (deadline 1 May). Space is limited, and attendees commit to participating in the entire two-day program. Lunches are included, and attendees can opt into the dinners (on a pay basis). See the program here; the program for speakers is here.
Thursday 21 April: “The Spanish Empire and the Mediterranean: New Directions,” a Kayden Book Prize Symposium to be held in-person on 12:30-6:00pm at the Flatirons Room at the University of Colorado Boulder’s C4C and streamed live. With Luis Corteguera (History, University of Kansas) “Sacred Monarchs and the Science of Myth: Spain in European Context, ”and Andrew Devereux (History, University of California San Diego) “Empire in the Oikumene: Situating Spain’s Mediterranean Interests in its Early Modern Global Empire,” and two round-tables featuring Brian A. Catlos • James Córdova • Bob Ferry • Gerardo Gutierrez • Chad Leahy • Roger Martínez Dávila • Andrés Prieto • Diane Sieber • Núria Silleras-Fernández • Rebecca Wartell. Register by 5pm April 18 here to attend in-person or live stream. Click here for a detailed program (symposium speakers, click here).
#Thursday 10 and Saturday 12 March: “Religious Boundaries and the Boundaries of the Middle Ages” and “Religious Texts and Confessional Integration in a Plural Mediterranean”: The Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America (Charlottesville VA). Featuring: Claire Gilbert, Islamic Legal Legacies in Castilian Courts: A Latter-Day Iberian Arabic Translation Movement; Daniel Hershenzon, Wax and candles between Christianity and Islam in the pre-modern Hispano Maghrebi Mediterranean; Mayte Green-Mercado, Visions of Loss and Restoration in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia; Sergio La Porta, Jesus knows himself best: Scripture and authority in the ‘Umar-Leo Correspondence; David Wacks, Talking at Cross Purposes: Polemical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible in Medieval Iberia; and Fariba Zarinebaf, Forum Shopping among the Jewish Community of Istanbul in the 18th century; with Alison Vacca, responding.
#Thursday & Friday 11 & 12 February: “Sacred Spaces”: The Mediterranean Seminar Winter 2022 Workshop co-organized with Sergio LaPorta (History: Fresno State University) Fresno State University (Fresno CA). Registration and program information here.
#Saturday 8 January: “Northern Europe and the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages: Networks and Comparisons”: 136thAnnual Meeting of the American Historical Association (New Orleans). Organized by Hugh Thomas (University of Miami), featuring: Jesse Izzo, The Montfort Family and the Transregional Character of Aristocratic Francophone Northern European–Mediterranean Networks in the 13th and 14th Centuries; Elizabeth A. Terry-Roisin, The Alliance of Valois Burgundy and the Crown of Castile: Northern and Mediterranean Culture in the 15th Century; Michelle Armstrong-Partida and Susan Alice McDonough, All the Single Ladies: Single Women in the Late Medieval Mediterranean.
#Monday 20 andTuesday December: “Latin Diplomatics Refresher” - a two day refresher for participants of the Summer Skills Seminar – Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon. Via Zoom, taught by Brian Catlos.
Wednesday 1 December: “The Sephardim, Past and Present: Early Modern Strategies to Survive the Expulsion and the Spanish Inquisition, Modern Challenges to Securing Spanish Citizenship” a presentation by Roger Martínez Dávila (History: University of Colorado – Colorado Springs), with discussant: Rebecca Wartell (Jewish Studies: CU Boulder) at 5:15pm MST [Zoom]. Streamable until 1 February - get access here.
#Tuesday 30 November: “Confessional Frontiers in the Islamicate Mediterranean,” a panel at the (virtual) annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association (Montreal).Co-organized with Travis Bruce (McGill University), featuring Zeynep Aydogan, “For the Love of Idols, Church Clapper and the Baptismal Font”: Furnishings of Being Infidel; David Gyllenhaal, Plague Martyrs in the Early Sunni Tradition: A Case Study in the "Hard Problem" of Interconfessional History Writing; Joel Pattison. Christian Ambassadors for Muslim Rulers in the Medieval Maghrib, and Fadi Ragheb, Writing in the “Other” in an Islamic Chronicle of Medieval Jerusalem: Mujīr al-Dīn al-ʿUlaymī and the Paradoxical Boundaries of Inter-Confessional Knowledge in al-Uns al-jalīl bi-taʾrīkh al-Quds wa-al-Khalīl
Monday 15 November: “Counterfeit Beauty: Portraiture, Ekphrasis and the Early Modern Ideal” a works-in-progress workshop featuring Cristina Guardiola-Griffiths (Foreign Languages and Literatures: University of Delaware), with respondents: Céline Dauverd (History, CU Boulder), Adriano Duque (Romance Languages & Literatures: Villanova University), Suzanne Magnanini (French & Italian: CU Boulder), and Núria Silleras-Fernández (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Spanish & Portuguese, CU Boulder) at noon MST [Zoom].
Friday 5 November: “The Learned Families of Ḥillah” a works-in-progress workshop featuring Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), with respondents: Samuel Boyd (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), Céline Dauverd (History, CU Boulder), Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese, CU Boulder), moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) at 11:15am–12:45pm MST [Zoom]. Register here on or before 3 November.
2020-2021 Program
#Monday-Friday 17-20 May: The 4th Summer Skills Seminar - “Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (documents in Latin to ca. 1350)” II
This four-day virtual course provides an introduction to the collection of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Barcelona) and basic Latin paleography and diplomatics skills, and archival research techniques. Faculty: Prof. Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder/ Humanities, UC Santa Cruz)
#Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 13 May: “Latin Diplomatics Refresher” - a two day refresher for participants of the Summer Skills Seminar – Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon. Via Zoom, taught by Brian Catlos.
#Monday 10 May: “Individuals’ Emotions and Emotional Communities in the Mediterranean” - ” a panel to be held at the virtual 56th International Congress on Medieval Studies, organized by Núria Silleras-Fernández (CU Boulder), featuring papers: “Emotional Debates on the Title “Emperor of the Romans” (Ninth and Tenth Centuries)” by Laury Sarti (University of Freiburg), “Fazer reir et dar plazer”: Pleasurable Laughter in Don Juan Manuel’s Libro de la caza” by Sol Miguel-Prendes (Wake Forest University) and “Audiences Attending Passion Plays as Ad Hoc Emotional Communities,” by Ivan Missoni (Independent Scholar). Register for the Congress here.
Wednesday 5 May: Book Launch for Language Contact, Colonial Administration, and the Construction of Identity in Ancient Israel by Samuel L. Boyd (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) featuring presentations by: Andy Cowell (Linguistics, CU Boulder), Dimitri Nakassis (Classics, CU Boulder), Liane Feldman (Hebrew & Judaic Studies: NYU), and Ron Simkins (Theology: Creighton University), hosted by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) on Wednesday, 5 May 2021, 2:00–3:30pm MST [Zoom]. Open to all. Register here by 4 May.
Tuesday 27 April: “Contested Agency: Isabel of Portugal and Saint Beatriz da Silva” - works-in-progress workshop, featuring, Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese: CU Boulder), with respondents, Céline Dauverd (History: CU Boulder), Suzanne Magnanini (French & Italian: CU Boulder), Isidro Rivera (Spanish & Portuguese: University of Kansas), Christina Guardiola Griffiths (Foreign Languages and Literatures: University of Delaware), moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) on Tuesday 27 April 2021, 2pm MST [via Zoom]. Open to the CU and Front Range community; register here before end of day 25 April.
Tuesday 20 April: “Black Italian Lives across Centuries and Disciplines” - a symposium featuring “Hidden in Plain Sight. Black Africans in Medieval Sicily and the Mediterranean,”opening remarks by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder), and the presentations: “Imag(in)ing Blackness in Italy: Redactions, Presence, and Media in Antonio Dikele Distefano’s Work” by Michela Ardizzoni (French and Italian & Media Studies: CU Boulder), and “Bianca e Nera: Representing African Women in Giambattista Basile’s Fairy Tales and Epic Poetry” by Suzanne Magnanini (French and Italian: CU Boulder), with responses by Shelleen Greene (Film, Television and Digital Media: UCLA), and Vetri Nathan (Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures: University of Massachusetts Boston) on Tuesday, 20 April 2021, 10:00am–11:30MST [via Zoom] Open to all. Register here by end of 18 April 2021.
Friday 26 March: “Governance and Religion in Early Modern Europe” - the Kayden Prize Symposium marking the publication of Church and State in Spanish Italy: Rituals and Political Legitimacy a monograph by Celine Dauverd (History: CU Boulder), featuring an introduction by Paul Hammer (History: CU Boulder), and three presentations: “Popular Reception of Good Governance,” Thomas Devaney (History: Rochester); “Florence, Venice, and the Spanish Renaissance,” Thomas Dandelet (History: UC Berkeley); and “Spanish Italy: The View from Rome,” Margaret Meserve (History: Notre Dame); moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) at 10:00am–noon MST [Zoom]. Open to all. Register here on or before 24 March.
#Tuesday 23 March: “Teaching the Medieval as Mediterranean: Re-orienting the Meta-Narrative” - a round-table at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, chaired by Kenneth Baxter Wolf (History, Pomona College), and featuring panelists: Fred Astren (Jewish Studies; San Francisco State), Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder),Thomas Burman (Medieval Studies, Notre Dame University), Mark Meyerson (History, University of Toronto), Claire Gilbert (History, Saint Louis University), and Mayte Green-Mercado (History, Rutgers University) . This session will be held remotely - 23 March 2:00pm - 3:30pm EST, The session is free and open to all. See here for full panel information.
