Autumn

This sequence explores the thought and literature of the Islamic world from the coming of Islam in the seventh century C.E. through the development and spread of its civilization in the medieval period and into the modern world. Including historical framework to establish chronology and geography, the course focuses on key aspects of Islamic intellectual history: scripture, law, theology, philosophy, literature, mysticism, political thought, historical writing, and archaeology. In addition to lectures and secondary background readings, students read and discuss samples of key primary texts, with a view to exploring Islamic civilization in the direct voices of the people who participated in creating it. All readings are in English translation. No prior background in the subject is required. This course sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies.

This course will investigate the intellectual, political and socio-economic background of Europe’s discovery of Egypt within the framework of the Age of Enlightenment and the following transformative years of the birth of a new scientific discipline called Egyptology but also greatly influencing European archaeology. The aim for the students is to explore the reasoning, pre-conceptions and attitudes of the first explorers and scientists travelling to Egypt and the ensuing aftermath of ‘Egyptomania’ in Europe. The students will be introduced to the consequences of Napoleon’s campaign on European fashion, art and architecture and what inspired the ensuing cultural plunder to satisfy the growing European demand for things Egyptian. The course is structured around primary sources (in translation) but also secondary literature including theoretical works such as the influential monograph by Edward Said on Orientalism and its criticism.

This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This sequence introduces three great empires of the ancient world. Each course in the sequence focuses on one empire, with attention to the similarities and differences among the empires being considered. By exploring the rich legacy of documents and monuments that these empires produced, students are introduced to ways of understanding imperialism and its cultural and societal effects—both on the imperial elites and on those they conquered.

This course takes as its topic the literary tradition surrounding Gilgamesh, the legendary king of the Mesopotamian city-state of Uruk. The course will focus on the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh and its Sumerian forerunners, and their cultural and historical contexts. We will also read a number of Sumerian and Akkadian compositions that are thematically related to the Gilgamesh tradition, including Atrahasis, the Sumerian Flood story, and the Epics of Enmerkar and Lugalbanda, also of first dynasty of Uruk.

This course surveys the political, social, and economic history of ancient Egypt from pre-dynastic times (ca. 3400 B.C.) until the advent of Islam in the seventh century of our era.

This course is tailored to the needs of individual students, with a list of readings to be set depending on the interests and level of the student. The readings are meant to fill in gaps in knowledge of Mesopotamian Archaeology, and are often used by the student to refine the area to be selected for a doctoral dissertation.  The student meets with the professor once a week to discuss what has been read and decide what should be the next logical source to be read.  The student's detailed notes on all the reading or a paper summing up the quarter's findings, as well as the discussion sessions are the basis for grading.  The schedule of meetings is flexible and will be arranged with each student. 

Students may register for this course during quarters in which they are overseas participating in archaeological field projects.

This course is an exploration of the cultural patterns in the Levant from the late Byzantine period down to modern times, a span of some 1500 years. While the subject matter will be archaeological sites of this period in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, the focus will be on the role of medieval archaeology in amplifying the history of economic and social systems. It is this connective quality of Islamic archaeology which contributes to an understanding of the earlier history and archaeology of this region.

This course surveys the archaeology and art of Mesopotamia.

<p>This course assumes that students have full mastery of the grammatical and lexical content at the intermediate level. The main objective is literary fluency and is taught in Hebrew.</p><p>The course is intended to introduce students not only to “daily” Hebrew but also to different styles of writing such as newspaper articles and literary texts which include short stories and poetry. The course introduces students to documentaries and series produced in and broadcasted on Israeli T.V. Students are required to give short presentations on a weekly basis.</p>