Past Event
Thursday, April 16, 2015, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
James K. Binder Lecture: Mercedes Garcia-Arenal
9500 Gilman Drive #0436, San Diego, 92093
Mercedes Garcia-Arenal: Is Arabic a Spanish Language? The Uses of Arabic in Early Modern Spain.
Starting in the 16th Century, a new interest in Oriental languages arose in Europe, and in particular an interest in Arabic. This interest in Arabic stemmed from the textual study of the Bible which so absorbed European scholars in the age of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. This is, then, an early "Orientalism" that has little to do with colonial enterprises and follows different paths than those outlined by Edward Said in his famous book Orientalism.