AFR 255 Readings Moorish History

Prerequisites: AFR 103 Survey of African History (HIS), HIS/AFR 165 Introduction to African American History, AFR 222 Introduction to AFR Studies, or permission of instructor.

For nearly eight centuries Muslims/Moslems from Africa and Asia known as "Moors," conquered and then resided within the borders of Christian Europe. Their primary presence being within the Iberian Peninsula. Between 711-1492, these Afro-Asiatic people(s) intermarried with, governed, culturally influenced and were eventually persecuted by, their Catholic European neighbors and kin. The profound impact and legacy of the Moors goes well beyond that of Iberia, extending into other European countries such as Britain, France, and Italy. Yet, rarely is this near millennium
long chapter in "western" history given the light of inquiry. This course is intended to introduce students to the broad historical impact which the Moors had upon Western culture and European history.