The Arabian Peninsula is far from presenting a one-dimensional representation. The opening of the fields of study and knowledge in Europe on the Arabian Peninsula has produced multiple spatio-temporal representations according to interests and ages.

If the documentation are more numerous and diverse in the contemporary period, they remain more general and include representations on the Arab-Muslim world without specifying the area of the Arabian Peninsula. The spatial representation is built on a cultural and territorial identification in a defined temporality such as the different territorial divisions that may have coexisted: the three zones of Arabia (Felix, Deserta and Petraea); or the two regions (Hijaz and Yemen); or in five or nine zones (Yemen, Hejaz, Najd, Thama, and Yamama to which are sometimes added Hadhramaut, Oman, Bahrain and Seger).

Thus, the mapping legacy presents important evidence on the evolution of interests and knowledge in a specific spatio-temporal context. It also evinces the subjectivity in reading a space based on self-perception and other’s perception. It is then interesting to cross these different perceptions (cartographic, iconographic, or mental) in its cultural context and its place of production. Do European maps display a different view of the Arabian Peninsula from the view displayed by Arabic maps? How was this mapping toolused, according to different ages, by Arab and European countries to move from the identification of the territory to its exploration, its conquering and its redefining?

This workshop aims to identify and analyze the different cultural and territorial perceptions of the Arabian Peninsula in the European and Arab societies, the imagination processes around this space and the possible interactions between historical accounts and the redefinition of space from the16th to the 21st century. It will gather researchers from Europe and the Arab world.

Topics included are geography, history, history of art, travellers” accounts, scientific mission reports, iconographic heritage.

Suggested thematic approaches:

• Lexical and typological structures of spatial representations (cartographic, iconographic or mental) of the Arabian Peninsula
• Redefinition of borders and toponyms of the Arabian Peninsula
• Comparison between the Arab and the European representations of the Arabian Peninsula
• The artistic, architectural and literary approaches of the Arabian Peninsula (architecture, town planning, literature, cinema)

Submission guidelines

To share in the workshop in French, English or Arabic, please send your proposal not exceeding 400 words to: sarah.Khazindar at univ-paris1.fr and cdc at univ-paris1.fr before May 31st

A reply will be given before June 1st

Comité scientifique

• Dr. Khaled al-Ankary, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in France
• Dr. Jean-Charles Ducène, Université Libre de Bruxelles
• Dr. Emmanuelle Vagnon, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
• Dr. Eric Vallet, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne