Panel 19: Transnational Identities in the Mediterranean World: Rethinking Belonging in Contexts of Interculturality (EN)

Chairs:

Edite Martins Alberto, CHAM-NOVA FCSH

Paulo Catarino Lopes, IEM-NOVA FCSH

Diogo Pereira, FCT-CCCM I.P. & CHAM-NOVA FCSH

The history of relations between the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and the Levant is long and complex, marked by tensions and ambivalences. It is a singular historical trajectory, shaped by conflict but also by shared interests and deeply interdependent political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics. This history has been forged through contact with the Other — often perceived as “different” — and through the resulting processes of alterity. This otherness, sometimes negative and sometimes positive, has, in the latter case, led to fruitful cultural exchanges, sometimes culminating in real intercultural experiences.

This panel seeks to bring together contributions that examine these dynamics within the Mediterranean space, from a range of disciplinary perspectives, addressing topics such as:

• Processes of integration and inclusion;
• Military and diplomatic displacements and their impact;
• Diplomatic networks, intercultural contacts, and mediating figures;
• Forced migrations and voluntary mobility;
• Coexistence and tensions in contexts of religious and identity pluralism.

Keywords: Mediterranean Interactions; Alterity; Interculturality; Mobility and Migration; Conflict and Diplomacy