UNE Center for Global Humanities presents “The Struggle between Muslims and Christians for the Mediterranean”

For centuries, the Mediterranean has represented an important crossroads between the Muslim and Christian worlds. It remains, today, the locus of some of our greatest global challenges and opportunities.   

To illuminate the historical forces underlying interactions between Muslims and Christians in this crucial region today, the University of New England Center for Global Humanities will host scholar Amy G. Remensnyder for a lecture titled “The Struggle between Muslims and Christians for the Mediterranean.” The lecture will take place Monday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. at the WCHP Lecture Hall in Parker Pavilion on the UNE Portland Campus.

Remensnyder will argue that the Mediterranean of the Middle Ages was far more complex than today’s common characterization of it as the theater for a “clash of civilizations.” She will describe a contested space, shared by Muslims and Christians, offering abundant examples of cultural exchange, neighborly relations and intercultural cooperation. For example, she will examine the circumstances by which Muslims and Christians commonly prayed together at religious shrines, particularly those dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

A history professor at Brown University, Remensnyder has been passionate about the Middle Ages since visiting her first medieval cathedral at age 18. In her teaching and research, she seeks to illuminate the worldviews and experiences of medieval and early modern Europeans. She has written several books and articles on this topic, including the 2014 book La Conquistadora: The Virgin Mary at War and Peace in the Old and New Worlds (Oxford University Press).   

Since its founding in 2009 by UNE cultural studies scholar Anouar Majid, the University of New England Center for Global Humanities has brought leading thinkers from around the globe to Portland to share their expertise with students and a diverse audience of community members. The lectures explore some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. They are free and open to the public, and streamed live online so that students at UNE’s campus in Tangier, Morocco, and people around the globe can watch them.

For more information, visit http://www.une.edu/calendar/2016/struggle-between-muslims-and-christians-mediterranean.

To learn more about the Center for Global Humanities, visit www.une.edu/cgh

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions