The Winter 2025 Mediterranean Seminar Workshop
Friday and Saturday, 28 February and 1 March 2025
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
“The Multilingual Mediterranean”
The Mediterranean is not only the crossroads among continents, cultures, peoples, and religions; it is also, as Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Karla Mallette have put it, “a sea of languages.” From the use of Romance rhyme words in the zajals of twelfth-century Iberia to the playful code-switching in twenty-first-century North African hip hop, writers and artists in the Mediterranean region have often mixed different languages to create new artistic forms, to provoke and perplex, and to test the borders of different identity categories. Multilingualism has also helped to forge networks of trade, diplomacy, exchange across the Mediterranean region, leading to the emergence of new koines, linguae francae, and pidgins. Indeed, we could say that multilingualism and different forms of multilingual creativity are constants of Mediterranean history, rather than sporadic exceptions to a monolingual norm or rule.
The workshop’s aim is to bring together scholars working on the history of multilingualism in the Mediterranean region. Our theme, “the multilingual Mediterranean,” encompasses such topics as language contact zones, multilingual art forms and media, and the relationships between language and identity. Our hope is to attract contributions from scholars working on several geographical contexts and historical periods in the Mediterranean world. We also hope to encourage contributions from a diverse range of disciplinary perspectives. To that end, we invite potential participants to consider our theme broadly, and even metaphorically, in order to engage with different forms of multilingualism—including the interplay and intersection of visual, musical, and material “languages” in the Mediterranean world.
Program & Papers
All papers [click on the title to download] are copyright the author and are not to be copied, distributed or cited without express written permission by same.
Click on the participant name to see their bio.
Subscribe to the program calender here.
Download a printable program here.
This program is provisional and subject to change.
Workshop presenters will begin with a brief (10 mins max) contextualization/defense of their essay, followed by the respondents comments (5-8 mins), and an optional response by the author (5 mins max), before the floor opens for a moderated discussion. Submit your workshop paper here on or before 1 February.
Round-table presenters will be kept to a strict limit of 4 minutes, during which time they can summarize or elaborate on their position paper, address related themes, or engage with the other papers. Following these presentations the floor will open for a moderated discussion. Submit your position paper here on or before 5 February.
All presenters have access to a projector for PowerPoint; presenters must bring their presentation on a USB drive. In case of compatibilitity issues, please also bring your own laptop and an HDMI adapter. If you are using powerpoint kindly test your equipment during the morning coffee/registration period, or during lunch.
Friday 28 February 2025
Location: Levis Faculty Center, Room 210: 919 W. Illinois Street, Urbana
9:30—10:00 Coffee and Registration
10:00—10:15 Opening Remarks
• Carol Symes (History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaig) and Eric Calderwood (Comparative and World Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: University of Colorado Boulder), and Sharon Kinoshita (Literature: UC Santa Cruz).
10:15–11:30 Workshop Paper #1
“Provincializing Arabic in Alfonso X’s History of Spain” [abstract]
• Anita Savo (Romance Studies, Boston University)
Moderator: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder),
Respondent: Karla Mallette (Romance Languages & Middle East Studies, University of Michigan)
11:30–11:45 Introductions
11:45–12:00 Coffee break
12:00–1:15 Workshop Paper #2
“The Death and Survival of the Coptic Language: Learning Coptic in the 13th Century with the Muqaddimāt” [abstract]
• Ramona Teepe (Near Eastern Languages, Yale University)
Moderator: Sharon Kinoshita (Literature: UC Santa Cruz)
Respondent: Mukhtar Ali (Religion, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
1:15–2:15 Lunch (for speakers and registered participants)
2:15–3:15 Visit to the Rare Book and Manuscript Library for a special curated exhibit
3:30–4:45 Workshop Paper #3
“The Multilingual Arab Press in Modern Egypt” [abstract]
• Olga Verlato (Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University)
Moderator: Eric Calderwood (Comparative and World Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Respondent: Laura Goffman (History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
4:45–5:00 Coffee Break
5:00–6:15 Keynote Presentation:
“Multilingualism and Multimusicality in the Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean” [abstract]
• Dwight Reynolds (Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara)
Moderator: Carol Symes (History and Medieval Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
7:00–9:00 Dinner (see below) for workshop presenters, moderators, and round-table presenters
9:30— Post-workshop meeting (see below)
Saturday 1 March 2025
Location: Levis Faculty Center, Room 210: 919 W. Illinois Street, Urbana
9:30–10:00 Coffee and Registration
10:00–11:15 Keynote Presentation:
“Literature's Refuge at the Aegean Borderscape” [abstract]
• William Stroebel (Comparative Literature and Modern Greek, University of Michigan)
Moderator: Elias Petrou (University Library and Medieval Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
11:15–11:30 Coffee Break
11:30–12:30 Round Table 1
How capacious is the concept of “multilingualism” when thinking about different kinds of cultural, artistic, and social interactions in the Mediterranean world? How can the study of linguistic codeswitching be integrated with the study of architecture, music, performance, visual arts, and other forms of culture?
