Presented by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies and Penn Libraries; cosponsored by Penn Humanities Forum, Perry World House, Middle East Center at Penn, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Asian American Studies Program.

Long before the age of twentieth-century geopolitics, the American and Muslim worlds informed, interacted, perplexed, inspired, confounded, and imagined each other in ways far more numerous than is frequently thought. Whether through Salem traders in the East Indies, Ottoman consuls in Washington, orientalist themes in the work of Emerson, Morisco converts in Latin America, or the burial practices of enslaved Africans, there was no shortage of opportunities for Muslims and the inhabitants of the Americas to meet, interact, and shape one another. Following the opening keynote by Denise Spellberg, this international conference will feature a plenary session led by senior scholars, as well as panels on research in progress. The program will close with a keynote by Sylviane Diouf, award-winning historian of the African Diaspora, and author of Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas.

Full conference details, including schedule and registration: http://www.mceas.org/americanandmuslimworlds/

Conference Opening Keynote Address presented by Penn Humanities Forum

30 March, 5:00–6:30pm, Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk
Islam and the Founders: Documenting Shared Spaces

Denise A. Spellberg
Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies
University of Texas at Austin