Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Medieval Spain

This course is designed to study the different aspects of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Cultural Heritage in medieval Spain. Special emphasis is placed on the contribution of Muslims, Christians, and Jews to Spanish literature, history, religion, philosophy, arts, and sciences. A comparative study of these contributions is an important part of the course. The sociological situation of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish communities in either a Christian or a Muslim context, and the role of women in these societies will be analyzed. Special relevance is given to the question of the identity of the minority groups in the multicultural environment of medieval Spain. In class, we will analyze, comment, and discuss primary sources—translated into Spanish—from the period, especially literary documents and historical sources. (1 unit)

Required texts: Material in electronic form to be available for students upon arrival at Middlebury.