The look in its context. The Middle East of yesterday and today

31 October 2023. From 18:30  To 20:00 | Conference | Catalan | Sala Martí l'Humà - Plaça del Rei, 1 · BCN
slideshow image Bedouin women with their children near Jerusalem. Photo by Fr. Ubach.

Fr. Ubach traveled through Syria, Iraq, Sinai and Palestine during the first decades of the 20th century and has left us an exceptional photographic legacy, which can now be seen in the exhibition “The Biblical Scholar’s Viewpoint”.

This is the starting point of the dialogue series “Other views. The Middle East in the photographic background of Fr. Ubach” which will delve into the influence of the image and photography in the construction of the story and the perceptions about social, cultural and political realities of the Middle East.

In this first debate of the series, “The look in its context. The Middle East of yesterday and today”, we will ask ourselves if the world photographed by Father Ubach, very focused on scenes reminiscent of the Bible, no longer exists today. What was that world really like? How do the inhabitants of these countries live today? What interest can this look have for a modern observer? What will be the most relevant and transformative historical events in Arab societies at the beginning of the 20th century? What new realities make up these human landscapes today? Which ones remain today? What is the contemporary narrative that can help us interpret the social longings and aspirations of contemporary Arab societies? How does Bonaventura Ubach’s legacy enrich the heritage of current Middle Eastern societies?

Speakers

Jorge Ramos Tolosa
Speaker

Jorge Ramos Tolosa

Tomás Alvoverro
Speaker

Tomás Alvoverro

Journalist La Vanguardia
Lourdes Godoy
Speaker

Lourdes Godoy

Professor of Catalan language and literature
Joan Garcia Biosca
Moderator

Joan Garcia Biosca

Medievalist Curator of the exhibition

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