Al-Andalus: Tolerance, Culture, and Violence in Spain

Al-Andalus: Tolerance, Culture, and Violence in Medieval Spain

Between 711 and 1492, Islamic governments ruled over varying swaths of the Iberian Peninsula. Muslim Spain, or al-Andalus, still holds a powerful grip on the modern imagination as a time and place of religious tolerance—a “golden age” in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians peacefully coexisted and culturally thrived. In this course we will explore this common perception of al-Andalus by examining primary sources produced by Muslims, Christians, and Jews in medieval Iberia that bear witness to inter- and intra-faith relations: poetry, treatises, laws, chronicles, architecture, and manuscripts. We will ask: What was the relationship between religion, language, and culture in the societies of al-Andalus? And to what extent should we use past societies like those of al-Andalus as mirrors or models to think through the present?
Students will consider these questions through an examination of the pivotal events, texts, and monuments that shaped al-Andalus and have contributed to its legacy. From the Pact of Umar to the Mosque of Cordoba, Inquisitorial inquiries, and writings by luminaries such as Ibn Hazm, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Maimonides, and Alfonso X, course materials will serve as roadmaps to discuss questions that transcend the discrete context of medieval Spain: What is tolerance, exactly, and what are the requirements for its existence? Is “tolerance” actually a value to be revered? How can we account for and theorize instances of violence in religiously “tolerant” societies? How do individuals of different communities define and align themselves in pluralistic social, political, and cultural landscapes? Primary sources will be complemented by more recent scholarly work surrounding the concept of convivencia (“living-togetherness”) by authors such as as Maria Rosa Menocal and David Nirenberg.
Between 711 and 1492, Islamic governments ruled over varying swaths of the Iberian Peninsula. Muslim Spain, or al-Andalus, still holds a powerful grip on the modern imagination as a time and place of religious tolerance—a “golden age” in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians peacefully coexisted and culturally thrived. In this course we will explore this common perception of al-Andalus by examining primary sources produced by Muslims, Christians, and Jews in medieval Iberia that bear witness to inter- and intra-faith relations: poetry, treatises, laws, chronicles, architecture, and manuscripts. We will ask: What was the relationship between religion, language, and culture in the societies of al-Andalus? And to what extent should we use past societies like those of al-Andalus as mirrors or models to think through the present?

Students will consider these questions through an examination of the pivotal events, texts, and monuments that shaped al-Andalus and have contributed to its legacy. From the Pact of Umar to the Mosque of Cordoba, Inquisitorial inquiries, and writings by luminaries such as Ibn Hazm, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Maimonides, and Alfonso X, course materials will serve as roadmaps to discuss questions that transcend the discrete context of medieval Spain: What is tolerance, exactly, and what are the requirements for its existence? Is “tolerance” actually a value to be revered? How can we account for and theorize instances of violence in religiously “tolerant” societies? How do individuals of different communities define and align themselves in pluralistic social, political, and cultural landscapes? Primary sources will be complemented by more recent scholarly work surrounding the concept of convivencia (“living-togetherness”) by authors such as as Maria Rosa Menocal and David Nirenberg.