Power in the Portrayal: Representations of Jews and Muslims in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Islamic Spain

(Paperback)

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Description

Unveils a fresh perspective on power relations in eleventh- and twelfth-century Muslim Spain as reflected in historical and literary texts of the period. Employing the methods of the historical literary study in looking at a range of texts, this title reveals the paradoxical relations between the Andalusi Muslim and Jewish elites in this era.

Reviews

"A substantial contribution to our knowledge of inter-faith and inter-cultural relations... Few authors could achieve what [Brann] has done in such an economical [way]."--Cynthia Robinson, Near Eastern Studies "A substantial and methodologically innovative contribution to our knowledge of inter-faith and inter-cultural relations, both in al-Andalus and in the medieval world at large... Few authors could achieve what [Brann] has achieved and broaden the scope of a field of inquiry to the extent that he has done in such an economical [fashion]."--Cynthia Robinson, The Medieval Review "Brann negotiates the boundary between literary and historical studies with considerable finesse and graceful erudition."--Mark D. Meyerson, American Historical Review "Brann's book is elegantly written, scholarly in drawing on previous studies, yet original in its insights. The author makes his case that medieval Jews and Muslims in al-Andalus admired, scorned, deplored, and were envious of each other in varying measure and that each group's representation of the Other teaches us less about that other than about itself."--Consuelo Lopez-Morillas, Speculum

Author Bio

Ross Brann is the Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies and the Chair of Near-Eastern Studies at Cornell University. His books include "The Compunctious Poet", recipient of the 1992 National Jewish Book Award in Sephardic Studies. He wrote "Power in the Portrayal" with the support of the Guggenheim Foundation.