Description
Book SynopsisThe idea of al-Andalus—medieval Muslim Iberia—has many uses, inspiring artists and activists who imagine a place and time of peaceful coexistence among Europeans, North Africans, and Middle Easterners; Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Eric Calderwood explores the consolidation of this reputation and its impact on artistic and political aspiration.
Trade ReviewCalderwood shows that al-Andalus has been deployed effectively across this wide range of contexts to engage in debates about Arab and Berber identities in the Middle East and North Africa, to articulate a feminism autochthonous to the Muslim world, to reflect on the loss of a Palestinian homeland, and to explain musical productions and to motivate collaborations across different traditions, languages, and cultures. -- Elizabeth Spragins * Public Books *
With extraordinary linguistic range, Calderwood brings us the voices of Arabs and Muslims who have turned to the distant past of Spain to imagine their future. Rather than dismissing al-Andalus as a confused heap of notions or narrowing its vision to Romantic utopianism, Calderwood turns to the subjunctive mood, the mood of what might be, to argue for the future of al-Andalus as time and place ahead of us with infinite capacity. -- Hussein Fancy, Yale University
In this beautifully conceived and deftly written book, Calderwood brings to light a rich range of sources, many previously unavailable in English, Spanish, or French translation.
On Earth or in Poems provides interpretations that are innovative, insightful, and useful for scholars and students of medieval Spain, as well as of contemporary Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. -- David A. Wacks, University of Oregon
A timely intervention in medieval studies and contemporary cultural studies alike, Calderwood’s book exemplifies the best work being done in the expanding field of global medievalism. -- S. J. Pearce, New York University
