Iberian Con­nec­tions and Public Humanities

By | Published on July 25, 2019

During this second semester of exis­tence of Iberian Con­nec­tions, we are devoting all our interest to the central question of Public Human­ities. We want to explore how the work we do in the aca­demic world is not, and cannot be, dis­con­nected from the public sphere. Maybe the public sphere, as we used to know it, has bursted into a con­stel­lation of bubbles that seem to have their own grav­i­ta­tional fields. We want to inves­tigate how history, philology, the human­ities, the social sci­ences, etc. tackle the cul­tural, political, and social dynamics of those bubbles and their grav­i­ta­tional fields, thus impacting public and political life. We will be priv­i­leged enough to be in con­ver­sation with some of the most engaged and bril­liant con­tem­porary scholars in Iberian Studies and Public Human­ities, like Sarah Pearce, from NYU (Feb­ruary 13th), Maya Soifer Irish, from Rice Uni­versity (April 7th), and Miguel Martínez, from The Uni­versity of Chicago (April 17th). Consult the Iberian Con­nec­tions site fre­quently to get access to the updated mate­rials and discussions. 

Sessions

  • Session 01 — February 13, 2020 — 6:00 pm
    Romance Languages LoungeOpen or Close

    New Totalitarianisms and Medieval Iberian Connections

    Sarah Pearce, Asso­ciate Pro­fessor at NYU, a spe­cialist in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian and Near Eastern studies will join us to present her research and her modes of engagement with public human­ities. Besides her book on Ibn Tibbon, she has also pub­lished in the Wash­ington Post and Public Medievalist.

  • Session 02 — April 7, 2020 — 6:00 pm
    Romance Languages LoungeOpen or Close

    Anti-semitism: from the contemporary world to the middle ages

    Maya Soifer-Irish, Rice Uni­versity. Pro­fessor Soifer-Irish’s work on Jews and Chris­tians in Medieval Castile is part of her research on inter­faith rela­tions in the Iberian world, and her reassessment of the complex concept of con­vivencia. She is cur­rently the pres­ident of the Asso­ci­ation for Spanish and Por­tuguese His­torical Studies. She will present her current research and will conduct a workshop on anti­semitism and public humanities.

  • Session 03 — April 17, 2020 — 6:00 pm
    Romance Languages LoungeOpen or Close

    Imperialism: Empire-phobia and Empire-philia in Contemporary Historiography and Public Life

    Miguel Martínez is an Asso­ciate Pro­fessor at the Uni­versity of Chicago. His book in the lit­er­ature of cap­tains in the Early Modern period was pub­lished by the Uni­versity of Penn­syl­vania Press. He will present his current research on the Asian expansion of the Spanish Empire, with spe­cific interest in the Philip­pines. He fre­quently con­tributes columns and articles for the Spanish news­paper Público. He has engaged with the work of Roca Barea, and crit­i­cized the white­washing of Spanish imperialism.