In the Light of Medieval Spain: Islam, the West, and the Relevance of the Past (The New Middle Ages)

If the idea of the medieval has been widely deployed in the colonial and neocolonial West as a marker of cultural backwardness, the Anglo-American perspective has often regarded Spain as part of a historically underdeveloped world and as a late-comer to Protestant/Enlightenment traditions of democracy, tolerance, and progress. Yet the many cultural dimensions of medieval Iberia make it pressingly relevant to current critiques of western modernity. This volume, which brings into dialogue historians and literary scholars in medieval and modern Iberian cultures, interrogates the contemporary significance of the distant Spanish past, particularly in regard to tensions in the relationship between the West and Islam. Rejecting an illusory space of neutrality, the search for relevance is envisioned as an ethically and politically necessary form of inquiry. If the idea of the medieval has been widely deployed in the colonial and neocolonial West as a marker of cultural backwardness, the Anglo-American perspective has often regarded Spain as part of a historically underdeveloped world and as a late-comer to Protestant/Enlightenment traditions of democracy, tolerance, and progress. Yet the many cultural dimensions of medieval Iberia make it pressingly relevant to current critiques of western modernity. This volume, which brings into dialogue historians and literary scholars in medieval and modern Iberian cultures, interrogates the contemporary significance of the distant Spanish past, particularly in regard to tensions in the relationship between the West and Islam. Rejecting an illusory space of neutrality, the search for relevance is envisioned as an ethically and politically necessary form of inquiry.--Résumé de l'éditeur "If the idea of the medieval has been widely deployed in the colonial and neocolonial West as a marker of cultural backwardness, the Anglo-American perspective has often regarded Spain as part of a historically underdeveloped world and as a late-comer to Protestant/Enlightenment traditions of democracy, tolerance, and progress. Yet the many cultural dimensions of medieval Iberia make it pressingly relevant to current critiques of western modernity. This volume, which brings into dialogue historians and literary scholars in medieval and modern Iberian cultures, interrogates the contemporary significance of the distant Spanish past, particularly in regard to tensions in the relationship between the West and Islam. Rejecting an illusory space of neutrality, the search for relevance is envisioned as an ethically and politically necessary form of inquiry."--Jacket Cover 1 IN THE LIGHT OF MEDIEVAL SPAIN 6 CONTENTS 8 List of Figures 10 FOREWORD: “WELCOME TO MOORISHLAND” 12 Introduction: “Criminal Non-Intervention”: Hispanism, Medievalism, and the Pursuit of Neutrality 22 Chapter 1 Juan De Segovia and the Lessons of History 53 Chapter 2 Reading Don Quijote in a Time of War 73 Chapter 3 Memory and Mutilation: The Case of the Moriscos 87 Chapter 4 Expulsion From Paradise: Exiled Intellectuals and Andalusian Tolerance 110 Chapter 5 Contemporary Moroccan Immigration and Its Ghosts 133 Chapter 6 Spain’s New Muslims: A Historical Romance 151 Chapter 7 The Persistence of the Past in the Albaicín: Granada’s New Mosque and the Question of Historical Relevance 175 Chapter 8 Postscript: Futures of Al-Andalus 207 CONTRIBUTORS 227 INDEX 229 Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction: “Criminal Non-Intervention”: Hispanism, Medievalism, and the Pursuit of Neutrality....Pages 1-31 Juan De Segovia and the Lessons of History....Pages 33-52 Reading Don Quijote in a Time of War....Pages 53-66 Memory and Mutilation: The Case of the Moriscos....Pages 67-89 Expulsion From Paradise: Exiled Intellectuals and Andalusian Tolerance....Pages 91-113 Contemporary Moroccan Immigration and Its Ghosts....Pages 115-132 Spain’s New Muslims: A Historical Romance....Pages 133-156 The Persistence of the Past in the Albaicín: Granada’s New Mosque and the Question of Historical Relevance....Pages 157-188 Postscript: Futures of Al-Andalus....Pages 189-208 Back Matter....Pages 209-217 This volume brings together a team of leading scholars in Spanish studies to interrogate the contemporary significance of the medieval past, offering a counterbalance to intellectual withdrawal from urgent public debates.