Spring

This course will provide an overview of Anatolian/Hittite literature, as “defined” by the Hittites themselves, in the wider historical-cultural context of the Ancient Near East. In the course of discussions, we will try to answer some important questions about Hittite inscriptions, such as: why were they written down, why were they kept, for whom were they intended, and what do the answers to these questions (apart from the primary content of the texts themselves) tell us about Hittite society?

This course provides an introduction to the social, political, and cultural history of Mesopotamia, from the origins of writing and cities in Sumer (ca. 3200 B.C.), through the great empires of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia.

Designed for those with no previous knowledge of the Middle East, this course aims to facilitate a general understanding of some key factors that have shaped life in this region, with primary emphasis on modern conditions and their background, and to provide exposure to some of the region’s rich cultural diversity. The course can serve as a basis for the further study of the history, politics, and civilizations of the Middle East.

Previously taught by Mickey Dietler in Anthropology as Anthro 36200; needs to be cross-listed with Anthro

The aim of this seminar is to challenge prevailing views on Egypt's non-urban past and investigating Egypt as an early urban society. The emergence of urban features will be traced starting with the Predynastic Period up to the disintegration of the powerful Middle Kingdom state (ca. 3500–1650 BC). This seminar offers a synthesis of the archaeological data that sheds light on the different facets of urbanism in ancient Egypt. Drawing on evidence from recent excavations as well as a vast body of archaeological data, the changing settlement patterns will be explored by contrasting periods of strong political control against those of decentralization. On a microlevel, the characteristics of households and the layout of domestic architecture will be addressed, which are key elements for understanding how society functioned and evolved over time. In addition, settlement patterns will provide further insights into the formation of complex society and the role of the state in the urban development in ancient Egypt.

This course is intended to present the dominant typologies of Islamic ceramics, most of which have been studied from an art historical approach. Specific archaeological typologies will be assembled from published reports and presented in seminar meetings. Half of the course will consist of analysis of shred collections, observatory analysis of typological criteria, and training in drawing these artifacts.

This course is intended to follow the Introduction to Islamic archaeology, a survey of the regions of the fertile crescent from the 9th to the 19th century. Beginning with P. Wheatley's Places where Men Pray Together, the institution of the Islamic are examined in light of its beginnings and definitions. Emphasis is on archaeological remains from the Middle East.

The course includes readings in modern Hebrew prose, poetry and non-fiction; TV broadcasts and movies, with emphasis on cultural & social issues.

<p>This is the third quarter of a three quarter sequential course. This is the first quarter of a three quarter sequential course. Intermediate course is designed for students who already have a basic knowledge of modern or Biblical Hebrew (either the first year course or the placement exam are prerequisites). The course is going to include/cover materials for two levels: Intermediate low & Intermediate high. The main objective is to provide the student with the skills necessary to approach Modern Hebrew prose, both fiction and non-fiction. The course aims at consolidating and broadens the grammatical structures and vocabulary studied in level Aleph. By the end of the course, the student is expected to be familiar with and have advanced knowledge of the basic structure of the Hebrew language:<ul><li>Comprehension: Listening to dialogues, texts and lectures in easy Hebrew</li><li>Conversation: Conversations, discussions and short presentations based on the passages read and heard.</li><li>Reading: Passages from stories and texts adapted into easy Hebrew; short newspaper articles as well as short stories, slightly edited.</li><li>Writing: Writing structured compositions and short passages on the topics studied</li><li>Grammatical Skills: Syntactic consolidation and elaboration of fundamental structures, inflection of the strong verbs in the future tense and frequent weak verbs.</li></ul>