#February - April: “The Global Mediterranean” - The Mediterranean Seminar Winter/Spring 2021 workshop, sponsored by The Ohio State University, and organized by Harry Kashdan (OSU), Brian Catlos (CU Boulder) and Sharon Kinoshita (UCSC), will take place via Zoom from February through April 2021. The workshop features works-in-progress by: Marcus Ziemann, (Classics, The Ohio State), Padraic Rohan (History, Stanford University), and John J. Curry (History, U of Nevada-Las Vegas); and two round tables: “Area Studies: Global Mediterranean/Global Middle Ages: Eurocentric or Revisionist?” and “Circulation: Is it Anachronistic to Frame Mediterranean Circulation as Global?.” For a detailed program and to register, click here.
Wednesday 3 March: “The Popular Science of Difference,” a works-in-progress workshop featuring Rachel Schine (Asian Languages & Civilizations, CU Boulder) at 10:30am–noon MST [Zoom] with respondents: Mohamad Ballan (History, Stony Brook University), Levi Thompson (History, CU Boulder), and Kristina Richardson (History, CUNY), moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder). Register here by 1 March. This event is open to the CU Boulder and Front Range community, and invited participants.
Friday 26 February: “Translation in the Libro de buen amor and the Libro de buen amor in Translation,” a research presentation by Emily Francomano (Spanish and Portuguese: Georgetown University) at 11:30am–1pm MST [Zoom] with respondents: Suzanne Magnanini (French and Italian, CU Boulder), Charles Samuelson (French and Italian, CU Boulder), and Michelle Hamilton (Spanish and Portuguese, University of Minnesota Twin Cities), moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder, with an introduction by: Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish and Portuguese, CU Boulder). All are welcome. Register here by 24 February.
Tuesday 16 February: “A Plea for a Medieval Reading of Ethiopic Manuscripts: The Case of The Homily on Frumentius”, a research presentation by Prof. Aaron Butts (Semitics: Catholic University of America) with respondents: Prof. Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) and Prof. Samuel L. Boyd (Religious Studies: CU Boulder), moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) at 2pm MST [via Zoom]. Register here by 14 February. This event is open to the CU Boulder and Front Range community, and invited participants.
Friday 5 February: “The Genoese Colonization of Corsica,” works-in-progress workshop featuring Prof. Celine Dauverd (History: CU Boulder) with respondents: Suzanne Magnanini (French & Italian: CU Boulder), Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese: CU Boulder), Manuel Herrero-Sánchez (Early Modern History: Universidad Pablo de Olavide), George Gorse (Art History: Pomona College) moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder) on 5 February 2021, 10:00am MST [via Zoom]. Register here by 3 February. This event is open to the CU Boulder and Front Range community, and invited participants.
Thursday 28 January: “Ibn Rushd’s al-Kashf ʿan Manāhij al-Adilla: The Text, Its Importance and a New Edition,” a research presentation featuring Fouad Ben Ahmed (Philosophy and Methodology of Research: Dar el-Hadith el-Hassania Institute for Higher Islamic Studies) with respondents: Matteo di Giovanni (Philosophy: University of Turin), Jon Hoover (Islamic Studies: University of Nottingham), and Robert Pasnau (Philosophy: University of Colorado Boulder), moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) • 28 January 2021, 9:00am MST [Zoom] This event is open to everyone. Register here by 26 January.
Friday 22 January: “The Literary Construction of Imami Tradition: Ibn al-Mutahhar al-Hilli’s ijazah to the Banu Zuhrah” • A works-in-progress workshop featuring Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) with respondents: Devin Stewart (Middle Eastern & South Asian Studies, Emory), Rachel Schine (Asian Languages & Civilizations, CU Boulder), and Patrick J. D’Silva (Philosophy, University of Colorado Colorado Springs) and moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) • 22 January 2021, 11:00am MST [Zoom] This event is open to the CU Boulder and Front Range community, and invited participants.
Wednesday 6 & Thursday 7 January: “Latin Diplomatics Refresher” - a two day refresher for participants of the Summer Skills Seminar – Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon. Via Zoom, taught by Brian Catlos.
Wednesday 2 December: “Black Saints, Turkish Enemies: Slavery, Captivity, and Salvation in the Atlantic Mediterranean”: a research presentation featuring Erin Rowe (History: Johns Hopkins University), introduced by Céline Dauverd (History, CU Boulder), with respondents: Suzanne Magnanini (French & Italian, CU Boulder), Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese, CU Boulder), Simon Ditchfield (History: University of York), and Teofilo Ruiz (History, UCLA) and moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) on 2 December 2020, 11:30am MST [Zoom].
Thursday 5 November: “Is (Islamic) Occult Science Science?”: a discussion featuring Matthew Melvin-Koushki (History: University of South Carolina) with respondents: Noah Gardiner (Religious Studies: University of South Carolina), Samuel Boyd (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), and Rachel Schine (Asian Languages and Civilization, CU Boulder) Moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) On Thursday 5 November 2020, 1:00pm MST [Zoom] This event is open to the CU Boulder and Front Range community, and invited participants.
Thursday 29 October: “A Prophetic Judgement without Reprieve: The Concepts of Remnant and Law in Amos 3:12”: A works-in-progress workshop featuring Prof. Samuel Boyd (Religious Studies, CU Boulder),with respondents: Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies) • Eli Sacks (Jewish Studies) • Rebecca Wartell (Jewish Studies) • Deborah Whitehead (Religious Studies). Moderated by: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies) on Thursday, 29 October 2020 • 2pm MST via Zoom.This event is open to the CU Boulder and Front Range community.
Thursday 22 October: “Medieval Iberian Retellings of Adam and Eve’s Fall”: a webinar featuring Prof. David Wacks (Romance Languages: University of Oregon), with respondents, Samuel Boyd (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), and Fred Astren (Jewish Studies, San Francisco State), moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) on Thursday, 22 October 2020 • 4pm MST. All are welcome. Numbers are limited with priority given to the CU community and Mediterranean Seminar Associates; all others will be registered on a first come/first served basis.
2019-2020 Program
Tuesday 12 May to Friday 15 May : Summer Skills Seminar – Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Boulder CO). Over the course of four days, the 3rd Summer Skills Seminar, taught by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), provided 25 participants from universities in five countries with hands on instruction and practice reading unedited archival documents in Latin from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries. It included an overview of the collections of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Barcelona), and a hands-on introduction to medieval Latin paleography and diplomatics reading a variety of documents from the ACA. Due to the COVID pandemic the course was carried out via ZOOM.
Monday 11 May: “The School of Hillah in Islamic History”: a works-in-progress workshop featuring Prof. Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies), with Samuel L Boyd (Religious Studies), Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies),and Levi Thompson (Asian Languages and Civilizations) as respondents. This event was open to all and carried out via ZOOM from 11am—12:30pm.
SUSPENDED DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION: Wednesday 29 April: “Translation in The Book of Good Love and The Book of Good Love in Translation”: Emily Francomano (Spanish and Portuguese: Georgetown University)
SUSPENDED DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION: Tuesday 28 April: TBA: 15 April; a works-in-progress workshop featuring Prof. Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese)
TO BE RESCHEDULED - NEW DATES TBA # Friday 24 April & Saturday 25 April 2020: "The Global Mediterranean" Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2020 Workshop, sponsored by the Ohio State University (Columbus OH).
CANCELLED DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION:Friday 3 April: “Medieval Iberian Retellings of Adam and Eve’s Fall”: David Wacks (Hispanic Studies, University of Oregon)
CANCELLED DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION: Wednesday 18 March: “The Pax Romana Rhetoric: The Renaissance Popes' Auctoritas during the Conquest of North Africa” : a works-in-progress workshop featuring Prof. Céline Dauverd (History) and respondents: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies), Martha Hanna (History) and Carole Newlands (Classics) Open to All Wednesday, 18 March • 2-3:30pm • CASE E422 Register with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu) to receive material.
CANCELLED DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH SITUATION: Monday 16 March: TBA: “Carrtographic Humanism: The Making of Early Modern Europe,” featuring Katharina Piechocki (Comparative Literature. Harvard University) with a panel including:Chris Braider (FRIT), Brian. A Catlos (RLST), and Suzanne Magnanini (FRIT). Monday 16 March at 4:30-6:30pm at CASE W313 .
Register with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu) to receive material.
# Monday & Tuesday 9 & 10 March: “Mapping Tunisia in Mediterranean Studies: Approaches to Research and Professional Development in the Humanities and Social Sciences” a seminar and workshop for emerging scholars sponsored by the Tunisia Office of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, in collaboration with the The Mediterranean Seminar, to be held on 9 & 10 March 2020 at the Tunisia Office Center for Middle Eastern Studies Harvard University (Immeuble Slim, Rue de l’Euro, Les jardins du Lac II, Tunis, featuring Julia Clancy-Smith (History, University of Arizona),Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies,University of Colorado, Boulder), • Sharon Kinoshita (World Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz) and•William Granara (Arabic and Comparative Literature, Harvard University). Program here.
# Friday 21 February & Saturday 22 February 2020: ""Emotions, Passions, and Feelings"" Mediterranean Seminar Winter 2020 Workshop, sponsored by the University of Rochester (Rochester NY). Featuring: Ryan Milov-Cordoba (Comparative Literature, CUNY Graduate Center), Megan Moore (French, University of Missouri), Christine Chism (English, UCLA), and Naama Cohen-Hanegbi (History, Tel Aviv University), and roundtables: “Are there “Mediterranean” emotions, and can we do their history?” and “How has race/ethnicity/identity in the Mediterranean been defined by emotional norms? “ Program here.
Wednesday, 12 February 2020: “Babel without Babble: The Political Rhetoric of the Tower of Babel Story and Its Legacy” a works-in-progress workshop featuring Prof. Samuel L. Boyd (Religious Studies), with respondents:Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies), Céline Dauverd (History) and Deborah Whitehead (Religious Studies) on Wednesday 12 February at 1:00–2:30pm in CASE E325. Register with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu) to receive material. Abstract here.
