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The Department of Spanish & Portuguese welcomes everyone to a lecture by incoming Fall 2023 �պ���Ʒing Professor Magaly Ortiz

Wednesday, March 8 4:45-6:00pm ArtCom 102 

The Veils of Spain: Veiled Characters and the Use of Veils in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Narratives 

Prof. Ortiz analyzes the images of the veil from the first known Hebrew maqāma (a short narrative written in rhymed prose with intervals of poetry) from Medieval Iberia titled “Asher in the Harem” (12th century) and “The Unhappy Marriage,” from the monumental Tahkemoni, by Juda al-Harīzī (1170–1235) to examine echoes of veiling in more early modern texts including the collection of short stories Desengaños Amorosos by María de Zayas (1590–1661). She will argue how the veil is used to maintain their ideals of youth and innocence as components of female beauty while giving women, particularly those on the peripheries, visibility in a voyeuristic world. Prof. Ortiz explores how the veil allows space for cross-dressing and gender fluidity among complex power dynamics. She argues that the veil functions as a vehicle for the creation of enigmatic identities that facilitate the endeavors of socially marginalized figures.