Mediterranean Studies Journal 27.1

Dear MSA members,

The latest volume of Mediterranean Studies (27.1) has just been published, and the table of contents has been posted to the MSA website:

https://www.mediterraneanstudies.org/journal.html

With four articles on topics ranging from classical antiquity to the 20th century, and four book reviews, the issue should appeal to a wide range of Mediterranean scholars.

The first article, "Weaving a Map of 'Global' Empire: The Second-Century BCE Origins of Mediterraneanism," by Sarah H. Davies, argues that the concept of Mediterraneanism can be traced back to Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar writing in the 3rd century BCE, and his concept of the oikoumene (the inhabited world), which included the Mediterranean Sea and all the land masses in and around it. In the second century BCE, the Greek historian Polybius (ca. 200-118 BCE) reinterpreted the oikoumene as a unified and integrated kosmopolis (world city) under the political guidance of Rome. Polybius thus solidified the concept of Mediterraneanism, and bequeathed it to us, in all its complexity.

In the second article, "Normanitas and Memorial Traditions in the Apulian Architecture of Emperor Frederick II," Jane-Heloise Nancarrow explores how Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) re-used Roman, Islamic, and Byzantine architectural elements in his many castles in Apulia. Although Frederick II's re-use of previous materials (spolia) has been well-documented by previous scholars, Nancarrow argues that many of these architectural features had already been adapted by the Normans of southern Italy in the preceding two centuries. Thus, the fact that Frederick was deliberately imitating his Norman predecessors adds a new dimension to his architectural program.

The third article, "The Theory and Practice of War and Government Practiced by King Pere III 'the Ceremonious' of Aragon (1336-87," by Donald J. Kagay, discusses the theory and practice of war — especially the idea that war for a just cause promotes the honor of God — by King Pere III of Aragon, as chronicled in his Crónica.

And finally, "Normalization in a War Environment: The Mandelbaum Gate as an Allegory in History and in Literature," by Dorit Gottesfeld and Ronen Yitzhak, describes the historical events of the Arab-Israeli 1948 War (and particularly the creation of the Mandelbaum Gate as a line of communication between Israel and Jordan) in juxtaposition to several poignant Palestinian literary portrayals of the Mandelbaum Gate as a cruel separator of Palestinian families, whose members were caught on either side and were not allowed to visit one another.

These four articles, along with four stimulating book reviews, represent some of the finest scholarly work in the field of Mediterranean studies today. Mediterranean Studies can be accessed online through Project Muse, or you can subscribe (online or in print) via the following link:

https://www.press.jhu.edu/cart/for-sale?oc=1977

Don't forget to identify yourself as a member of the MSA to receive a half-price discount on your subscription.

Sincerely yours,

Susan O. Shapiro

Senior Editor, Mediterranean Studies

Susan L. Rosenstreich

Editor, Mediterranean Studies