Spring

The story of Abraham’s (near) sacrifice of his son, Isaac, found in Genesis 22:1-19, is one of the most influential and enduring stories in Western literature and art. It is part of the living tradition of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and its meaning and implications have been repeatedly explored in the communities defined by these religions, and has, in turn, helped to shape the self-perception of those communities. This course will consider the multiple perspectives from which this story has been viewed and the multiple interpretations which this story has generated, starting with its earliest incorporation into the Hebrew Bible, moving to its role in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and concluding with its influence on modern works. No knowledge of Hebrew is required.

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 half of the third quarter concludes the study of verb inflection and the second half is spent reading prose narrative texts with specific attention to the grammatical analysis of those texts.

Selected letters and contracts from the Imperial Aramaic period (c. 600-200 BCE) are read with special attention to the historical development of the grammar of Aramaic during this time period.

This course is an introduction to the languages of the inscriptional material found in western South Arabia, todays Yemen. The inscriptions date from roughly the 8th century BCE to the 6th century CE and are written in four closely related languages, Sabaic, Minaic, Qatabanic, and Hadramitic. In this class we will read material from all major periods and languages of attestation.

This class is designed to provide an advanced grammar course focusing on syntactic topics for students who have intermediate or advanced knowledge of Akkadian. The class will read texts from different periods and genres to compare the treatment of certain syntactic structures.

This course aims at strengthening the proficiency level of students beyond the intermediate level. Through a survey of translation techniques and strategies, students will do hands-on translations of various kinds of literary texts, both prose and poetry, both classical and modern. In addition, students will be introduced to prevailing theories of translation and the most efficient methodology of translating Persian literary texts by means of a close comparison of translated texts with the original. As term project, students will translate a short story or a long poem, either classical or modern from Persian into English. Class meets two days per week, each session for an hour and a half.

This sequence deepens and expands the students' knowledge of modern Persian. The goal is to enable the students to gain proficiency in all skills of language acquisition at a higher level. In this sequence, the students learn more complex grammatical structures and gain wider vocabulary through reading paragraph-length texts on a variety of topics related to Persian language, literature, and culture. Students will also be familiarized with Persian news and media terminology. Class meets four hours a week with the instructor and one hour with a native informant who conducts grammatical drills and Persian conversation.

This sequence concentrates on all skills of language acquisition (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). The class begins with the Persian alphabet, and moves to words, phrases, short sentences, and finally short paragraphs. The goal is to enable the students towards the end of the sequence to read, understand, and translate simple texts in modern standard Persian and engage in short everyday conversations. All the basic grammatical structures are covered in this sequence. Introducing the Iranian culture through the texts is also a goal. The class meets four hours a week with the instructor and one hour with a native informant who conducts grammatical drills and Persian conversation.

This is the third in a three-quarter sequence that covers the basic grammar and cuneiform writing system of the Hittite language. It also familiarizes the student with the field’s tools (i.e., dictionaries, lexica, sign list). Readings come from all periods of Hittite history (1650 to 1180 B.C.).

In this advanced Hittite course we will explore the roles and functions of women in Hittite society by comparing the image created by kings with the image that flows from their own writings and actions. Queens that will be discussed are the 'evil' Tawanannas and Queen Puduhepa, who had her own independent correspondence with the Great Kings and royals of other countries. We will also investigate the 'Wise Women', a class of diviners that seems to have operated as an advisory council to the king in matters of danger to the state.