University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

United in diversity? A discourse analysis on the selective representation of the Islamic past in Spanish and Portuguese tourism

O'dowd, Katherine

Content Files
O'Dowd_Katherine.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/31002

Description

Title
United in diversity? A discourse analysis on the selective representation of the Islamic past in Spanish and Portuguese tourism
Author(s)
O'dowd, Katherine
Issue Date
2012-05-22T00:21:00Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Irigoyen García, Javier
Department of Study
Liberal Arts & Sciences
Discipline
European Union Studies
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2012-05-22T00:21:00Z
Keyword(s)
  • European Union
  • Islam
  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Muslims
  • Moriscos
  • Islamic Past
  • Islamophobia
  • Cosmopolitanism
Abstract
A famous EU slogan claims that the supra-nation is “united in diversity,” but there exists a tension between this idea of an inclusive, diverse, cosmopolitan European identity and the lack of representation that Europe’s Islamic past receives in tourism websites. Being historically relevant, I have chosen to look at the representation of the Islamic past in Spanish and Portuguese tourism and have identified two comparable national monuments, the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and Silves Castle in Silves, Portugal. Both are located in what was the territory of al-Andalus, they were the last capital cities under Islamic control, and they are considered to be very well preserved national monuments today. Although these sites have the potential to legitimize and include Islam in European identity, the way in which they are represented promotes its exclusion. This exclusion can be seen in the way that tourism texts for the Alhambra and Silves castle cleanse and erase the Islamic past as a means to create a specific image of them as the ‘other.’ Because the majority of Spanish and Portuguese tourism comes from the European Union, I conclude that, paradoxically, the otherization of the Islamic past is a means to attract European tourists to the sites. Thus, as the EU attempts to be inclusive, its citizenry remains exclusive of the Islamic past.
Graduation Semester
2012-05
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/31002
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2012 Katherine O'dowd

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Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
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