“Unchanging Representations of Muslims in Don Quijote and 21st Spain”
Submission Type
Event
Expected Graduation Date
2013
Location
Atrium, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-20-2013 2:00 PM
End Date
4-20-2013 3:00 PM
Abstract
This paper analyzes the relations between Christians and Muslims throughout Spanish history and the representations of these relations in the text of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s Don Quijote. Throughout the history of Spain there have been intense conflicts between Christians and Muslims. From 711 until 1492, Muslims had power over much of the land that today comprises the country of Spain and this power created tensions between the two groups. This dichotomy between Christianity and Islam resulted in monumental battles and the infamously poor treatment of Muslims such as the mass expulsion during the reconquest and the mass conversion of Muslims to Christianity. Negative sentiments and stereotyping towards Muslims that have existed since the middle ages in Spain are represented in the story of Don Quijote and persist in Spanish society today.
“Unchanging Representations of Muslims in Don Quijote and 21st Spain”
Atrium, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
This paper analyzes the relations between Christians and Muslims throughout Spanish history and the representations of these relations in the text of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s Don Quijote. Throughout the history of Spain there have been intense conflicts between Christians and Muslims. From 711 until 1492, Muslims had power over much of the land that today comprises the country of Spain and this power created tensions between the two groups. This dichotomy between Christianity and Islam resulted in monumental battles and the infamously poor treatment of Muslims such as the mass expulsion during the reconquest and the mass conversion of Muslims to Christianity. Negative sentiments and stereotyping towards Muslims that have existed since the middle ages in Spain are represented in the story of Don Quijote and persist in Spanish society today.