2022-2023

TURK Reading/Research

Prior knowledge of the Middle East not required. This course aims to facilitate a general understanding of some key factors that have shaped life in this region, with primary emphasis on modern conditions and their background, and to provide exposure to some of the region's rich cultural diversity. This course can serve as a basis for the further study of the history, politics, and civilizations of the Middle East.

This course covers the period from ca. 1750 to the present, focusing on Western military, economic, and ideological encroachment; the impact of such ideas as nationalism and liberalism; efforts at reform in the Islamic states; the emergence of the "modern" Middle East after World War I; the struggle for liberation from Western colonial and imperial control; the Middle Eastern states in the cold war era; and local and regional conflicts.

Advanced Turkish students will develop their language skills in speaking, reading, translating, listening, and writing, while learning about Turkish society and culture at the same time. To address all of these aspects each class is divided into three sections which focuses on a specific skill.
Section one is the conversation part: it involves reading (or listening to) short (audio) pieces or phrases on a given topic; section two is reading and translation: students read and prepare pieces from Turkish literature, literature readings are short stories or selected parts from novels; section three is the listening part: by watching parts of a Turkish movie, students' skills in listening and understanding will get faster while we progress through the movie.

This course explores the content and literary features of the Qur’an and charts the historical development of Muslim communal engagement with its holy scripture. Beginning with its revelation in the early-seventh century CE, the Qur’an has been an object of interpretation and debate, culminating in the solidification of the exegetical tradition, or tafsīr, in the tenth through fourteenth centuries CE. The course begins with an in-depth investigation into the history and text of the Qur’an and is followed by a survey of tafsīr literature until modern times. By the end of the semester, students will understand: 1) The Qur’an’s core themes, arguments, and literary features

2) The historical context in which the Qur’an was first promulgated and codified

3) The relationship between the Qur’an and the preceding literary traditions of the ancient world, in particular the Bible, post-biblical Jewish and Christian writings, and Arabic poetry

4) Muslim utilization of the Qur’an towards intellectual, social, religious, legal, and political ends

5) The pre-modern and modern scholarly traditions of interpreting the Qur’an

6) The skills of close reading, argumentation, and academic writing

This course will explore the narrative history of Central Eurasia and the “Silk Roads” from rise of the nomadism up to the coming of modernity. It will discuss the peoples who lived there, the political entities that ruled, and the region’s role in the ancient, medieval and modern world. The course considers a wide range of topics in the context of the Silk Roads history, including nomadism; religions (such as Buddhism and Islam), languages, and ethnicities. It approaches Central Eurasia as a cohesive unit of historical inquiry while connecting to the Middle East, East Asia, Russia among other units surrounding it. In making sense of the past, provides insights into current issues such as Islam in China, terrorism, separatist movements, the construction of the “New Silk Roads,” and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Akkadian readings in a wide variety of divinatory cuneiform texts, including omens from extispicy, teratology, libanomancy, medical diagnosis, and lunar eclipses, among others. Students are graded based on their preparation and mastery of cuneiform script—Old Babylonian cursive, in particular—and Akkadian philology.
Approved Specialized Attribute

Reading of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts

This course covers the period from ca. 1700 to the present. It explores Muslim intellectuals’ engagement with tradition and modernity in the realms of religion, politics, literature, and law. We discuss debates concerning the role of religion in a modern society, perceptions of Europe and European influence, the challenges of maintaining religious and cultural authenticity, and Muslim views of nation-states and nationalism in the Middle East. We also give consideration to the modern developments of transnational jihadism and the Arab Spring. This course sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies.

Advanced Readings in Arabic - 3rd quarter