Wednesday, 15 January 2020: Prof. Alejandra Osorio (History: Wellesley College); presents “Of Imperial Genealogies and Royal Exequies: Legitimating monarchical rule in the Spanish Habsburg Empire,” with respondents:Robert Ferry (History), Fernando Loffredo (Art & Art History) and Núria Silleras- Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese) from 4:300—6pm at CASE 351 • Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and members of the public are welcome; register with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu). Abstract here.
Friday, 6 December 2019: Prof. Enrico Parlato (Art History:Università della Tuscia) presents “Shaping Pietro Aretino’s Controversial Persona,” with respondents:Céline Dauverd (History), Suzanne Magnanini (French and Italian) and Fernando Loffredo (Art & Art History) 12-1:30pm in CASE W313 • Lunch provided for registered attendees • Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and members of the public are welcome; register with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu).
# Sunday 5 January 2020:”Multiculturalism, Polyglossia, and Ethnic Diversity: Conflict, Accommodation, and Synthesis in the Premodern Mediterranean” a session at the 134th annual meeting of the American Historical Association, held in New York City, featuring : Núria Silleras-Fernandez (SPAN) as chair, and the papers: “Seeking Refuge under the Wings of the Shekhinah”: Political and Theological Lexicons of Exile in 16th-Century Sephardi Responsa Text” by Rebecca Wartell, (JWST), “The Miraculous Virgin of Olovo,” by Marianne Kupin-Lisbin, University of Rochester, and “Christians, Jews, and Converts in the Island of Majorca around 1400: Spatial Segregation, Business Relations, and Language Practices,” by Ingrid Houssaye Michienzi, CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research, with comment by Brian A. Catlos (RLST)
Wednesday, 4 December 2019:Prof. Blanca Garí (Medieval History, Universitat de Barcelona) presents “The Object in its Context - A Digital Project: The Inventories of Sant Antoni & Santa Clara in Barcelona (s. XIV-XVI),” with respondents, Thea Lindquist (Digital Scholarship), Fernando Loffredo (ART), Rebecca Maloy (Music) and Núria Silleras-Fernández (SPAN) • 4:30–6pm at CASE W313 with light refreshments provided. Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and members of the public are welcome; register in advance with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu)
Wednesday, 20 November 2019: Prof. Borja Franco (UNED Spain) presents “Race before race? Literary, Legal, and Artistic Images of Moriscos in Early Modern Iberia,” with respondents, Kirk Ambrose (ART), Brian A. Catlos (RLST) and Fernando Loffredo (ART) • 4:30–6pm at CASE W313 with light refreshments provided. Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and members of the public are welcome; register in advance with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu)
Tuesday, 12 & Wednesday, 13 November 2019: Prof. Hiroshi Takayama (University of Tokyo) will give a lecture and a research talk. The lecture, “Islamic Sicily – an Introduction” is on 12 November, 12:30–1:45pm at HUMN 1B90. The research presentation, “Muslim peasants in Norman Sicily – Reconsidering Established Categories, ”with respondents: Brian A. Catlos (RLST), Celine Dauverd (HIST), Blanca Garí (University of Barcelona) and Paul Sidelko (Metro State) will be on Wednesday, 13 November, 4:30–6pm at CASE E351 with light refreshments provided. Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and members of the public are welcome; register in advance with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu)
Tuesday, 29 October 2019: ConTacto: Experiencias táctiles de lo sagrado y la divinidad en la Edad Media “ a lecture in Spanish by Prof. Blanca Garí (Medieval History: Universitat de Barcelona), 10–11am at the Rose Room (McKenna).Coffee and refreshments provided. Please register with Barbara Middlebrook (barbara.middlebrook@colorado.edu).
# Friday 4 October & Saturday 5 October 2019: "Violence," Mediterranean Seminar Fall 2019 Workshop, sponsored by the University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) and the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (Collegeville MN). Featuring a keynote lecture, “‘Blood of God! Bowels of God!’: Violence and the Order of Malta” by Emanuel Buttigieg: University of Malta, presentations by Melissa Vise (History, Washington & Lee University), Elizabeth Spragins (Spanish, College of the Holy Cross), and Vicky Hioureas (History, Princeton University), and roundables on the relationship between the practice of violence and its representations (textual, visual, or other), and ideology or opportunity as drivers of violence in the pre-Modern Mediterranean.. Full program here.
Wednesday, 4 September 2019: “Books, Printing & Printers & Eighteenth-Century Spain,” featuring Dr. Albert Corbeto (Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona), including “Minerva en la imprenta:La mujer en las artes del libro, de la idealización alegórica al silencio sobre su actividad en los negocios tipográficos,” a lecture (in Spanish) from 11am–noon at the Rec Center’s Medium Ice Rink Overlook Room and at from 4:30–6pm in CASE E422, “Enlightening the Black Legend. Printing and the Book in Eighteenth-Century Spain,” a talk followed by a panel discussion, featuring: Chris Braider (FRIT), Andrés Prieto (SPAN), Núría Silleras-Fernández (SPAN), John Stevenson (ENGL)
2018-2019 Program
# Saturday, 13 July 2019: “Catalonia, the Crown of Aragon and the Pre-Modern Mediterranean: Politics, Language, Culture” at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), featuring;
• Pamela Beattie (University of Louisville): “Mediterranean Eschatological Spirituality in Ramon Llull’s Llibre contra anticrist/Liber contra Antichristum”
• Noel Blanco Mourelle (University of Chicago): “Arnau de Vilanova’s Alphabetum Catholicorum: Apocalyptic Medicine for the Soul”
• Keith Budner (UC Berkeley): “A School in Huesca and Ceremony in Naples: Quintus Sertorius within Aragonese Cultural Production, ca 1375–1490” [cancelled]
# Wednesday, 10 July 2019:”Movement, Mobility and Mediterranean Culture” and “Iberian Connectivity: Travels, Expulsions, and Cultural Production in the Mediterranean“: two sessions at the biennial conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean (Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona), featuring:
• Dana Katz (Hebrew University):”Mobility and Exchange in the Satellite Residences of the Royal Parklands in Norman Sicily”
• María Marcos Cobaleda (Universidad de Málaga): “Common Points of the Medieval Mediterranean Culture: An Approach from the Application of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to the Study of the Artistic Exchanges”
• Uri Shachar (Ben-Gurion University): “The Travel of Cultures in Late Medieval Mediterranean Epics”
• Núria Silleras-Fernández (University of Colorado Boulder): “Urgell vs. Trastámara: Dynastic Change and Cultural Production in a Mediterranean Framework”
• Rebeca Orellana Capriles (University of Colorado Boulder):”A Case of Mobility: The Incessant Travels of Dom Pedro de Portugal”
• Michelle M. Hamilton (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities): “Hostile Histories: The Catholic Monarchs in Jewish and Muslim Histories.”
• Theresa Earenfight (Seattle University): “An Infanta Travels: Catalina of Aragon, 1485–1506”
# Tuesday, 28 May 2019: “Cristianos y musulmanes: Paz y Conflicto en el Mediterráneo Medieval” a one-day symposium sponsored and hosted by the Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Rom (Rome), curated by Brian Catlos, and featuring: Santiago Palacios Ontalva (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Roser Salicrú i Lluch (CSIC, Barcelona), and Alessandro Vanoli (author).
# Friday & Saturday, 3 & 4 May 2019: “Captivity and Ransom”: organized with Amy Remensnyder (Brown University) at Brown University (Providence RI), featuring:
• “From Captivity to Family: Iranian Perspectives on the Arsacids of Rome” Jake Nabel (UCLA)
Respondent: John Bodel (Brown University)
• “Identity, Value, Price, Mobility: The Market of Captives and Slaves in Early Modern Naples and Valencia” Fabrizio Filioli Uranio (Universidad de Valencia/Ecole de Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
Respondent: Daniel Hershenzon (University of Connecticut)
• “French Captivity Narratives as Literary Genre” Filippo Screpanti (Duke University)
Respondent: Oumelbanine Zhiri, (UC San Diego)
Keynote Lecture: “Turning Turks: Muslim Slaves and Catholic Conversion in Early Modern France” • Gillian Weiss (Case Western Reserve)
Round Table 1: Was captivity a contributor to inter-cultural rapprochement or opposi- tion? Besides captivity, what other mechanisms of constraint character- ized Mediterranean exchanges?
Round Table 2: Was there something distinctly “Mediterranean” about Mediterranean captivity?
Round Table 3: How did gender and captivity shape each other in the premodern Mediterranean?
