WHO: Nasser Rabbat (MIT), Margery Resnick (MIT)
WHAT: The Challenge
This project traces the fluid creativity exchange in Islamic Iberia from the 8th to the 15th century and highlights echoes of that underappreciated legacy today to make visible the crucial role of Islamic Iberia in the shaping of Europe and the Middle East.
WHY: Motivations & Intentions
Because the legacies of Islamic Iberia are often ignored in formal and public pedagogies, and the media, we aim to bring the legacies of Islamic Iberia, in all their creative forms, into educational curricula and cultural institutions—schools, universities, museums, exhibits, concert halls. We aim to trace these legacies through fields ranging from art, architecture, literature, theology, law, and philosophy to culinary arts, music, agronomy and agriculture, to science.
HOW: Methods & Tools
- Establish a Framework for Collaboration between MIT and US scholars
- Spanish scholars, Middle Eastern scholars and Latin American scholars on the legacies of Islamic Iberia, by creating a network of interested scholars with a first conference planned that might lead to the development of a scholarly association and regular scholarly meetings
- Course Development
- Develop a course at MIT with potential inclusion in the HASS (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences) curriculum and encourage research on transculturality as a framework for understanding the history of exchange between cultures that emphasizes mutual knowledge exchange and positive dialogue and collaboration
- Creation of Joint Course on the Andalusian Legacies (Spring 2026 or 2027) in Toledo
HOW CAN I JOIN? Activities & Events in 2025
- March 2025: Meeting at The American International Institute in Madrid, Spain
For further details, contact the project leaders.