Working Groups
WG1 - The (imaginary) construction of the other
The purpose of this WG is to debate late medieval and early modern strategies for constructing religious, political and cultural otherness. To this end, it will focus on three research fields.
Note: activities are still subject to changes and more information will be soon uploaded.
Research Field 1
a) Anthropology and otherness:
semantic discourses on the creation of the other
Common research question: how to analyse in linguistic and anthropological terms the Christians’ definition of Islam and the self definition by Muslims in Europe?
Research Field 2
b) From text to image, from image to text
Common research questions: what was the influence of literature on the representation of Islam in Europe? What was the role of images of Islam in shaping the literary universe of otherness?; What was the depiction of Europeans and Christians in Turkish, Persian and Arabic literature?
Research Field 3
c) Material culture in the construction of the other
Common research questions: what was the role of the Islamic heritage in Europe on the shaping the perception of otherness? How to assess the mobility of heritage objects between Islam and Christian Europe, including types of goods transported by immigrants, diplomatic gift exchanges, war booty, repercussions for their host countries, acquisition of other goods and cultural hybridism? What do Islamic objects tell us in relation to the history of science? Has Islamic material culture been a part of European common heritage?
Activities
Conferences, Workshops and Training Schools
- Training School: Islamic Heritage in Europe, for training doctoral students
- Workshop: Dialogues in the Late Medieval Mediterranean: Methodological Encounters and (Dis)Encounters
- Workshop: Trade and cultural hybridism: Craftsmen, Merchants, and Slaves – Islamic Legacies in Spain
- Workshop: Islamic Legacy 1350 – 1750: The legacy in 21st century realities.
- Conference: Iconography of Religious Otherness. Co-organized with the Center for – Iconographic Studies / IKON
- Workshop: Outside Perception and Self Perception of Islam
- Workshop: Negotiating Islamic Legacies in Europe: Concepts, Heritages, and Comparative Approaches
See what’s Next