Monday, 29 April 2019: Pierre Savy (École Française de Rome), “Jews as Political Actors? Minorities and Political Processes in Pre-Modern Italy“ • 4pm • UMC 415-417 • Coffee and light refreshments for registered attendees For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Thursday, 25 April 2019: Patricia Grieve (Columbia University), “Blood/Lust: Staging the Early Modern Mediterranean“ • 3:30pm • Rose Room, McKenna, Coffee and light refreshments for registered attendees For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu)
Wednesday, 17 April 2019: an international colloquium: Muslims and Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe – New Directions • 9:15am—5pm: Physics Skybox,
Featuring: Thomas Burman (Medieval Studies: Notre Dame) • Brian Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) • Monica Colominas Aparicio (Max Planck Institute, Berlin) • Céline Dauverd (History: CU Boulder) • Alejandro García Sanjuán (History: Universidad de Huelva) • Claire Gilbert (History: St. Louis University) • Mayte Green-Mercado (History: Rutgers-Newark) • Daniel Koenig (History: University of Konstanz) • Dag Nikolaus Hasse (Philosophy: University of Würzberg) • Alex Metcalfe (History: Lancaster University) • Mark Meyerson (History: University of Toronto) • Nuria Silleras-Fernandez (Spanish & Portuguese: CU Boulder) • Bogdan Smaradache (Medieval Studies: University of Toronto)
Tuesday, 16 April 2019: Alex Metcalfe (History: University of Lancaster) on “Muslims of Medieval Sicily” • 9:30am: Rec Center Medium Overlook Room. Coffee and light refreshments for registered attendees For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Tuesday, 16 April 2019: Daniel König (History: University of Konstanz) on ““Arabic-Islamic Views of the Latin West: the Problem and Some Suggestions How to Solve it” • 11am: Rec Center Medium Overlook Room. Coffee and light refreshments for registered attendees For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Monday, 15 April 2019: Alejandro García Sanjuán (History: Universidad de Huelva) on “Weaponizing historical knowledge: ideology and scholarship in Medieval Iberian history” • 4pm: CASE W 313, followed by a round table featuring: Javier Krauel (Spanish & Portuguese), Andres Prieto (Spanish & Portuguese), Núria Silleras-Fernández (Spanish & Portuguese), and Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies)
Coffee and light refreshments for registered attendees For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Monday, 11 March & Tuesday, 12 March 2019: Prof. Daniel Hershenzon (Literatures, Cultures & Languages: University of Connecticut), will give a lecture,“The Captive Sea: Slavery, Communication, and Commerce in Early Modern Spain and the Mediterranean,” on Monday, 11 March at 4pm in CASE W313, and a seminar, “Captivity Letters,” on Tuesday, 12 March at 9:30am in Rec Center Studio 4. Coffee and light refreshments for registered attendees at both events. For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Thursday, 14 February 2019: “A Mediterranean Saint for Christians and Muslims: St. George and al-Khidr,” a talk by Prof. Erica Ferg (Liberal Arts: Regis University) at 9:30am in the Large Overlook Room (Rec Center). “In a region of the Eastern Mediterranean known as the Levant, agricultural communities of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, for at least the last 800 years, have largely shared and jointly venerated three important holy figures… more… Coffee and light snacks will be provided for registered attendees. For registration: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
# Friday & Saturday, 1 & 2 March 2019: The Mediterranean Seminar Winter 2019 Workshop: Turning Points (Princeton University) -A two-day workshop workshop dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the Mediterranean. The theme of this annual workshop is "Turning Points." Turning points in Mediterranean history for several reasons. First, one of the goals of oceanic and maritime histories is to ask whether such histories challenge more conventional periodizations. Second, certain turning points in Mediterranean history (like the Pirenne thesis) enjoy a well-developed historiography but many others (such as the transition from the medieval to the early modern) are far more fuzzy. Finally, we will take up the debateover whether the Mediterranean disappears in the modern period (however defined.) Sponsored and organized by the Mediterranean Seminar/CU Mediterranean Studies Group, and Princeton University’s Center for Collaborative History, Humanities Council, Department of Comparative Literature, and the Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund. Program • Speakers
#Saturday, 5 January 2019: Iberian Babel: Multilingualism and Translation in the Medieval and the Early Modern Mediterranean
Session at the Annual Meeting of the Modern Language Association (Chicago)
Organizer: Núria Silleras-Fernández. Details here.
1: Translation in the Libro de buen amor and the Libro de buen amor in Translation Emily C. Francomano, Georgetown U
2: Empire of Translation: Multilingual Administrative Dynasties in Habsburg Spain Claire Gilbert, St. Louis U
3: The Convenience of Polyglossia: Language Use in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia Nuria Silleras-Fernandez, U of Colorado, Boulder
Respondent: Sharon A. Kinoshita, U of California, Santa Cruz
#Friday, 4 January 2019: Renegades, Turncoats, and Converts in the Pre- and Early Modern Mediterranean
Session at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association (Chicago)
Organizers: Brian Catlos & Sharon Kinoshita. Details here.
Chair: Sharon Kinoshita, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Squire to the Moor King: Christian Spies for Muslim Magnates in Late Medieval Aragon - Anthony Minnema, Samford University
• Legends of Granada’s Frontier: Pedro Venegas and Cidi Yahya Al Nayar (Don Pedro de Granada, d. 1506) - Elizabeth Terry-Roisin, Austin College
• Rethinking the Renegade in Early Modern France: Moliere's Bourgeois Gentleman and the Trial of Soliman Rais, 1670–72 - Toby Wikstrom, University of Iceland
• The Image of Renegades in 17th-Century French Literature: From Redemption Narratives to the Baroque Novel - Filippo Screpanti, Duke University
Comment: Brian A. Catlos, University of Colorado Boulder
# Friday & Saturday, 26 & 27 October 2018: The Mediterranean Seminar Fall 2018 Workshop: Margins of the Mediterranean (University of Michigan Ann Arbor) Full program here.
Workshop presentations include:
• Jesse Howell (Harvard U), Ottoman Herzegovina, Hinterland of the Adriatic
• Lindsey A. Mazurek (U of Oregon), Self-Fashioning: Isiac Portraiture in a Provincial Context
• Martino Lovato (Mt. Holyoke College), Impossible Revolutions: The Medieval Slave Rebellion of the Zendj in Two Contemporary Algerian Narratives
Round Table 1. Borders, boundaries and limits in the Mediterranean
Round Table 2. The margins of Mediterranean Studies
Armenian Studies panel: Mediterranity from the Edge. Speakers: Wendy Laura Belcher (Princeton U), Cameron Cross (U-M), Michael Pifer (U-M)
Book launch: An Armenian Mediterranean: Words and Worlds in Motion (ed. Kathryn Babayan and Michael Pifer).
Featured Scholar
• Persis Berlekamp (University of Chicago)“Art, Apocalypse, and Empire: Mediterranean Histories and Geographies between Chaos and Codification”
Wednesday. 17 October: “Orpheus in Hell: Moral Consolation and Sentimental Fiction,” a talk by Prof. Sol Miguel-Prendes (Spanish & Italian: Wake Forest University) at 9am in “The Rose Room” ( McKenna 103). Coffee and light breakfast will be provided to registered attendees.
A discussion (lunch provided) will be held at noon in HUMN 230 for junior faculty & graduate students on the topic of publishing academic articles, featuring Prof. Miguel-Prendes (formerly editor of La Corónica)
For registration: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
2017-2018 Program
Saturday, 20 May: "Mediterranean Materiality and Consumption": a panel organized by Núria Silleras-Fernandez at the 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo Michigan, featuring:
• Making, Materials, and Memories of a Medieval Mud Brick (Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom, Wittenberg Univ.)
• Alfonso X’s Material Food Culture: Civility, Centrality, Christianity (Dianne Burke Moneypenny, Indiana Univ. East)
• Medieval Textiles from Iberia: New Perspectives and Assessments from the Victoria and Albert Museum Textile Collection (Ana Cabrera Lafuente, Victoria and Albert Museum; Francisco de Asís García García, Instituto de Estudios Medievales, Univ. de León)
Tuesday, 24 April: “All the Queen’s Men and Women: Portuguese Queens’ Households and Power (13th-15th centuries),” by Prof. Maria Manuela Tavares dos Santos Silva (University of Lisbon) on 2018 at 12--1:30pm in Eaton Humanities 230.
For registration for the event and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Lunch will be provided; please RSVP by 19 April • Doors open at 11:45am
Wednesday, 24 January: “From Treasury to Collection: The Sumptuous Objects of Royal Iberian Women from the 14th to the 16th Centuries," with Prof. Ana Maria Seabra de Almeida Rodrigues (Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon) with Kirk Ambrose (ARTH), Hannah Friedman (ARTH) & Núria Silleras-Fernandez (SPAN) responding • 4–5:30pm at the Flatirons Room, C4C.
Thursday, 25 January: “La cultura de corte portuguesa en la Edad Media,” a graduate seminar • 3:30--4:30pm at the McKenna Rose Room.
Faculty and graduate students may register for an informal lunch with Prof. Rodrigues to be held on Friday, 26 January from 12:30–1:30pm. For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu). Refreshments will be provided at all events; please RSVP by 19 January.
Friday, November 3 & Saturday, November 4: “Ethnicity, Faith and Communal Relations” 2017 Mediterranean Seminar Fall Workshop • “Skybox” (top floor) of the Duane Physics building.
Workshop presentations include:
• Heather Badamo (Art History, UC Santa Barbara): “Other Worlds: Monumental Painting Programs in East Christian Visual Culture”
• Noel Blanco Mourelle (Spanish, William & Mary): “Trees of Knowledge”
• • Jonathan Decter (Near Eastern & Judaic Studies, Brandeis University): “The Other ‘Great Eagle’: Jewish Panegyrics for Muslim and Christian Political Figures”
Working Session: The Sea in the Middle: The Mediterranean, 650-1650
Round Table 1. How do texts or objects reinforce or transgress religious, "ethnic," or cultural divides?
Round Table 2. What is “convivencia,” and what are its limits?
Featured Scholars
• Mark Meyerson (History & Medieval Studies: University of Toronto): "The *Germania* and the Baptism of Valencian Muslims: Violence, Identity,and Community in Late Medieval Spain"
• Thomas Burman (Medieval Studies: Notre Dame University): “The Psalmist speaks literally (ad literam) about Christ': Ramon Marti, Anti-Jewish Polemic, and the Double Literal Sense of Scripture”
Full program information can be found here. Registration and information: Jeffrey Baron
2016-2017 Program
Monday – Friday, May 22–26: “Reading Ladino/Judezmo” – The CU Mediterranean Studies Group presents the 2nd Annual Summer Skills Seminar, a five-day hands-on workshop on reading Ladino/Judezmo (Old Spanish written in Hebrew characters) led by Prof. David Bunis (Hebrew University), with 23 graduate student and faculty participants from across North America. See the announcement, and program synopsis.
Monday, May 22: “The Language of Exile: Hispano-Jewish Culture Before and After 1492” • A colloquium open to the public, featuring Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder), Janet Jacobs (Anthropology & Women’s Studies: CU Boulder), and David Bunis (Linguistics: Hebrew University) • 6:30pm at Chautauqua Historical Park • Free & open to the public. Detailed information here.
Friday, May 19: “Language, Texts, and Court Culture in Medieval Catalonia and the Mediterranean” - The Mediterranean Seminar & CU Mediterranean Studies Group are sponsoring a session organized by Prof. Núria Silleras-Fernández (CU Boulder) at 16th Colloquium of the North American Catalan Society (NACS) at Indiana University, Bloomington.
