MEDITERRANEAN ROMANCE CULTURES

L-FIL-LET/09 - 6 CFU - 2° Semester

Teaching Staff

STEFANO RAPISARDA


Learning Objectives

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.



Detailed Course Content

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.



Textbook Information

- 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).

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.




Open in PDF format Versione in italiano