A History of al-Andalus in Seven Objects (winter term 2021/22)

Al-Andalus, as Spain and Portugal were known in Arabic during their period of Muslim rule from 711-1492, was an important and long-lasting site of encounter between medieval Jews, Christians and Muslims. This class focuses on the cultural history of this encounter, through close study of seven objects. We will use these objects as entry points into the history of al-Andalus. Our discussion will focus particularly on the different perspectives written and material sources provide, and will analyze how scholars have addressed these challenges. Throughout, we will pay particular attention to the biographies of these objects, from their moment of production through to their current resting place. We will also examine the people, ideas, goods and technologies that successively transformed al-Andalus and its neighbors, and will discuss to what extent al-Andalus should be seen as exceptional, in the context of Europe and of the broader Islamic world.

(readings will be added and guest lectures will be updated)

Session 1 - Oct. 07, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm (CET)
A Capital from Madīnat al-Zahrā, ca. 960, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin, I. 5053.

Session 2 - Oct. 14, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm (CET)
Commentary on the Book of the Apocalypse by St. Beatus of Liébana, illustrated by Maius (d. Tábara, 968), ca. 945, Morgan Library, New York, MS M. 644.

Session 3 - Oct. 21, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm (CET)
 Ivory casket with enamel decoration from Santo Domingo de Silos, 1026, Museo de Burgos, Spain.

Session 4 - Oct. 28, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm
Textile fragments from the Shrine of Santa Librada, Sigüenza Cathedral, (second textile here), twelfth century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 58.85.1 and 58.85.2.
Guest lecture: Dr María Judith Feliciano, New York.

Session 5 - Nov. 04, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm (CET)
Gold dinar/morabetino of Alfonso VIII (d. 1214), 1188-89, Toledo, formerly of the American Numismatic Society, New York.

Session 6 - Nov. 11, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm (CET)
Elements from a necklace, late-fifteenth/sixteenth-century Granada, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 17.190.161a-j.

Session 7 - Nov. 18, 2021 - 6.00 to 7.30 pm (CET)
Quran of Sultan Muley Zidan of Morocco, 1599. Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, MS 1340.
Guest lecture: Dr Daniel Hershenzon, University of Connecticut.

Fluency in spoken and written English. Otherwise, there are no prerequisites. The course is open to all advanced students in B.A., M.A., and PhD programs, and to historians, art historians, and archaeologists working on the Islamic world or related topics.

Participants joining via the web should have a computer, reliable internet access and a headset. Students from Hamburg should sign up in the campus system 'Stine' and contact Abigail Balbale or Stefan Heidemann as early as possible to register and get the necessary introduction into the technology.

Students from outside of New York University and Universität Hamburg are welcome. All students should apply with a short CV and a motivation letter in English by September 19, 2021. These should be emailed to Abigail Balbale (abigail.balbale@nyu.edu) or Stefan Heidemann (stefan.heidemann@uni-hamburg.de). Preference is given to students from universities within the network "Islamic Material Culture:" New York University, Universität Hamburg, Ludwig Maximilian-Universität München and Universität Bonn.