Sessions sponsored or co-sponsored by the Association of Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies

“Emotional Iberia: Varieties of Affective Experience in Medieval Iberian Cultures”

Recent work in affect theory and in the history of the emotions reveals surprising ways in which the expression, representation, and judgment of feeling intersects with theology and devotional practice, materiality and corporeality, aesthetics, politics, and medical knowledge. Medieval Iberia’s complex political and confessional landscape offers a rich field for inquiry into the ways in which the emotions were instrumental in assertions of power, of spiritual and moral truth, of membership or disqualification from community. This panel seeks papers exploring the emotions and affects of medieval Iberia from any perspective: ethnicity, political discourses, religion, medicine, literary representations, visual cultures, etc.

“Questioning Mysticism” (co-sponsored with IMANA)

Mysticism and the mystic continue to constitute one of the most commonly discussed subjects at the ICMS during recent years. Despite this, entire sessions specifically dedicated to mysticism itself are few and far between. Accordingly, this session invites papers that seek to mine the depths and significations of mysticism, particularly in light of recent theoretical models: to what extent does the body and the eye inform the mystic? To what extent does mysticism defy and subdue the body? To what extent can mysticism serve as a backdoor for power and resistance, inasmuch as it allows the individual to work both within and outside of accepted structures of power? How does mysticism subvert or conform to existing epistemologies and ontologies? As sponsored by IMANA and co-sponsored by ASPHS, this session will take special interest in Spanish mysticism, but will of course be interested in contributions across disciplines.”‹”‹

Kalamazoo 2020 sessions sponsored by ASPHS
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