Mediterranean Exchanges Workshop March 29, 2012

Organized by the Institute for Advanced Study's Mediterranean Identities Collaborative.
1210 Heller Hall

The collaborative has focused its research on the theme, “Mediterranean Identities.” Identity is a much-contested analytic category. Despite the imprecision and ambiguity inherent in the construct, it allows for examination of hybridities and cultural translations that enrich our understanding of interactions and exchanges among peoples of the Mediterranean. This day-long workshop, centered around the idea of "Mediterranean Exchange," permits us to expand our wide-ranging interdisciplinary and broad chronological explorations of this world with Minnesota scholars interested in the Mediterranean.

8:30 a.m. - Coffee and Introductions

9:00 to 10:30 a.m. - Session 1

* "The Prosopography of Mediterranean Communication: The Merovingian Era (ca 560-610)," Bernard Bachrach, History, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
* "Refined Discourse: Abū Ṭayyib al-Washshāʾ and the Poetics of Inscribed Objects," Yaron Klein, Arabic, Middle Eastern Languages, Carleton College
* "Mediterranean Arcs and National Memory in Contemporary Israeli and Spanish Literature," Stacy N. Beckwith, Hebrew, Middle Eastern Languages, Carleton College

10:30 a.m. - Coffee Break

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Session 2

* "Identity in Crusader Cyprus: Cultural Interaction and Change vs. Stable Core Identities," Jimmy Schryver, History of Art, Universit of Minnesota - Morris
* "Caliph and Qur’an: Re-imagining the Muslim Umma Across the Mediterranean (1925-1936)," Brett Wilson, Religious Studies, Macalester College
* "The Musical Marketplace of Late Ottoman Izmir," Maureen Jackson, Middle Eastern Languages, Carleton College

12:30 to 2:00 p.m. - Lunch

2:00 to 3:30 p.m. - Session 3

* "Piracy and the Order of the Hospital on 15th-century Rhodes," Theresa Vann, Malta Curator, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, St. John's University
* "The Mediterranean of the Portolan Charts," Victoria Morse, History, Carleton College
* "Between Shores: The Flying House of Loreto (Italy)...or Trsat (Croatia)...or Canada?," Karin Vélez, History, Macalester College

3:30 p.m. - Coffee Break

4:00 - 5:30 p.m. - Session 4

Roundtable - Informal discussion by audience and participants on teaching and research in Mediterranean Studies and future possibilities

5:30 p.m. - Reception and supper

Official Website: http://www.ias.umn.edu/collabs11-12/MediterraneanIdentity1112-Workshop.php