MEDITERRANEAN ROMANCE CULTURES

This course aims to provide advanced knowledge about cross-cultural encounters or clashes between different cultures in the Mediterranean area during the XI-XVth centuries, especially between Latin, Greek, Hebrew-Arabic and Romance cultures (southern Italian, Catalan, southern French). Special emphasis will be given to the language dynamics in the Mediterranean area (bilingualism, diglossy, uses of lingua franca, ‘creolisation’, etc.) and to the texts produced in connection with mutual cultural clashes or cross-encounters.

Medieval Mediterranean - Historical framework - The geographical setting of the contact: Spain, Sicily, Middle East. - Mediterranean identities: Saracens, Moors, Mozarabs, Franks, Rumi, Poulains, ecc. - Mozarabic Spain, Al-Andalus - Byzantine, Arabic, Norman and Swebian Sicily - Crusaders States - Linguistical framework - Languages in contact: mozarabic languages, Siculo-Arabic, French in Crusaders States, Venetian d'Outremar - Texts: translations, plurilingual poetry, epigraphies, glossaries, travel chronicles, pilgrims' diaries, ambassadors reports, etc.

- S. RAPISARDA, Vocabula morisca. Incontri tra culture nel Mediterraneo medievale (the text-book and further materials will be provided by the teacher and/or will be available on the main academic platforms, pp. 200).

In addition students will read three of the following books or articles:

- K. MALLETTE, The Kingdom of Sicily, 1100-1250, A Literary History, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005 (pp. 200).

- M. R. MENOCAL, The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain, Little-Brown, New York-Boston 2002 (pp. 300).

- L. MINERVINI, «Outremer», in Lo spazio letterario del Medioevo. 2. Il Medioevo volgare, diretto da P. Boitani, M. Mancini, A. Varvaro, vol. I, La produzione del testo, t. II, Roma, Salerno Editrice, 2001, pp. 611-48.

- S. RAPISARDA, Orientalism, Counter-Orientalism(s) and the History of Philology, in “Archivio Storico per la Sicilia Orientale”, 2012, pp. 5-19.

- Storici arabi delle Crociate, a cura di Francesco GABRIELI, Torino, Einaudi, 2003 (pp. 350).

- A VANOLI, La Sicilia musulmana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012 (pp. 200).

- A. VANOLI, La reconquista, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009 (pp. 200).