“Language, Texts, and Court Culture in Medieval Catalonia and the Mediterranean” will be held on Friday, 19 May from 9:00am-10:30am in the Dogwood Room, and feature:
“The Language of Peace in Ramon Llull,” - Ryan D. Giles (Indiana University)
“El text dels clàssics de l’Edat Mitjana a la moderna,” - Albert Lloret (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
“Glossing Around,” - Jesús Rodriguez Velasco (Columbia University)
“El català, llengua de cort, de Violant de Bar a Germana de Foix,” - Núria Silleras-Fernández (University of Colorado at Boulder)
For further information: http://www.indiana.edu/~spanport/events/NACS.shtml
Friday, May 12: “Networks of Books and Readers in the Medieval Mediterranean” - The Mediterranean Seminar & CU Mediterranean Studies Group are sponsoring two sessions organized by Prof. Núria Silleras-Fernández (CU Boulder) at the 52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held 11-14 May at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo MI.
“Networks of Books and Readers in the Medieval Mediterranean I: Books” featurinhg:
• Illuminating the Scriptorium: A Network of Books from the Monastery of Saint Michael in Medieval Egypt - Andrea Myers Achi, Institute of Fine Arts, New York Univ.
• Fantasy Kings and Favorite Sons: Arthurian Influence in the Writing of Count Pedro de Barcelós - Taiko M. Haessler, Univ. of Colorado–Boulder
• Syriac Literary Circle at the Mongol Court (Lateirteenth Century) - Anton Pritula, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Núria Silleras-Fernández presiding.
“Networks of Books and Readers in the Medieval Mediterranean II: Readers” will be held on Friday, 12 May at 3:30pm, featuring:
• Reading Petrarch’s Triumphs across the Medieval Mediterranean - Leonardo Francalanci, Univ. of Notre Dame
• Corbaccio’s Ambiguity and Parody in Bernat Metge’s Lo somni- Pau Cañigueral Batllosera, Univ. of Massachusetts–Amherst
Reading, Copying, and Translating the Hebrew Sefer Josippon in Renaissance Italy - Nadia Zeldes, Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev
Núria Silleras-Fernández presiding.
Further information at: https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress
Friday, April 21 & Saturday, April 22: “Mysticism & Devotion” - the Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2017 Workshop
The Mediterranean Seminar and CU Mediterranean Studies Group together with the Department of Religious Studies and the Program in Jewish Studies invite participants to the 2017 Mediterranean Seminar Spring Workshop on the subject of “Mysticism and Devotion,” to be held the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder on 21 & 22 April in the “Skybox” (top floor) of the Duane Physics building.
Workshop sessions will take place on Friday, 21 April, with registration/coffee beginning at 9:15am, followed by three workshop papers and a presentation by our first featured scholar, Prof. Amy Remensnyder.
Workshop presentations include: Marla Segol (Jewish Studies, SUNY Buffalo): “Mystical Embryologies: Knowledge, Practice, and Devotion”
[Respondent: Nan Goodman (English and Jewish Studies, CU Boulder)], Marianne Kupin-Lisbin (History, U of Rochester): “New Approaches in Understanding the Lived Religious Culture of the Ottoman Balkans” [Respondent: Sabahat Adil (Asian Languages and Civilizations, CU Boulder)], andAnna Akasoy (Islamic Intellectual History, Hunter College): “Imaginary Spaces of Devotion in Andalusi Mystical Poetry”
[Respondent: Cyrus Zargar (Religion, Augustana College)]
Featured Scholar: Amy Remensnyder (History: Brown University): “Does the Sea Matter to the History of Mediterranean Devotion?”
Round-table sessions will take place on Saturday, 22 April, with registration/coffee beginning at 9:15am, and will feature three round tables, followed by a presentation by our second featured scholar, Dr. Maribel Fierro.
1. Mysticism and Doctrine - Are they Compatible or do they Conflict? moderated by Sharon Kinoshita (Literature, UC Santa Cruz), with Michelle Hamilton (Spanish & Portuguese, Minnesota, Janine Peterson (History, Marist College), Nathan Fisher (Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara, Aun Hasan Ali(Religious Studies, CU Boulder) and Robert Pasnau (Philosophy, CU Boulder)
2. Do Mystical Traditions have a Politics? moderated by Claire Farago (Art History, CU Boulder), with Hartley Lachter (Religion, Lehigh University), Núria Silleras (Spanish and Portuguese, CU Boulder), John Curry (History, University of Nevada Las Vegas), Matt Lynch (Religious Studies, UNC Chapel Hill), Edward Holt (History, Saint Louis University), and Benjamin de Lee (History, CUNY Cortland)
3. “Mediterranean Religion”: Does it Function as a Category? moderated by Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder), wiht Sabahat Adil (Asian Language & Civilizations, CU Boulder), David Williams (History, University of Saint Katherine & Royal Holloway), Kevin Blankinship (Arabic Literature: University of Chicago), Karen Pinto (History: Boise State), and Allen Fromherz (History: Georgia State).
Followed by a presentation: “Mediterranean Studies in Asia” with Yuen-Gen Liang(National Taiwan University) & Eun-Jee Park (Busan University of Foreign Studies).
Featured Scholar: Maribel Fierro (CSIC, Madrid): “The Political Mystics of al-Andalus”
The event is free, admittance is by registration only. Space is limited. Registered participants should attend the whole event.
For general information contact: mailbox@mediterraneanseminar.org. To register and to receive the workshop papers, and for logistical and site-specific information, please contact Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu). Download the poster.
Wednesday, April 19: “Muslims without Frontiers: Between the Maghrib and Iberia in the Fifteenth Century,” a talk by Dr. Roser Salicrú i Lluch (Medieval Studies: Institució Milà i Fontanals, CSIC, Barcelona) on Wednesday, 19 April 2017, 4-5:30pm at Eaton Humanities 230.
Free. Students, faculty and the public are welcome.
For registration and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Refreshments will be provided; please RSVP by 18 April
Saturday, April 8: The Medieval Mediterranean VI: “Teaching the Medieval Mediterranean,” a panel at the Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America (Toronto, Canada), organized bySharon Kinoshita (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Thomas E. Burman (University of Notre Dame), chaired by Thomas E. Burman, and featuring: Pete Burkholder (Fairleigh Dickinson University), “Taming the Content Monster: A Backward Approach to Teaching the Medieval Mediterranean” • Louisa A. Burnham (Middlebury College), “Using Braudel as a Frame” • Brian A. Catlos (University of Colorado, Boulder), “Against the Grain: Teaching the Age of Crusades via the Mediterranean” • Dawn Marie Hayes (Montclair State University), “Approaching the Mediterranean, Front and Center: Reflections on Teaching Norman Sicily and Southern Italy” • Cecily J. Hilsdale (McGill University), “The Visual Cultures of the Medieval Mediterranean in the Classroom” Sharon Kinoshita (University of California, Santa Cruz), “Medieval Mediterranean Literature in the Classroom” • Valerie Ramseyer (Wellesley College), “Fifteen Years of Teaching the Early Medieval Mediterranean” • Anne Marie Wolf (University of Maine, Farmington), “Mediterranean World 1200-1700 as a 200-Level History Class: Challenges and Possibilities”
Friday, March 24: “Religious Knowledge in the Premodern Mediterranean,” a panel at the 2017 Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion/SBL/ASOR Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Region, featuring:
• Prof. Sabahat Adil (Asian Languages & Civilizations)
“The Qarawiyyīn Library as an Important Locus for Sociopolitical Activity Under the Sa’dids”
• Prof. Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies, CU Boulder)
“Some Notes on the Boundaries of Islam”
• Prof. Nuria Silleras-Fernandez (Spanish & Portuguese, CU Boulder)
“Teaching Religious Patience in Medieval Iberia: The Case of Isabel of Aragon, Queen of Portugal”
Moderated by Prof. Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder)
Held at 8:30-10:00am at UMC 417 • CU Boulder. Registration & Information at http://library.iliff.edu/meeting/
Tuesday, March 21: The CU Mediterranean Studies Group and the Center for Asian Studies present Prof. Justin Stearns (Arab Crossroads Studies, New York University–Abu Dhabi) (co-organized with Aun Ali, RLST).
“Science, Evolution, and Islam in the Modern Middle East”• 11:00am—12:15pm • UMN 245
“The Rational Sciences in Seventeenth Century Morocco: Philosophy, Incommensurability, and History” • 5:00–7:00pm • UMC 415/417
Faculty and graduate students are welcome to an informal lunch with Profs. Stearns to be held in HUMN 230 from 12:30–1:30pm.
For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Refreshments will be provided at all events; please RSVP by 18 March.
Tuesday, 14 March: "Petrarca une a un converso y a un morisco: La Celestina y el Mancebo de Arévalo,” a lecture/seminar in Spanish by Maria Teresa Narvaez, at 12:30pm at McKenna 103.
Wednesday, 15 March: Faculty and graduate students are welcome to an informal lunch with Profs. Narvaez and Lopez-Baralt to be held in HUMN 230 from 12:30—2pm.
“Colonialism and Indigenous Resistance in the Pre-Modern Iberian Peninsula and Andes,” a mini-colloquium from 4-7pm in the Flatirons room of C4C. Featuring two talks: Maria Teresa Narvaez (Universidad de Puerto Rico): “La literatura secreta aljamiada nos revela el mundo oculto de los Moriscos,” and Mercedes: Lopez-Baralt "Universidad de Puerto Rico): "Y yo soy príncipe: La intuición descolonizadora en la crónica ilustrada de Guaman Poma de Ayala," and a round-table, featuring: Sabahat Adil (Asian Languages and Civilizations), Julio Baena (Spanish and Portuguese), Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies), Peter Elmore (Spanish and Portuguese),Claire Farago (Art & Art History), Janet Jacobs (Women and Gender Studies), and Nuria Silleras-Fernandez (Spanish and Portuguese).
