International Conference:
Before Orientalism: The “images” of Islam in the Iberian Peninsula (15th – 17th c) and their Mediterranean connections
Fundación BBVA. Palacio del Marqués de Salamanca. Paseo de Recoletos 10, Madrid, 18 and 19 May 2017

Introduction
In recent years, the study of religious otherness has experienced a significant surge. Regarding the perception of Islam in Europe, the Romantic dichotomous vision between the orientalist attraction and the rejection and hatred is being left behind. The purpose of this conference is to analyse, from a pluri-disciplinar perspective, which conceptions or images of Islam were developed, from the end of the Middle Ages to the decline of the Austria dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula and other Mediterranean enclaves closely connected to the Hispanic Crown. The aim of this event is to analyse the stereotypes, which have traditionally limited historical studies; and also, the dissociation between the imaged produced by literature and the visual discourses of several social strata which were in closer contact with Islam.

The topics addressed during the conference will be:

1. How the (literary and visual) image of Islam was created and developed in the Iberian Peninsula during the 15th to 17th centuries.
2. What are the convergences and divergences between the spheres of the letters and the arts.
3. The value of stereotypes in the building of the image and identity of Muslims.
4. The weight of 19th century literary and artistic historiography in the blurring of the Medieval and Modern images of religious otherness.
5. The contribution of 16th and 17th orientalist images in the later construction of 19th century orientalism.
5. Is it possible to elaborate a cartography of the representations of Muslims in the different Hispanic territories?
6. Was there an invisible Islam? How was it materialized?

Call for papers
Papers submitted must be of maximum 500 words in Spanish, English, Italian or French, together with a brief summary of the research record of the author, and main publications. Deadline is 1st February 2017. Acceptance of papers will be communicated 10th February. The papers must be submitted to proyecto.impigmail.com. Oral communications will be 15-20 minutes. The inscription fee is 50 €. Inscription entitles to attendance and publication of the texts (once approved by peer review procedure). To participate in the publication it is necessary to attend the conference to present the paper. News related to this conference will be published in https://impi.hypotheses.org/

Speakers
Luis Bernabé Pons. Universidad de Alicante
Ivana Capeta Rakic. University of Split
Giuseppe Capriotti. Univesità di Macerata
Ana Echevarría Arsuaga. UNED
Youssef El Alaoui. Universite de Rouen
Borja Franco Llopis. UNED
Mercedes García-Arenal. CSIC
José María Perceval. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Iván Rega Castro. Universitat de Lleida
Laura Stagno. Università di Genova
Antonio Urquízar Herrera. UNED

Scientific Committee
Ximo Company Climent. Universitat de Lleida
Elena Díez Jorge. Universidad de Granada
Consuelo Gómez López. UNED
Alicia Cámara Muñoz. UNED
Francisco J. Moreno Díaz del Campo. Universidad de Castilla la Mancha
Inés Monteira Arias. UNED
James Nelson Novoa. University of Ottawa
Amadeo Serra Desfilis. Universitat de València
Enrique Soria Mesa. Universidad de Córdoba

Director of the Conference
Borja Franco Llopis (UNED)

Technical Secretariat
Karen Gregorio Molina
Francisco Orts Campos
Asís Pérez Casas

This event will be sponsored by Fundación BBVA, the History of Art Department of the UNED and the MINECO.