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Origins and earliest development of studies on the contemporary Arab and Islamic world in Spain
March 15, 20187:00 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62).
7:00 p.m.
Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
In Spanish.
Casa Árabe is offering this conference, to be given by Arabist Pedro Martínez Montávez.
The event is being presented by Pedro Martínez-Avial, the General Director of Casa Árabe
In the mid-1950s, there was a very significant turning point, and a change took place in the practice of Arabism among Spanish scholars, who up to then had almost exclusively devoted their work, with indisputable outreach and benefits, to studying and researching topics related with Al-Andalus, as well as teaching at universities. The origin of this movement lay in the attention that those in the field began to pay to contemporary Arab literature. In general, the translation work carried out over just a few years, besides being exciting, inspiring, rigorous and worthy of merit, also hit the mark in terms of its selection of authors, titles and trends. From 1954 to 1958, the first seven monographic volumes on this subject matter were published, revealing to Spanish language readers a world of literature that had been almost unknown to them before through our own means, and had been almost non-existence for several centuries.
It is about these major advancements in contemporary Arab studies that we will be hearing a presentation from Arabist Pedro Martínez Montávez.
Martínez Montávez has authored numerous books and articles on the contemporary Arab world, its literature, culture and history, while at the same time reflecting upon the past and, in particular, the meaning of the experience of Al-Andalus. He has completed magnificent pioneering translations of works by many of the finest Arab poets, including Nizar Qabbani, Yubran, al-Sayyab, al-Bayati, Adonis, Fadwa Tuqan, Mahmud Darwish, Saadi Yusuf and Salah Abd al-Sabur, as well as others. Among his many notable publications are several books devoted to studying and analyzing contemporary Arab literature. Throughout his career, he has been a member of many scientific and cultural committees, and he has contributed to many different media publications. He was the Rector of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, having been the first rector ever to be democratically elected at this Spanish university. He was named Doctor Honoris Causa by three universities: those in Jaén, Alicante and Granada.
In the mid-1950s, there was a very significant turning point, and a change took place in the practice of Arabism among Spanish scholars, who up to then had almost exclusively devoted their work, with indisputable outreach and benefits, to studying and researching topics related with Al-Andalus, as well as teaching at universities. The origin of this movement lay in the attention that those in the field began to pay to contemporary Arab literature. In general, the translation work carried out over just a few years, besides being exciting, inspiring, rigorous and worthy of merit, also hit the mark in terms of its selection of authors, titles and trends. From 1954 to 1958, the first seven monographic volumes on this subject matter were published, revealing to Spanish language readers a world of literature that had been almost unknown to them before through our own means, and had been almost non-existence for several centuries.
It is about these major advancements in contemporary Arab studies that we will be hearing a presentation from Arabist Pedro Martínez Montávez.
Martínez Montávez has authored numerous books and articles on the contemporary Arab world, its literature, culture and history, while at the same time reflecting upon the past and, in particular, the meaning of the experience of Al-Andalus. He has completed magnificent pioneering translations of works by many of the finest Arab poets, including Nizar Qabbani, Yubran, al-Sayyab, al-Bayati, Adonis, Fadwa Tuqan, Mahmud Darwish, Saadi Yusuf and Salah Abd al-Sabur, as well as others. Among his many notable publications are several books devoted to studying and analyzing contemporary Arab literature. Throughout his career, he has been a member of many scientific and cultural committees, and he has contributed to many different media publications. He was the Rector of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, having been the first rector ever to be democratically elected at this Spanish university. He was named Doctor Honoris Causa by three universities: those in Jaén, Alicante and Granada.
Front cover of the latest issue to be published of Almenara, a journal on the modern Arab and Islamic world, vol.10, Winter of 1976-77