History ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-14-2022

Abstract

The field of Spanish historiography has overwhelmingly been shaped by theories of Convivencia or anti-Convivencia, of total harmony or complete violence. The interpersonal connections made between individuals of different faiths—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—often contravene institutional regulation that prohibited sexual and familial connections and dissuaded casual camaraderie, complicating and disagreeing with histiorgraphic (anti-)Convivencia traditions. In place of an (anti-)Convivencia framework, modern theories of sexuality, as first championed by Michele Foucault, can explain discrepancies between individual action and institutional regulation through a matrix of power, identity, and interaction. Even as institutional rule prohibited interreligious sexuality—and to some extent, even casual interreligious interaction—intimacy between individuals remained frequent and revealed a complex society that allowed for simultaneous persecution and compassion. This framework of intimacy, building on Foucauldian theory, suggests that interactions between Jews, Muslims, and Christians were inherently tied to, governed by, and enacted through a matrix of ruling power that still did not fully prevent interreligious sex and interaction.

Level of Degree

Masters

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

Sarah Davis-Secord

Second Committee Member

Michael A. Ryan

Third Committee Member

Justine Andrews

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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