| This course introduces the fundamentals of Ge’ez (Classical Ethiopic) with an overview of grammar and the writing system, as well as exercises in reading early monumental and simple narrative texts. |
This sequence features proficiency-based instruction emphasizing grammar in modern Turkish. This sequence consists of reading and listening comprehension, as well as grammar exercises and basic writing in Turkish. Modern stories and contemporary articles are read at the end of the courses.
This sequence features proficiency-based instruction emphasizing speaking and writing skills as well as reading and listening comprehension at the intermediate to advanced levels in modern Turkish. Modern short stories, novel excerpts, academic and journalistic articles form the basis for an introduction to modern Turkish literature. Cultural units consisting of films and web-based materials are also used extensively in this course, which is designed to bring the intermediate speaker to an advanced level of proficiency. Prerequisite(s): TURK 10103, or equivalent with intermediate level proficiency test.
TURK 10103 or equivalent with intermediate level proficiency test
| The purpose of this three-quarter sequence is to enable the student to read Syriac literature with a high degree of comprehension. The course is divided into two segments. The first two quarters are devoted to acquiring the essentials of Syriac grammar and vocabulary. The third quarter is spent reading a variety of Syriac prose and poetic texts and includes a review of grammar. |
| The purpose of this three-quarter sequence is to enable the student to acquire a knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar of Classical Hebrew sufficient to read prose texts with the occasional assistance of a dictionary. The first quarter focuses on the inflection of nouns and adjectives and begins the inflection of verbs. It includes written translation to and from Hebrew, oral exercises, and grammatical analysis of forms. |
| Media are increasingly integrated into contemporary life. As in the past, we consume media—watching movies and television, listening to music and podcasts, and following influencers on social media. However, these passive activities now overlap with media production, participation, and commentary. For Muslims negotiating identity in diverse global society, media figure into representation and self-representation in complex, often subtle, ways. Intersecting with the family, mosque, community, and other core social institutions, media play a central role in contemporary Muslim experience. This class will examine religious media, i.e. those branded as “Islamic” in some fashion, such as television programs on Islamic law, or social media content with explicit religious commitments and claims to authority. It will also consider how Islam has been represented in popular culture, and the ways Muslims have related to those constructions of their faith. However, this dichotomy of religious and popular media no longer holds with Muslim-oriented television shows like Ramy, Ms. Marvel, the integration of Islam into popular American entertainment from Jack Ryan to Mr. Robot, and the complex engagement with religion in media across the historically Muslim world. |
| We will read a choice of legal and administrative texts from the Kassite period (1400-1150 BC), including contracts, tables, receipts, and letters. You will get an introduction to the Middle Babylonian dialect of Akkadian and learn how to approach those genres. We will also read unpublished material from photos, casts, and original tablets. |
1 year of Akkadian/Babylonian
This course gives an overview of the richness of Mesopotamian Literature (modern Iraq) written in the 3rd-1st millennium BC. We will read myths and epics written on clay tablets in the Sumerian and Akkadian language in English translation and discuss content and style, but also the religious, cultural and historic implications. Particular focus will be on the development of stories over time, the historical context of the literature, and mythological figures. The texts treated cover not only the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, but also various legends of Sumerian and Akkadian kings, stories about Creation and World Order, and destruction. The topics covered range from the quest for immortality, epic heroes and monsters, sexuality and love.
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.
| The royal chancellery of the Hittite state employed the Hittite language for internal purposes, but Akkadian remained an important language of education and international diplomacy. In this class we will read texts that are attested in both Akkadian and Hittite. These will include historical texts and treaties that were composed in Boğazköy Akkadian as well as examples of Mesopotamian literature that were translated into Hittite. This class is intended for students who have experience with both Hittite and Akkadian, although students who are familiar with only one of these languages are also welcome to enroll. |
