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Noel Blanco Mourelle is an Assistant Professor specializing in Medieval Iberian Studies at the University of Chicago. His academic work focuses on the languages and cultures of medieval Iberia, particularly examining themes of religious conversion and political theology throughout history. He aims to position his research within a broader Mediterranean framework, exploring the convergence of narratives related to worship and contemporary political and social questions. His book project, titled 'Learning Machines,' delves into the intellectual legacy of Majorcan theologian and preacher Ramon Llull, highlighting the transformation of the 'Art' in medieval to early modern book technology. Llull's thirteenth-century philosophical system, termed 'Art,' utilized innovative paper-devices and combinatory diagrams to create a textual tradition aimed at demonstrating the incontrovertibility of the Christian faith to Jewish and Muslim thinkers of the Mediterranean. Through the study of Llull’s works, he investigates their influence on imperial political models and Christian universalism from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, where humanists explored and experimented with his ideas in various intellectual contexts, such as university libraries and royal courts.
Department of Philosophy