Re-mapping the Renaissance: Exchange between Early Modern Islam and Europe

NEH Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers June 13 through
July 2, 2010 University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
http://www.crbs.umd.edu/programs/re-mapping_the_renaissance/index.html

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 2, 2010

NEW THIS YEAR: Two seminar spaces are reserved for current full-time
graduate students in the humanities.

The Center for Renaissance& Baroque Studies at the University of Maryland
is pleased to announce "Re-mapping the Renaissance: Exchange between Early
Modern Islam and Europe," a 3-week summer seminar for college and
university teachers funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
From June 13 through July 2, 2010, selected scholars will explore the ways
in which the European Renaissance was shaped by interaction between Europe
and the rest of the world, in particular, the world of Islam.

In the course of this exploration of Islam's contribution to the shaping
of the European Renaissance, we will investigate networks of constant
exchange between Islamic and European courts, rulers, merchants,
travelers, diplomats, and artists during the early modern period. The
seminar will demonstrate that the trade conducted by the Italian
city-states was not exclusively an inheritance from the Roman Empire.
Rather, it also stemmed from the civilizations of the Mamluk and Ottoman
empires and their thriving systems of foreign trade. Those trading
networks, in turn, became conduits for the export not only of products but
also of ideas, scientific discoveries, and artistic exchange. This seminar
will investigate that legacy.

Participants will enjoy lectures, seminar discussions, and visits to the
Library of Congress and the National Gallery of Art, both in Washington
DC. Time has been set aside each week so that participants may pursue
their own reading and research and consult with the directors on their own
projects. The seminar will model the use of scholarship to support
teaching.

The program will be co-directed by Judith Tucker, Professor in the
Department of History and Director of the Master of Arts in Arab Studies
Program at Georgetown University in Washington, and by Adele Seeff,
Director, Center for Renaissance& Baroque Studies, University of
Maryland. Tucker and Seeff have worked across disciplines and are aware of
the challenges this sort of endeavor presents for scholars. Both are
interested in cross-disciplinary research and teaching. Both are committed
to fostering scholarly communities in which seminar participants feel
supported and nurtured. In addition, three exceptional scholars will
present sessions on cartography, art history, material goods, and travel
narratives.

Complete details about eligibility and the application process are
available at the program's website,
http://www.crbs.umd.edu/programs/re-mapping_the_renaissance/index.html.

We hope that you will add your voice, your research, and your teaching
experiences as we embark upon this journey of discovery.

For additional information, contact the Center for Renaissance& Baroque
Studies atcrbs@umd.edu.