For registration for all events and information, please contact: Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu).
Thursday, 26 January: “Spain’s Long Fifteenth Century: A Historical, Literary, and Cultural View” & “An Unknown Compendium of Juan II of Castile”— a lecture and seminar by Professor Nancy Marino (Distinguished Professor of Spanish, Romance and Classical Studies, Michigan State University) at 12:30 - 2pm in UMC 384. and3:30 - 4:30pm in MKNA 103. Faculty and graduate students are welcome to a light lunch with Prof. Marino at noon on Friday, 27 January. To register for the lecture, seminar or lunch, or for futher information, please contact Jeffrey Baron (jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu)
Tuesday, November 15: “Sefarad and Beyond: From the Golden Age to Exile,” featuring “Songs, Liturgy and Stories of the Sephardic Tradition,” a concert of “Ladino” music by Ljuba Davis, and “What’s in a Name? Decoding Andalusi and Sefardi Exceptionalism,” a talk by Prof. Ross Brann, Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies and Chair of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University on Tuesday, November 14, 2016 from 5:30-7:30pm in the The Flatirons Room (C4C) at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Free and Open to the Public.
Monday, November 14: Representations of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad in 13th century Castile
A seminar for faculty and graduate students, by Ross Brann (Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies and Chair of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University) to be held on Monday, 14 November at 3pm in HUMN 270. Faculty and graduate students are also invited to a light lunch with Prof. Brann at 1pm Registration is required to attend both the seminar or lunch; please contact jeffrey.baron@colorado.edu.
Monday, October 17: Empire’s Design: Mimar Sinan, Tradition and Transformation in Ottoman Architecture
A guest lecture in Art in Islamic Cultures (ARAB/ARTH 3241 & ARTH 5909-908) by Professor Ozayr Saloojee (School of Architecture and Design: University of Minnesota). 2-3:15 p.m in Ketchum 1B87.
Friday, October 7: Ibn Tumlus of Alcira (d. 1223) on Juridical Inferences and Logic: Al-Qawl fi al-Maqayis al-Fiqhiyya
A workshop of an article-in-progress on a little-known but significant Andalusi philosopher, by Prof. Fouad Ben Ahmed of Dar el-Hadith el-Hassania Institute of Higher Islamic Studies (Rabat, Morocco), with Robert Pasnau (Philosophy) andAun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies) as respondents, on Friday, 7 October at noon in Hellems 220 (CU Boulder). Lunch will be provided
Friday, September 30: Islamic Philosophy: A Death Greatly Exaggerated?
A Colloquium featuring: Hassan Ansari (School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study)
“A Brief History of the Relationship between Philosophy and Shī’ī Islam,” Khaled El-Rouayheb (NELC, Harvard University), “Rethinking the Course of Islamic Philosophy,” and Fouad Ben Ahmed (Humanities, Dar el-Hadith el-Hassania for Higher Islamic Studies), “What Happened after Averroes? Ibn Tumlus and the Arabic Reception of Averroes in the Thirteenth Century,” and an Introduction by Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies, CU Boulder) • Open to All • 3-5pm • UMC 386
An informal light lunch for faculty and graduate students with the speakers will be held at 12:30pm.
2015-2016 Program
Monday, May 16 -- Friday, May 20: Reading Aljamiado • a four-day skills seminar featuring Dr. Nuria Martínez-de-Castilla (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) • CU Boulder • See the announcement • Applications are closed.
Monday, May 16: Europe's Problem with Islam... 500 Years Ago: Morisco Identity & Aljamiado Literature in Early Modern Spain • A colloquium open to the public, featuring Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder), Sabahat Adil (Asian Languages & Civilizations: CU Boulder), and Núria Martínez-de-Castilla Muñoz (Arabic and Islamic Studies: Universidad Complutense de Madrid) • 6:30pm at the Grand Assembly Hall at Chautauqua Historical Park • Detailed information and tickets here.
Friday, 13 May: “Power and the Court in the Medieval Mediterranean” at the 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies (University of Western Michigan: Kalamazoo MI), a session sponsored by the CU Mediterranean Studies Group and The Mediterranean Seminar; organized by Núria Silleras-Fernández, CU Boulder & Zita Eva Rohr, University of Sydney, and presided over by Núria Silleras-Fernández.
Wednesday, April 13: The Abenferres –Mudéjar “Little Caesars” of Fourteenth-Century Lleida,” a workshop featuring Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: University of Colorado at Boulder) with Sabahat Adil (Asian Languages & Civilizations), Robert Ferry (History) and the audience responding • 11:50am - 1pm at Eaton Humanities 240
Wednesday, March 9: Instinctively Cosmopolitan: The Travels and Encounters of Ahmad b. Qasim al-Hajari in the Early Modern Mediterranean • a talk by Amina Nawaz, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Islamic Theology: University of Tübingen • 2:00-3:00pm • UMC382
Wednesday, March 9: Art as Institution: The Fabrication of Leonardo da Vinci's Trattato della Pittura, 1651 • a workshop featuring: Claire Farago (Art & Art History University of Colorado at Boulder) • respondents: Chris Braider (French & Italian) & Celine Dauverd (History) • noon - 1:15pm • UMC 247
Friday, February 26: A Theology of Travel in Medieval 'Islamic' Education • a talk by Mujadad Zaman,Research Fellow, Centre for Islamic Theology: University of Tübingen • 2:00-3:00pm • UMC382
Friday, February 19: Imagining the World: Travel Writing and Early Modern Globalisation • a talk by Nina Zhiri, Professor of Literature, University of California San Diego • 2:00-3:00pm • UMC 415/417
Thursday, February 18: Lost in Translation? Language, Literature, and Culture in the Early Modern Iberian Mediterranean • a colloquium • 1:30-5:30pm • UMC 415/417
• John Dagenais: Spanish and Portuguese, University of California Los Angeles
"The Case of the Disappeared Catalan 'Masterpiece': Abdullah al-Tarjuman's Disputation de l'asne contre Frère Anselme Turmeda"
• Claire Gilbert: History, Saint Louis University “The Spanish Translation Staff of Ahmad al-Mansur (r. 1578-1603)”
• Nina Zhiri:Literature, University of California San Diego "The Task of the Morisco Translator"
• Fabian Montcher: History, Saint Louis University "The Early Modern Republic of Letters through an Iberian Lens"
Monday, February 1: From Syria to Sevilla: Memory, Text, and the Making of al-Andalus in the Seventeenth-Century • a work-in-progress by Sabahat Adil (ALC), with Aun Hasan Ali (RLST) and Brian Catlos (RLST) responding • noon • UMC 415/417
Friday, November 20: MEH/Med: Middle East History/Mediterranan • a one-day international symposium featuring three round tables • 12:30-6:15pm • Duane Physics Common Room & Reading Room. See program for details.
Wednesday, November 18: Some Notes on the Relationship between Sunnis and Shi’is in Light of the Issue of Documentary Evidence in Islamic Law • a work-in-progress by Aun Hasan Ali (Religious Studies) with Sabahat Adil (ALC) and Brian Catlos (RLST) responding • 12:30pm • UMC245
Wednesday, October 21 : The Miracle of San Gennaro: The Spanish Viceroys as Mediators of Spiritual Power • a work-in-progress by Celine Dauverd (History) with Suzanna Magnanini (FRIT) and Núria Silleras-Fernández (SPAN) responding • noon • Atlas 229
Monday, September 28 : A Brief History of the Phrase 'King of Kings': Political, Religious, and Philological Considerations • a work-in-progress by Sam Boyd (Religious Studies) with Aun Ali and Brian Catlos responding • 11:30am • UMC 425
Program 2014-15: Counter Narratives
Events
Thursday, April 23:#chicagogirl. The Social Network Takes on a Dictator, an award-winning documentary film by Joe Piscatella. Followed by a discussion featuring Michaela Ardizzoni (French & Italian), Ala'a Basatneh (subject) Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies), and Joe Piscatella • 4pm • Fleming 156
Friday 10 April: Medieval Catalan Cookbooks • Paul Freedman (Chester W, Tripp Professor of History, Yale University) • 4PM • Humanities 160
Thursday, April 9: Mediterranean Cuisine, a talk for HUMN3850/RLST3820 The Mediterranean: Religion Before Modernity • Paul Freedman (Chester W, Tripp Professor of History, Yale University) • 2PM • 2015 • Guggenheim 206
Saturday, March 28: Three panels at the Conference of the American Association of Italian Studies, at CU Boulder
"Italy in the Mediterranean I: Conflict"
Organizer and Chair: Brian A. Catlos, University of Colorado Boulder/University of California, Santa Cruz
1. Cristelle L. Baskins, Tufts University, "Drawing Connections between Hafsid Tunis and Medicean Florence"
2. Travis Bruce, Witchita State/IGAMWI, "Negotiating Conflict through a Shared Language of Trust in Thirteenth-Century Pisa and Tunis"
3. Céline Dauverd, University of Colorado, Boulder, "Easter Passion as arm against Islam in Viceregal Italy, 1442-1649"
"Italy in the Mediterranean II: Images"
Organizer: Brian A. Catlos, University of Colorado, Boulder/University of California, Santa Cruz
Chair/Commentator: Nuria Silleras-Fernandez, University of Colorado, Boulder
1. Alison Perchuk, California State University Channel Islands, "Elijah East and West: From Mediterranean Prophet to Italian Saint"
2. Hollie Allen, University of Colorado, Boulder "Al itálico modo: How Italian Forms and Spaces Shaped Iberian Poetry in the 15th Century"
"Italy in the Mediterranean III: Identities"
Organizer: Brian A. Catlos, University of Colorado, Boulder/University of California, Santa Cruz
Chair/Commentator: Norma Bouchard, University of Connecticut
1. Brian A. Catlos, University of Colorado, Boulder/Humanities, UC Santa Cruz "Was Norman Sicily Italian or Mediterranean?"
