More On That Now: A Spoleto Discussion Series | Spoleto Festival USA 2021.
The Crusades, 1000 years later
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
6:00pm ET
Registrants will receive an access link via email on the day of the discussion.
Test your historical knowledge: Who “won” the holy wars? It may come as no surprise to hear there are varying perspectives on the Crusades’s causes and repercussions. By some accounts, nation-states and Islam emerged, while other accounts describe a region ravished and sectarian. Dating back over a millennium, these conflicts are a foundational example of how religion and ideology have been used throughout history to forcibly change societies. Taking inspiration from Unholy Wars—a new opera receiving its world premiere during Spoleto in 2022—panelists Ethel Sara Wolper (Professor, University of New Hampshire), Ussama Makdisi (Professor, Rice University), and Zeyba Rahman (Senior Program Officer for the Building Bridges Program, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art) will discuss rare accounts of contemporary Muslim life as a result of this time period.
Spoleto’s ongoing discussion series returns with a new focus and expanded scope. More On That Now will cover a wide range of topics drawing inspiration from themes found in the upcoming 2022 Festival program and the broader artistic industry. Expert panelists will gather virtually and address the arts’ connection and intersection with religion, education, social justice, and identity politics. Dr. Hussein Rashid—an educator and academic whose research focuses on Muslim and American pop culture—will serve as the series-long moderator.