“Reading Aljamiado Mansucripts”
Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar
12—15 August 2024 • Remote
The Summer Skills Seminar, “Reading Aljamiado Manuscripts” will be held via Teams from Monday, 12 August to Thursday, 15 August 2024 from 9am to 11am and noon to 2pm MDT.
Registered Participants enter here.
Course overview
In the decades following the conquest of Granada in 1492, the free Muslim communities of Christian Spain (Mudéjares) were subject to decrees that forced them to convert to Catholicism in 1502 (Castile), 1515 (Navarre) and 1526 (the Crown of Aragon). While some converted genuinely, most Moriscos continued to secretly practice Islam, or developed Islamic modes of religiosity inflected by Christianity and Judaism. In any event, conversion did not bring integration, and Moriscos (both converts and their descendants) continued to be subject to fiscal and legal discrimination, social marginalization, and cultural repression. Andalusi and Islamic cultural practices, including, the wearing of traditional clothes, halal butchery, traditional dances, music, and pastimes, would be eventually prohibited. From the 1560s the use of spoken and written Arabic was forbidden; however, most preserved Morisco texts were copied after that date.
Even prior to this, many or most Mudéjares spoke local Romance vernaculars, and in some areas Arabic had completely disappeared. Mudéjares in the Crowns of Aragon and Castile began writing in Aljamía - local vernaculars with some specific features using Arabic script. This movement gained momentum through the sixteenth century, and a particular variant of the Arabic alphabet developed here. Works produced in Aljamía included copies of the Qur’an, prophetic and sacred works, poetry and secular literature. These works constitute a vivid and unique source for the history and culture of the Mudéjar and Morisco communities of Early Modern Spain. [For more information, see N. de Castilla, “Uses and Written Practices in Aljamiado Manuscripts” and “Les emplois linguistiques et culturels derrière les textes aljamiados”.]
This four-day intensive skills seminar will provide participants with an overview of the interests and preoccupations of the Muslim communities of Aragon in the fifteenth, sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries, as expressed on their own terms, in their own texts, using this unique alphabetic system. We will read, discuss and analyze unpublished and published manuscript fragments held today in various archives and libraries around the world, from the perspective of literal meaning, linguistics, sociology, material culture, historical context, and so on. The focus is on “hands-on” skills, and we will read Aljamiado manuscripts together, progressing through increasingly challenging texts as the course proceeds and students’ abilities develop. The contents will be catered as much as possible to the participants’ interests and needs. Medievalists and Modernists in all fields, graduate students, and qualified undergraduate students, as well as library and archival professionals are encouraged to apply.
The goal is to provide participants with a solid foundation for reading and understanding the manuscripts and texts produced by these Muslim Spanish communities, essential to understand Spain in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. This course will not only further their own research but also provide them with a bona fide (in the form of a certificate of completion for those who attend the full seminar), which may be advantageous in securing grants or other funding for research and travel. The ability to do research with primary sources is a skill relatively few doctoral students master, and it enhances the research profile and CV of academic job-seekers.
This Summer Skills Seminar builds on the experience of earlier editions, which participants signaled as “transformative” in terms of their research, and which provided them with an opportunity to network and lay the foundations for future collaborations. Please click below for information and participant reviews of our former Skills Seminars.
Faculty
The course will be conducted by Prof. Nuria de Castilla (History of the Book in Arabic Script, École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL, Paris). A specialist in Arabic Manuscripts, her main research fields are Aljamiado Literature, Arabic Codicology and Paleography and Cultural History in Early Modern Europe, with special attention to Muslim-Christian relations.
Previous Participants:
”It is one of the best courses I have ever taken, and certainly the best zoom course I participate in! Nuria is so knowlegeable and built the course perfectly.”
“The idea for this course was a great one! For four days, we were introduced to an appropriate amount of material in a way that allowed us to quickly improve Aljamiado reading skills while learning about the codicology aspect of the field.”
“This course was phenomenal. Dr. Nuria's patience, knowledge and preparedness contributed so profoundly to my understanding of aljamiado and has helped improved my reading abilities. This will prove invaluable to my research and my own dissertation. I only wish that the course was offered for longer than 4 days...”
“Nuria is an incredibly organized, knowledgeable, and supportive person, just such an amazing guide for all the individuals interested in Aljamiado literature. Having the seminar on Microsoft Teams made it so much more convenient for us all to come together from different locations and since so many of the manuscripts were in the digital format, we were all able to refer to our screens. This course on Aljamiado literature is perfectly placed in the Mediterranean seminar. As my classmates and I discussed, the failure to fit Aljamiado literature into a neat nutshell of university disciplines as led to a lot of institutional obstacles for individuals ready to do the work. This skills seminar created a network that I really feel will lead to some great work being accomplished in the future.”“Prof. Nuria De Castilla is a world-class pedagogue. Her own interest in the material is without question, and that attitude of love and excitement is delightfully infectious.”
“The course was excellent. It was a little bit difficult for me to participate in it due to the time difference, but I was really satisfied with the course.”
“Despite the seminar only lasting four days, it was very well structured and we had time to cover a wide range of material, get a good understanding of the topic, the basic skills required to read the documents and a good insight into the questions the subject raises. This allowed for very interesting conversations with all the participants.”
Fees
$1000 for Full Professors, Librarians & Professionals
$750 for tenured Associates, Emerita/us, Retired Faculty, Independent Scholars & Non-Academics;
$500 for non-tenured Associates and Assistants & Graduate and Undergraduate students;
$350 for Adjuncts, Lecturers & Contingent faculty.
Members of University of Colorado departments may be eligible for a discount.
Applicants who are (1) nationals; (2) current residents; (3) AND faculty or students in low-per-capita GDP countries may apply for a reduction (please see below).
Payment information will be provided at the time of acceptance. Posted fees do not include a 5% processing fee. NB - fees have not changed since 2017, we anticipate an increase of 10% for 2025.
Application & Information
Applicants should have at least an intermediate level of reading Spanish. Knowledge of Arabic is advantageous but not required, although participants should familiarize themselves with the basics of Arabic script beforehand. Here are two free basic tutorials: Arabic Quick! and al-dirassa.
Please note: sessions will not be recorded; synchronous attendance is required.
The regular application period is until April 15.
Applicants will be advised of acceptance on April 21. Payment of no less than 50% of the course tuition is due on April 28, with the balance due on May 7. Applicants waiting on a grant or subvention may request an extension for the second payment.
Late applicants may be accommodated if space remains. Full payment will be due within three days of acceptance, including a $50 surcharge for late applications.
All payments are final and non-refundable. A letter of confirmation/ receipt will be provided by the Mediterranean Seminar.
Apply via this form.
For further information or inquiries, contact mailbox@mediterraneanseminar.org subject: “Summer Skills Information”)
Important dates:
Application period: 15 April 2024
Acceptance/stand by notifications: 21 April 2024
Full payment: 7 May 2024 (subject to extension for late applicants/ or pending grants)
NOTE: Numbers are limited; participants are encouraged to apply early.
[download poster]
Program
Monday, 12 August 2024
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Introduction. A Secret Culture in Golden Age Spain.
2. Let’s begin reading
Tuesday, 13 August 2024
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Preaching in Morisco times
2. Future predictions
Wednesday, 14 August 2024
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Cornerstone
2. Other famous texts
Thursday, 15 August 2024
9am-11am; noon-2pm
1. Problems with reading Aljamiado texts
2. Encore! The Qur’an in Mudéjar and Morisco communities