(De)orientalising Spain: The “other” from within

Abstract

Since the 19th century, Spain was repeatedly ‘orientalised’ by northern Europeans, as foreign visitors and diplomats indulged in oriental fantasies when reflecting on the Muslim-Arab heritage of the Peninsula and its people. Orientalist narratives and stereotypes created an alienation in Spaniards, raising fuddling questions about their cultural identity –European/Christian vs. Arab/Muslim. This paper specifically addresses this ‘Orientalisation/Africanisation’ of Spain as a European ‘Other’ through the analysis of literary and historical sources, focusing in particular on the description of Arab-Muslim architecture and females’ clothing.