Moderator: Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: CU Boulder)
• Tom Barton (History, University of San Diego) “Musical Code-Switching by Muslim Instrumentalists in the Late-Medieval Crown of Aragon” [abstract]
• MacKenzie Guthrie (Comparative/World Literature, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) “Rapping from the In-Between: Multilingualism and the Intersection of Postcolonial Theory and Practice in the Music of Huda Laamarti” [abstract]
• Karla Mallette (Romance Languages and Middle East Studies, University of Michigan) “The Cosmopolitan Language and Translanguaging” [abstract]
• Adam Matthews (History, Alma College) “The Etymology of Documentary Formulae in the Catalan Counties, 800-1200” [abstract]
12:30–2:00 Lunch (for speakers and registered participants)
2:00–3:15 Round Table 2
When and why does multilingualism happen? Is multilingualism (broadly construed) a constant of Mediterranean history, or does it ebb and flow? Is it a product of special social, political, or cultural conditions?
Moderator: Sharon Kinoshita (Literature: UC Santa Cruz)
• Fred Astren (Jewish Studies, San Francisco State University) “Diaspora and Language: Jews and Hebrew in the Mediterranean of Late Antiquity” [abstract]
• Covadonga Baratech Soriano (Islamic Studies, Complutense University of Madrid) “Multilingual societies” [abstract]
• Timothy Loh (Anthropology, Princeton University) “The Multilingual Mediterranean from the Perspective of its Deaf Inhabitants” [abstract]
• Uri Shachar (History, Ben-Gurion University/Institute for Advanced Study) “Mediterranean French and the Rise of the Multilingual Vernacular in the Book of Sidrac” [abstract]
• Berkay Uluç (Comparative Literature, University of Michigan) “Ottoman Translation, Multilingual Mediterranean” [abstract]
3:15—3:30 Coffee Break
3:30—4:45 Round Table 3
What is the relationship between language (and language practices) and other identity categories, such as religion, race and ethnicity, gender, nation, and so on in the Mediterranean world and beyond?
Moderator: Eric Calderwood (Comparative and World Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Erica Feild-Marchello (Spanish Studies, Oxford) “Language and Religion in Early Modern Spanish Racial Thought” [abstract]
• Federica Ferrero (Political and Social Sciences, University of Pavia) “The Role of the Spanish Language and Culture in the Conceptualisation of the Nation of the National Reform Party in Tetouan” [abstract]
• Maria Hadjipolycarpou (Classics and Modern Greek, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) “The Multilingual Community of Linobambaki and Peaceful Coexistence in Cyprus” [abstract]
• Joshua Mugler (Hill Museum & Manuscript Library) “A Greek in Arabic Clothing” [abstract]
• Brian Sandberg (History, Northern Illinois) “Marseille as a Crusading Port: Multilingual Exchanges and Informal Empire in the Mediterranean World” [abstract]
4:45—5:00 Concluding Remarks
• Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies: University of Colorado Boulder), Sharon Kinoshita (Literature: UC Santa Cruz)
6:30-8:30pm Dinner (see below) for workshop presenters, moderators, and round-table presenters
9:30— Post-workshop meeting (see below)
Participants:
• Kay Hart Daly (History, Saint Louis University)
• Eda Derhemi (French and Italian, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Heather Grossman (Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Walker Horsfall (Germanic Languages & Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Erdem Idil (History: University of Toronto)
• Javier Irigoyen-Garcia (Department of Spanish and Portuguese: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Kelli McQueen (Education Justice Project: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
• Katie Menendez (English, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign)
• Maria Moulita ( Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Matthew Neumann (Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University)
• Dede Ruggles (Criticism and Interpretive Theory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Manolis Ulbricht (Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame)
• Blair Winter (Art History: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Staff and Administration
• Asalah Aranki (Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Noor Hamawy (Comparative and World Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Zahra Meshkan (Comparative and World Literatures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Practica
Arrival:
Willard Airport in Champaign (CMI) is served by American Airlines with connections through Chicago and Dallas. The Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington (BMI) is about 40 miles away, served by Delta, American, and a few other carriers. Participants preferring to fly into Chicago or Indianapolis and to drive the rest of the way should let the organizers know so that we can help to coordinate carpooling. There is also train and bus service from Chicago to Champaign.
Accommodation:
Rooms have been booked for all keynote, workshop, and roundtable speakers at the Illini Union Hotel on campus. Please contact the hotel if you will require parking on site.
Parking:
There is ample street parking near the conference venue.
Wifi:
Eduroam, Illinois Guest Network
Lunches:
Lunches are provided free to participants.
Dinners:
• Friday: the home of Carol Symes and Tom Wilson: 508 W. Florida Avenue, Urbana
• Saturday: Pizzeria Antica: 10 East Chester Street, Champaign
Post-workshop meeting:
Illini Union Hotel: room 379
• Participants & attendees welcome.
Snacks provided; please bring the beverages of your choice.
Local contacts
Carol Symes: 217-778-7987 (symes@illinois.edu); Eric Calderwood: 617-599-4923 (ecalderw@illinois.edu); and Leslie Davison: 217-671-4898 (ldp@illinois.edu).
Sponsors, Organization & Support:
This workshop is organized by Eric Calderwood, Brian A. Catlos, Sharon Kinoshita, and Carol Symes. It is hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, co-sponsored by the Program in Medieval Studies and the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies together with the CU Mediterranean Studies Group and the Mediterranean Seminar and with generous support from: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Center for Advanced Study, the European Union Center, the Center for African Studies, the School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics, the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, the Department of Classics, the Department of Comparative and World Literature, the Department of French and Italian, the Department of History, the Department of Religion, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.