October 2018: "Mediterranity from the Edge" in Association with the Margins of the Mediterranean Seminar

October 27, 2018 | 2:30-4:00 PM
Room 555 Weiser Hall Weiser Hall

Organizers: Michael Pifer, Lecturer, Department of Middle East Studies, U-M; and Cameron Cross, Assistant Professor of Iranian Studies, Department of Middle East Studies, U-M

This workshop is part of the "Margins of the Mediterranean" seminar which is meeting at the University of Michigan this year. View the full seminar program.

"Mediterranity from the Edge" seeks to offer a "view from the edge" into Mediterranean studies by looking at it from areas traditionally considered marginal to the Mediterranean world, either in terms of geography or representation in the field: Armenia, the Caucasus, Ethiopia, and the Iranian plateau.

The papers explore the various ways in which the cultural production of Armenia and other "peripheral" regions interfaced with the pre-modern Mediterranean world. It therefore invites a broader conversation about notions of periphery, border, and contact across so-called national, linguistic, or religious communities--concepts that can be productive and problematic in equal measure. As the workshop suggests, "marginality" as a concept can be utilized to rethink Mediterranean interconnectivity, both culturally and geographically, by considering every spot on the map as both a center and an edge.

Attendance is free; registration required at http://bit.ly/MarginsMed.

Presentations will include:

"Transmission in Medieval Marian Stories in the Levant, Europe, and Africa in a Comparative Perspective"

Wendy Laura Belcher, Princeton University

"The Girl Next Door: Reading the Margin as a Site of Continuity"

Cameron Cross, University of  Michigan

"Against Fate: Parsing Armenian Literary History from the Margins"

Michael Pifer, University of  Michigan

Respondent: Ryan Szpiech, University of Michigan