Session Abstract

The history of pre-modern Iberia is traditionally written as one of separate kingdoms—a series of largely self-contained parallel histories. Such a splintered past, however, not only perpetuates modern notions of contemporary political geographies (reinforcing anachronistic notions about what is “Spanish” or “Portuguese”), but also serves as an ideological barrier, which obscures peninsula-wide patterns of any number of phenomena. A pan-Iberian history is thus severely lacking and the conference theme of “Networks and Communities” would facilitate the development of this new subfield.

We propose the inclusion of a panel that would serve to establish a foundation for such inquiry. The panel brings together scholars interested in beginning the dialogue for how to write such a history by answering a common challenge: what new objects and questions emerge if we take other perspectives in the history of Iberia besides that of nations and national histories? Participants contribute papers that provide transnational, trans-regional, or comparative examinations of historical phenomena involving communities (groups) or networks (the interconnectivity linking groups) spanning at least two Iberian polities or geographical regions, from late antiquity to the late middle ages. Because of the exploratory nature of this panel, papers will specifically address the framework and methodological considerations that will be necessary to properly conceive and execute such a radically new history of the Iberian Peninsula. The audience of the panel will be composed of specialists of Spanish and Portuguese history, of Iberian expansions and empires, as well as historians interested in the methodology of transnational, comparative, and interconnected history.

It is hoped that this panel will not only help to lay the foundations for a subfield in Pan-Iberian history and foster interdisciplinary discussions and collaborations, but also result in joint publication of the revised essays of the panelists.