2024-2025

Persian short story writing began in the twentieth century with Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh’s collection Yek-ī būd yek-ī nabūd (1921). The 1920s through the 1940s is considered the formative period of Persian short-story writing, also known as the first period. The second period in the development of the modern Persian short story began with the coup of 28 Mordād 1332/19 August 1953 and ended with the 1979 revolution. The third period that started after the 1979 revolution has been called the period of diversity in that it brought forth a variety of literary movements.

In this course, we will review the three periods of Persian short story development mentioned above to give you historical background on this genre of Persian literature. However, the focus of readings in this course is the short stories written by Hedayat, Daneshvar, Pirzad, Golshiri, Esma’ili, and others who have employed elements of fantasy, surrealism, and the paranormal in their stories. The class meets twice per week, each time for an hour and a half. We will read the original stories in Persian and discuss them in class in Persian. We will use hypothesis as a social annotation tool to engage you more deeply with the readings through a collaborative discovery of the text. We will also do collaborate translations of selected sections of some stories in our course blog as well as composing commentaries on each story. At the end of the course, each student will write a critical paper about one of the short stories we read during the course and translate 4-5 pages of it. Try to implement the theories you learned in your other courses in your discussions of the story. 

This course introduces the grammar and writing system of the Lycian language of the first millennium BC (ca. 500 to 300). After reading a series of tomb inscriptions, we venture into the larger historical inscriptions that include the Lycian-Greek-Aramaic trilingual of Xanthos.

This course focuses on the Hieroglyphic and Cuneiform Luwian inscriptions of the second millennium BC. Since Hieroglyphic Luwian I (AANL 20301) is a prerequisite, this course will only offer a very brief grammatical refresher, and will immediately start with the texts. We will read the large 13th century hieroglyphic texts of Tudhaliya IV and a few Cuneiform Luwian rituals from the 15th and 14th century.

Festivals celebrating deities and therapeutic rituals using magic to heal both mental and physical problems in individuals and groups of people belong to the most prolific genres of Hittite literature. This class will give an introduction to the festival and ritual genres, and discuss their place in Hittite literature and society. Following this we will read a number of representative texts in the original language and script (cuneiform). Requirements: Elementary Hittite 1-3.

This course is the second quarter of the annual introductory sequence to the Babylonian language and the Cuneiform script. Students will further explore the grammar of Babylonian in its Old Babylonian dialect (19th-16th c. BCE) and read ancient inscriptions (especially the Laws of Hammu-rabi) in the Old Babylonian monumental script. They will also be introduced to the Old Babylonian cursive used in letters and the documents of everyday life.

The idea that gods curse an offender is deeply rooted in Mesopotamian society. In this course, we will explore the origin and composition of curses, their applications in different textual genres, and the consequences of living in a world of curses. We will read different text genres from different periods, including the epilogue of the Codex Hammurabi, royal inscriptions, treaties, contracts, and literary texts and rituals. An introduction to the different genres and dialects eases the participants into the material, which will be read and analyzed in detail. The participants trained in comparative textual analysis and argumentation, and they practiced translating complex Akkadian texts.

Babylonia's most important religious text is the Epic of Creation enūma eliš. In this course, we will read selected passages covering topics like the pre-existence and genesis of the gods, divine fights for supremacy, and the creation of the world and humankind. Participants gain an understanding of the historical-cultural implications of the text while learning the Standard Babylonian dialect and practicing grammar and the cuneiform script. An introduction to the advanced tools of the field, like dictionaries and databases, prepares for advanced Akkadian classes.

Introduction to the grammar of Akkadian, specifically to the Old Babylonian dialect. The class covers the first half of the Old Babylonian grammar, an introduction to the cuneiform script, and easy translation exercises.

This course aims to enable students to reach a reasonable level of proficiency in the Armenian language.