Autumn

Pre-Islamic poetry laid the foundation for all subsequent Arabic poetry, and formed a key referent for Arabic grammar and Qurʾān exegesis. Its structure, motifs, and images constituted a literary model for Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Andalusian, and Mamluk poetry, and its grammatical and lexical usages formed a tool to understand the Qurʾānic message and to measure the purity of later Arabic expressions. In this class, we will read closely some of the best known poems of the pre-Islamic period. An assessment by the medieval critics of our poets and some of their poetic theory will also be introduced. Secondary literature will be assigned in order to provide a theoretical framework for the material.

This two-quarter sequence is an introduction to the classical Arabic language. It is useful for students whose research includes the reading of classical Arabic texts in varied fields such as literature, history, political science, theology and philosophy. In the class 1) rules of Arabic grammar are studied intensively, topic by topic; 2) parsing (i'rab) is an important component, with a view to understanding the structure of the language; 3) brief texts from different fields of classical Arabic are read focusing on their grammatical structure, and 4) some theory about the development of the grammatical genre is introduced, as are the basic features of prosody ('arud) and rhetoric (balagha).

What we call Hittite mythology is in fact a cover term for rather disparate strands of tradition: one at home in central Anatolia and often providing the etiology for rituals or religious festivals, and one derived from Hurrian speaking societies in northern Mesopotamia. We will read texts from both traditions and explore not only the differences in content and literary style, but also their Sitz im Leben.

As part of a three quarter sequence, this course familiarizes the student with about 3/4 of Hittite grammar. The principles of the cuneiform writing system are taught and the student will learn some 100 signs of the basic syllabary and most important logograms. Also, a begin is made of introducing the student to the basic tools of the field.

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.

The purpose of this three-quarter sequence is to enable the student to read Syriac literature with a high degree of comprehension. The sequence 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.

Archaeology is the study of the material evidence of past human activity. In the first half of this course we will discuss the history of archaeology as a discipline and the methods used by archaeologists to obtain evidence about past human activity via excavations, surface surveys, and remote-sensing technologies. We will also discuss the methods used to date, classify, and analyze various kinds of evidence after it has been obtained. In the second half of the course we will discuss the various paradigms of social theory that have shaped archaeological interpretations and narratives concerning the past.

This class is an in-depth study of central Anatolia's most important archaeological site during the early first millennium BCE: Gordion, the capital city of the kingdom of Phrygia. In addition to learning the archaeology of this site in great detail, we will also use it as a foundation to explore neighboring excavations in the region, including the Iron Age levels of Hattusha, Kaman-Kalehöyük, Kınık Höyük, and others.

At archaeological sites following the invention of pottery roughly 10,000 BCE, ceramics are the single most frequent and ubiquitous class of artefact that archaeologists uncover. This class, which will be conducted in the Oriental Institute Museum as a combination of lectures, discussions, and hands-on interactions with ancient and modern ceramics, surveys the methods and interpretive techniques that archaeologists use when studying this important category of material culture. Specific topics include manufacturing techniques, craft specialization, typology and chronology, production and exchange, scientific analyses, stylistic and functional analysis, and socio-political organization.

A selection of Turkish printed texts in Arabic script from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is introduced in order of difficulty. Hakan Karateke's unpublished "Ottoman Reader" serves as a text book. The texts are drawn from historical textbooks, official documents, novels, and other genres.