Representing Others in Medieval Iberian Literature

Abstract

This book focuses on the ways exiled medieval Iberian intellectuals—Jewish, Arabic, and Christian—used canonical discourses to shape/create cultural models that "go against the grain," i.e. that differ significantly from official European and Eastern discourses. Representing Others examines how Iberian authors used the fictional go-between to reflect on their role as cultural intermediaries and to open up spaces in the dominant discourse for the variety of voices that characterizes medieval Iberian culture. Representing Others explores the processes of identity formation in a society/geographical region often excluded from discussions of both European and Middle Eastern histories and literatures. Palaces of Memory: Mediation, Court Culture, and the Caliphate * "Many a Zayd and ‘Amr:" Mediation and Representation in al-Andalus * Translating Desire: The Violence of Memory in the Judeo-Iberian maqamat * Turning Tricks: The Go-Between in the Western Europe * Representing Others in the Libro de buen amor