Dreaming al-Andalus

153 Pages·2017·0.87 MB·English

by  Nettah Yoeli Rimmer

Faculteit Letteren & Wijsbegeerte

Dreaming al-Andalus

Nineteenth-century representations of Spain’s Muslim
and Jewish past

Proefschrift voorgedragen tot het behalen van de graad van
Doctor in de letterkunde

2017

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Acknowledgments
I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my doctoral supervisor Prof.
Elizabeth Amann for her patience and generosity. Her insightful guidance and
reassurances have been invaluable throughout this adventure. I am indebted also to the
Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) for their financial support for this project. I am
grateful also to Fernando Durán López of the University of Cádiz for his encouragement.
The University of Ghent has provided with me a place to work, and much more besides.
My fellow PhD students have provided support and companionship. I am enormously
fortunate to have benefited from the company and friendship of María José Gonzálzez
Dávila. Her humour and cheer, over numerous coffees and lunches at the department,
have made the experience a less solitary one. I could not have asked for a better
compagnon de misère.
My family, as ever, has been an unending source of energy and reinforcement. I
am grateful to Orr for his infectious optimism and to Geffen for her deep reserve of
empathy. You have both been essential. Joel, who taught me to ask questions, provided
perspective and serenity. Esti’s incredible patience in the toughest times is not just
inspirational; her unfailing support gave me the resolve to continue. I am very thankful,
too, for the support and encouragement of my friends and to Toam, Yovel and Kinneret,
who will know one day how important they have been.
I owe my greatest debt of gratitude to Guadalupe. Through the process of creating
this thesis, she has been the brightest of lights, even in the darkest of moments. She has
been a ray of sunshine, on the cloudiest of days. Without her selfless dedication and
unwavering belief in my abilities, this thesis would not have been written.

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