2. Claudio Fogu (UC Santa Barbara) "From Center to South: The Geography of Repression in Making Italians"
Wednesday, March 11: "Mediterranean Discourses & the Taming of Islamic Art" • 4pm • Humanities 1B90 • Followed by a round-table discussion featuring Brian Catlos (Religious Studies), Céline Dauverd (History) & Claire Farago (Art & Art History)
Tuesday, March 10: "What Can The Visual Arts Tell Us About the Medieval Mediterranean World?" A talk by Prof. Eva Hoffman (Art & Art History, Tufts University) • 2pm • UMC 247
Tuesday, February 17: "Living With Fear: Muslims and Christians in Late Medieval Valencia" A talk by Mark D. Meyerson (History/ Medieval Studies, University of Toronto) • 12:30pm • HUMN 270 (with the support of IMPART and Phi Beta Kappa)
Tuesday, February 17: “Ramon Marti, the Dominicans, and the Thirteenth-century Neglect of Islam” A talk by Thomas E. Burman (History, University of Tennessee - Knoxville) • 11am • HUMN 270 (with the support of IMPART and Phi Beta Kappa)
Thursday, January 15: "Beyond Crypto-Muslims: Perspectives on the Moriscos in the Early Modern Mediterranean" A seminar by Amina Nawaz (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Cambridge University) • 4pm • Atlas 229
Monday, November 17: "The Politics of Language in the Medieval Western Mediterranean: From Unity to Fragmentation" featuring Prof. Teofio F. Ruiz (History, UCLA) • 5pm • HUMN 250 • All are welcome
Monday, November 17: "Royal Entries in Late Medieval and Early Modern Spain" A lunch/seminar for graduate students featuring Prof. Teofio F. Ruiz (History, UCLA) • noon--2pm • Atlas 229 • pre-registration required
Monday, November 10: "Religion and Identity in Medieval Spain" A lunch/seminar for graduate students featuring Prof. David Nirenberg (History & Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago) • noon-2pm • Atlas 229 • pre-registration required
Affiliated and Co-Sponsored Events
Thursday to Sunday, March 26-29The 25th Annual Conference of the American Association for Italian Studies• University Memorial Center, CU Boulder
Friday, March 13: "Iberian Babel: Translators and Translating in the Medieval and Early Modern Peninsula" - a colloquium featuring "Mapping Translation from Ramon Llull's Llibre del gentil e dels tres savis (1274-1276)" - Amy M. Austin (University of Texas, Arlington), "Translating Ausiàs March: Linguistic Ideology and Linguistic Imperialism in Early Modern Iberia" - Vicente Lledó-Guillem (Hofstra University) "Linguistic vs. Cultural Translation: Hernando de Talavera at Granada, 1492-1507" by Mark D. Johnston (DePaul University) • 1-3:30pm • UMC Gallery [Organized by the CU Translation Initiative]
Saturday, October 11: "Interfaith Relations in the Mediterranean a New Realism" lecture & signing of Infidel Kings, Unholy Warriors: Power, Faith and Violence in the Age of Crusade and Jihad, featuring Brian Catlos (Religious Studies). Free and open to the public • 5:30pm • Mosaic (Aurora CO) [Organized by the Multicultural Mosaic Foundation]
Monday, November 10: The Religious Studies Department's Annual Lester Lecture, "Sibling Rivalries: Scriptural Communities: Judaism, Christianity and Islam," featuring Prof. David Nirenberg (History & Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago). Open to students, faculty & the public • 5:30pm reception, 6pm talk • British Studies Room (Norlin Library) [Organized by the Religious Studies Dept.]
Tuesday, December 2: "The Muslims of the Medieval West" panel discussion and signing of Muslims of Medieval Latin Christendom, ca. 1050-1614, featuring Brian Catlos (Religious Studies). Free and open to the public • 6:45pm • Atlas 100 •registration required [Organized by the CU Boulder Rumi Club]
Monday, October 27: "The Invention of Influence" a reading, featuring Peter Cole. Open to the public • 7pm • HUMN 150 [Organized by the CU Program in Jewish Studies]
Monday, October 27: "Judaism Through Poetry," a Faculty and Graduate Student Colloquium with Peter Cole • noon • Space is Limited. Please RSVP to CUJewishStudies@colorado.edu for location and pre-circulated reading [Organized by the CU Program in Jewish Studies]
Coming in Summer 2015:
2015 NEH Summer Institute "Negotiating Identities: Expression and Representation in the Christian-Jewish-Muslim Mediterranean" 5 July- 1 August, 2015 • Barcelona, Spain [Organized by the University of California Santa Cruz & the Mediterranean Seminar]
Program 2013-14: Religion
New Mediterranean Courses
Undergraduate
HIST 4320: Mediterranean History 800-1500 (Dauverd)
HUMN 3850: The Mediterranean: Religion before Modernity (Catlos)
ITAL 4170/JOUR 4871: Documentary for Social Change in the Mediterranean (Ardizzoni)
Graduate
RLST 4820/5820: Religious Minorities in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean (Catlos)
Events
Ongoing through Spring semester: "Mediterranean Timelines" Student Project for History 4320: Mediterranean History 800–1500 (Instructor: Prof. Celine Dauverd) • Norlin Library 1st floor SW Stoa Gallery
Thursday, 24 April: "On medieval Spanish consensual communities: towns, Jewish and Muslim Quarters, Guilds, Irrigation Communities, and What They Have in Common" • A lecture for HUMN3850 The Mediterranean: Religion Before Modernity, open to students & faculty • Thomas F. Glick • 11–12:30pm • ATLAS 229 Followed by a lunch for graduate students; register by April 16 with Aaron Stamper (aaron.stamper@colorado.edu)
Wednesday, 23 April: "The Medieval Scientific Translation Movement and the Birth of Hebrew Science" • Thomas F. Glick [in collaboration with the CU Translation Initiative] • 12–1:30pm • UMC Gallery
Tuesday, 22 April: "Origins of the Medieval Spanish Jewish Community: Diaspora Remnants or Berber Tribesmen?" • Thomas F. Glick (History, Boston University) [in collaboration with the Jewish Studies Program] • 6–7:30pm • Atlas 229
Saturday, 22 February: "Teaching across Canons: the Mediterranean and other Comparative Frames"
A one-day symposium, featuring:
Michela Ardizzoni • French and Italian, CU Boulder
Thomas E. Burman • History, University of Tennessee
Brian Catlos • Religious Studies, CU Boulder
James Cordova • Art and Art History, CU Boulder
Celine Dauverd • History, CU Boulder
Claire Farago • Art and Art History, CU Boulder
Valerio Ferme • French and Italian, CU Boulder
Cynthia Hahn • Art and Art History, Graduate Center, CUNY
Sharon Kinoshita • Literature, UC Santa Cruz
Noel Lenski • Classics, CU Boulder
Mark Meyerson • History, University of Toronto
9am–1pm • University Club 106
Please register in advance with Aaron Stamper (aaron.stamper@colorado.edu)
Thursday, 20 February: "Holy Week Violence in Valencia: Interpreting Christian-Jewish Relations in Late Medieval Spain" A lecture for HUMN3850 The Mediterranean: Religion Before Modernity, open to students & faculty • Mark Meyerson (History/Medieval Studies, University of Toronto) • 11am–12:30pm • UMC 247
Followed by a lunch for graduate students; register by February 13 with Aaron Stamper (aaron.stamper@colorado.edu)
Tuesday, 18 February: "Medieval Christians Reading the Qur'an" • A lecture for HUMN3850 The Mediterranean: Religion Before Modernity, open to students & faculty • Thomas E. Burman (History, University of Tennessee – Knoxville) [in collaboration with the CU Translation Initiative] • 11am–12:30pm • UMC 247 Followed by a lunch for graduate students; register by February 11 with Aaron Stamper (aaron.stamper@colorado.edu)
Wednesday, December 4: Celine Dauverd (History, CU Boulder) "Enemies of the Faith? Jews, Lutherans and Muslims in Spanish Genoa (1492--1648)" • Respondents: Brian Catlos (RLST), Liora Halperin (HIST), David Shneer (JWST) • 12:30pm, University Club 106• bag lunch provided for those who register by November 25
Wednesday, October 30: Valerio Ferme (French and Italian, CU Boulder) Boccaccio's Sicurano Da Finale and Paganino Da Mare: Merchants, Corsairs And Seafaring Identities In Decameron, Day II • noon, UMC 353 • bag lunch provided for those who register by October 18
Affiliated and Co-Sponsored Events
Thursday, February 13: 18 Ius Soli – Documentary Film: featuring a screening and a Q&A with director Fred Kuwornu For ITAL4170/JOUR4871 Documentary for Social Change in the Mediterranean [in collaboration with French & Italian] open to students, faculty & the public • 5pm • HUMN 1B90
Friday, February 21: [co-sponsored] Cultural Issues in Translation (Medieval and Early Modern) [Organized by the CU Translation Initiative]
Including:
"Traduttore, Traditore: Translating Marco Polo's Description of the World (aka The Travels)" • Sharon Kinoshita (Literature, University of California Santa Cruz)
"Qur'anic Commentaries, Medieval-Latin Qur'ans, and Modern Translation Studies" • Thomas E. Burman
"Science and the Vernacular in Early Modern Spain." John Slater (Spanish and Portuguese, University of California Davis) • 2–4pm • University Club 106
To receive pre-circulated readings contact Harrison Meadows (harrison.meadows@colorado.edu)
Thursday, April 18: Christian Identity in Late Antiquity ,
CMEMS Symposium [see http://cmems.colorado.edu for details]
Featuring:
Jason Beduhn (Comparative Cultural Studies, Northern Arizona University) Éric Rebillard (Classics, Cornell University)
Kevin Uhalde (History, Ohio University)
9am to 12 noon • UMC 382-386
Art History Art/Religion/Materialities Lecture Series
featuring:
Thursday, February 20: "Capturing Fragments of the Divine: Histories of the Passion Relic" • Cynthia Hahn (Art History, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center) • 5pm • British Studies Room Norlin Library, 5th floor
Tues., March 4: "Transcending Boundaries: Art and Religious Experience in El Greco's Mediterranean Journey" • Maria Evangelatou (University of California Santa Cruz) • 5pm, British Studies Room Norlin Library, 5th floor
Tues., April 4: "The Matter of Miracles: Architecture and the Sacred in Baroque Italy" • Helen Hills (History of Art, York University, U.K.) • 5pm, British Studies Room Norlin Library, 5th floor
*For the full program see the Department of Art and Art History
Friday and Saturday, September 27 & 28: What is a Slave Society?
