Historians often study Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations under rubrics of tolerance or intolerance, conflict or uneasy coexistence. This seminar focuses instead on points of exchange and collaboration between medieval religious communities, especially at the level of individuals working together. Using primary and secondary sources, course readings explore how Jews, Christians, and Muslims established a common denominator that was not hostile but collaborative. Beginning with a modern novel, IN AN ANTIQUE LAND, students will be encouraged to examine how formal and informal networks between religious communities are constructed and sustained as well as how networks break down. Case studies cover the interactions of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars, doctors, merchants, and pilgrims from Egypt to the Iberian Peninsula between the tenth and 15th centuries. |