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Presentation of "Colonial Al-Andalus"
May 07, 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.
The book, a work by Professor Eric Calderwood, examines culture,
politics and the legacy of Spanish colonialism in Morocco (1859-1956).
Five experts and the author will be debating the topic.
The event, organized by Casa Árabe with the cooperation of the Master’s degree in Contemporary Arab and Islamic Studies and the Arab Ideologies and Cultural Expressions research group of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, will include participation by the author and professor of Comparative Literature and Arabic at the University of Urbana-Champaign; Carlos Cañete, a contracted PhD researcher on Spain’s National Research Council; Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, a professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Nieves Paradela, a professor of Arab Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a translator of contemporary Arabic literature, and Fernando Rodríguez Mediano, a researching scientist for Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC). Presented by Pedro Martínez-Avial, the General Director of Casa Árabe.
On the occasion of the publication of Colonial Al-Andalus(Harvard University Press, 2018), the latest essay by American specialist Eric Calderwood, Casa Árabe has organized this debate session about a burning issue in the academic arena. The book, a work by Professor Eric Calderwood, examines culture, politics and the legacy of Spanish colonialism in Morocco (1859-1956). The book traces back the genealogy of a stereotypical thought about Morocco: namely, the idea that modern Moroccan culture descends directly from Al-Andalus. This preconceived idea is widespread in the Moroccan historiography, literature and political discourse. Colonial Al-Andalus proposes that Morocco’s identity with Al-Andalus is not a medieval legacy, but is instead a modern invention which arose from the colonial encounter between Spain and Morocco. The book offers new interpretations of a varied range of sources in Spanish, Arabic, French and Catalan, from disciplines including literature, history, journalism, political speeches and visual culture. Colonial Al-Andalus places a highlight on the surprising intersections between Spanish colonial culture (including the culture of the Franco era) and nationalist Moroccan culture.
Conference information sheet
Eric Calderwood is an assistant professor of Comparative Literature and Arabic Literature at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he also holds teaching positions in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Center of Studies on South Asia and the Middle East, the Medieval Studies Program, the Interpretive Criticism and Theory Unit, and the Jewish Culture and Society Program. PhD from Harvard University in 2011. His research explores modern Mediterranean culture, with a particular emphasis placed on Spanish and North African literature and cinema. His first book, Colonial Al-Andalus, was published by the Harvard University Press in April 2018. He has also had articles published in journals such as PMLA, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies and the International Journal of Middle East Studies. In addition to his academic publications, he has contributed essays and commentary to media outlets such as NPR, the BBC, Foreign Policy and McSweeney’s Quarterly.
On the occasion of the publication of Colonial Al-Andalus(Harvard University Press, 2018), the latest essay by American specialist Eric Calderwood, Casa Árabe has organized this debate session about a burning issue in the academic arena. The book, a work by Professor Eric Calderwood, examines culture, politics and the legacy of Spanish colonialism in Morocco (1859-1956). The book traces back the genealogy of a stereotypical thought about Morocco: namely, the idea that modern Moroccan culture descends directly from Al-Andalus. This preconceived idea is widespread in the Moroccan historiography, literature and political discourse. Colonial Al-Andalus proposes that Morocco’s identity with Al-Andalus is not a medieval legacy, but is instead a modern invention which arose from the colonial encounter between Spain and Morocco. The book offers new interpretations of a varied range of sources in Spanish, Arabic, French and Catalan, from disciplines including literature, history, journalism, political speeches and visual culture. Colonial Al-Andalus places a highlight on the surprising intersections between Spanish colonial culture (including the culture of the Franco era) and nationalist Moroccan culture.
Conference information sheet
Eric Calderwood is an assistant professor of Comparative Literature and Arabic Literature at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he also holds teaching positions in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Center of Studies on South Asia and the Middle East, the Medieval Studies Program, the Interpretive Criticism and Theory Unit, and the Jewish Culture and Society Program. PhD from Harvard University in 2011. His research explores modern Mediterranean culture, with a particular emphasis placed on Spanish and North African literature and cinema. His first book, Colonial Al-Andalus, was published by the Harvard University Press in April 2018. He has also had articles published in journals such as PMLA, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies and the International Journal of Middle East Studies. In addition to his academic publications, he has contributed essays and commentary to media outlets such as NPR, the BBC, Foreign Policy and McSweeney’s Quarterly.