An International Conference on the Nature of Slavery as a Global Phenomenon
Sponsored and organized by Classics
British Studies Room, Norlin Library, Fifth Floor, West Side
For a complete program, see the website
Program 2012-13
Our theme for the present academic year is "Slavery and Human Trafficking"
Events
Nicholas Purcell (Camden Professor of Ancient History and a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford)
Tuesday, April 16 "Not Just About Slavery: Selling People in Greco-Roman Antiquity" • 5pm, Norlin British Studies
Wednesday, April 17: "Valuing People: Humans as Commodities in the Ancient World" • a guided seminar 11 am -1 pm, Macky 202
Friday, April 12: Konstantinos Ioannidis (Department of Theory and History of Art Athens School of Fine Arts), "Backwards Looking Modernism: Art in Greece during the 1930s" • 5pm HUMN 150
Wednesday, April 10: Konstantinos Ioannidis (Department of Theory and History of Art Athens School of Fine Arts ). "Ekphrasis and Agency: Anthropology, Rhetorics and the Historiography of Art" - a work-in-progress; for papers contact Claire Farago • 12:30–2pm Mackey 202
Friday, Feb. 15: Shun Li and the Poet (Io sono Li ), a feature film by Andrea Segre, presented as part of the 2013 Boulder International Film Festival • 2:30pm, First United Methodist Church (Spruce St.)
Wednesday, Feb. 13: Closed Sea (Mare chiuso), an award-winning documentary by Stefano Liberti and Andrea Segre. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Stefano Liberti and Andrea Segra, co-directors of Closed Sea, Dr. Fred Denny of CU Boulder's Department of Religious Studies, Dr. Alex Cox of CU Boulder's Film Studies Department, and reception • 5pm, Humanities 250
Friday, Oct. 5: Steven Epstein (Ahmanson-Murphy Distinguished Professor of Medieval History University of Kansas at Lawrence) "The Languages of Genoese Slavery" - a workshop and panel discussion featuring: Catherine Cameron (Anthropology, CU Boulder), Robert Ferry (History, CU Boulder), Noel Lenski (Classics, CU Boulder), and Teresa Toulouse (English , CU Boulder).Registration recommended (click on poster for details).
Friday, Oct. 26: Noel Lenski (Professor of Classics, CU Boulder) "A Tale of Two Colonates: The Legal Status of Tenants and Slaves in the Late Antique Eastern and Western Mediterranean" - a workshop/round table, featuring: Scott Bruce (History), Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies), Peter Hunt (Classics), and Anne Lester (History). Registration recommended (click on poster for details)
Affiliated and Co-Sponsored Events
Saturday, April 13: "Cultural Translation in Medieval and Early Modern Studies" A Symposium organized by Center for Humanities and Arts Translation Initiative • 9am--5:30pm, Rose Room, McKenna Languages Building• 9:00 a.m. Coffee and Refreshments
• 9:30 a.m John Slater (University of Colorado Boulder; Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese): Opening Remarks
• 10:00-11:00 a.m. Michele Hamilton (University of Minnesota; Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese): "Translation, Conversion and Language in 15th-century Jewish and New Christian Letters"
• 11:00-12:00 p.m. Carlos Eire (Yale University; Depts. of History and Religious Studies): "Translating Ecstasy: the Life of St. Teresa of Avila"
• 12:00-1:30 p.m. Lunch Provided (Please RSVP to harrison.meadows@colorado.edu)
• 1:30-2:30 p.m. Diana De Armas Wilson (University of Denver; Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese): "The Translator¹s Translator: Revisiting Muslim Algiers"
• 2:45-3:45 p.m. Barbara Fuchs (UCLA; Depts. of English, Spanish and Portuguese): "Forcible Translation"
• 3:45-4:45 p.m. Round Table Discussion with the Speakers
Thursday, April 11: Roberta Morosini (Romance Languages, Wake Forest) "Goddesses and Penelopis traveling in the Medieval Mediterranean: Bodies (and words) in movement in the Decameron and De Mulieribus" Department of French and Italian • 5pm, Humanities 250
Wednesday, March 6: Brian Catlos “Understanding Diverse Societies as Complex Systems: The Case of Muslim-Christian-Jewish Relations in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean”: Center for Humanities and the Arts • noon, Mackay 202.
Monday, January 28: Brian Catlos, “Politics of Convenience: Ethno-Religious Tolerance and Intolerance in the Medieval Mediterranean” Center for Asian Studies • noon, Guggenheim 201E
Thursday, November 1: David Wacks (Associate Professor of Romance Languages, University of Oregon) Lecture: "Translation in Diaspora: Sephardic Spanish-Hebrew Translation in the Sixteenth
Century."
Friday, November 2: Seminar: "Translation in Diaspora" (click on poster for details and to request readings).
Wedneday-Saturday, September 26-29: "Mediterranean Cities. Myths and/or Reality?" Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland
A conference organized by the Istituto Studi Mediterranei and the Master in Intercultural Communication (Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano) in association with Università di Bergamo, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Centro Stefano Franscini.
Conference co-chairs:
Federica Frediani, Università della Svizzera italiana
Annick Tonti, Università della Svizzera italiana
Rossana Bonadei, Università di Bergamo
Michela Ardizzoni, University of Colorado at Boulder
Keynote speakers
Peregrine Horden, Royal Holloway, University of London
Rossana Bonadei, Università di Bergamo
Kenneth Brown, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris
Bertrand Westphal, Université de Limoges
Nabil Echchaibi, University of Colorado Boulder
Off-Campus Events & Other News
6 June: Brian Catlos, "Conveniencia and Physics of Scale: Ethno-Religious Relations in Medieval Spain and the Mediterranean"Instituto de Historia CCHS-CSIC, Madrid
29 May -June 3: Noel Lenski, "Slavery, Trade, and Cultural Exchange on Rome's Eastern Frontier" Worlds in Motion, Princeton University
8-11 May: Noel Lenski, "Il significato dell'Editto di Milano" Convegno Internazionale di Studio nel XVII Centenario dell'Editto di Milano, Università Cattolica, Milan
2–4 May: “Mediterranean and Maritime Perspectives” UCMRP Spring Workshop & Symposium, University of California Santa Cruz
28 February-March 1: Brian Catlos, “”According to Right and Reason...” the Conundrum of Religious Diversity and Secular Law in the Medieval Mediterranean,” and Robert Pasnau "Divisions of Epistemic Labor: Some Remarks on the History of Fideism and Esotericism", Goode Family Lecture "Medieval Thought in the Mediterranean," University of Wyoming, Laramie WY
31 January–2 February: “Gendering the Mediterranean” UCMRP Winter Workshop, in conjunction with the UCLA CMRS Ahmanson Conference,"Cross-Cultural Encounters in the Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean" University of California at Los Angeles
4 January: “Stories of the Mediterranean in the Long Middle Ages I: Lives” & “Stories of the Mediterranean in the Long Middle Ages II: Places”, 127th American Historical Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Sessions co-organized by Brian Catlos and Andrew Devereux (Loyola Marymount); Session sponsors: The Mediterranean Seminar and The Medieval Academy of America
9 November: “Excavating the Past” UCMRP Fall Workshop, University of California at Santa Barbara
17 October: Brian Catlos, “Exceptional Iberia or Normative Mediterranean? Contexts of Ethno-religious Relations in the Middle Ages," College of Arts and Sciences, Ohio State University.
6–9 September: “Domino Effects and Hybridization of the Mediterranean,” 4th International Conference of Mediterranean Worlds, (Istanbul, Turkey), Brian Catlos, Organization Committee Member
July 4--28: NEH Summer Institute “Networks and Knowledge in the Medieval Muslim-Christian-Jewish Mediterranean” (Barcelona), Co-Directed by Brian Catlos and Sharon Kinoshita (Literature, UCSC)
2011-12 Events
Gerard Wiegers, Religious Studies (University of Amsterdam)
• Nov. 17: "The Granadan Translator Miguel de Luna, the Lead Books and the Quijote" A Lecture & Discussion: Spanish & Portuguese, McKenna 103 10am (co-ordinated by Brian Catlos)
• Nov. 15: “Religious Identity in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean” A Seminar: Macky 202, 3pm (co-ordinated by Brian Catlos)
• Nov. 15: "Crypto-Religion in the Mediterranean: The Life and Times of Samuel Pallache" A Public Lecutre: British Studies Room (Norlin Library) 7pm (co-ordinated by Brian Catlos; co-hosted by Jewish Studies)
Oct. 25: Valerio Ferme (CU Boulder) (co-ordinated by Michela Ardizzoni) Discussion of Franco Cassano's "Southern Thoughts and Other Essays on the Mediterranean" (Edited and translated by N. Bouchard and V. Ferme) Macky 202, 3-5pm (co-ordinated by Michela Ardizzoni)
Sept. 29: Peter Brown (Princeton U) "Alms and the "Holy Poor": Wealth and Labor in Early Christian Asceticism between Syria and Egypt" British Studies Room, Norlin Library, 7pm (co-oridnated by Noel Lenski)
Sept. 21: Giovanni Cecconi (U Florence) "Old and New Paganisms in the Late Antique West: An Interpretive Model" HUMN 135, 5pm. (co-ordinated by Noel Lenski)