Winter

This course compares the picture of ancient Israel and its history that is presented in the Bible to the results obtained from archaeological excavations and surveys, seen in the light of modern historical-critical analysis of the Hebrew Bible and the study of ancient non-biblical inscriptions. The focus will be on the biblical narratives from the books of Genesis through Kings concerning the Creation and Flood, the ancestors of the Israelites (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), Moses and the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan under Joshua, the “pre-monarchical” period of the Judges, and the actions of the rulers and prophets of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah until the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. Subsequent developments until the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE will be covered more briefly. No prior background in archaeology or biblical studies is required, although it will be useful for students to have previously taken BIBL 31000, “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.”

Fundamental questions about the human condition are as old as time. First attested in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts conventionally labeled ‘wisdom literature’ dating from the third to the first millennia BCE, we can still relate to ancient musings about life, death, power, justice, and the relation between mortals and the divine. While they are often rooted in folk traditions, these contemplations find expression in diverse modes of literary expression, ranging from proverbs and instructions to fables and philosophical dialogues—all of which provide readers with some guidance on how to grapple with the challenges and uncertainty of the human experience. However, given the heterogeneity of the corpus, ‘wisdom literature’ is one of the most contested generic labels. This interdisciplinary graduate seminar approaches wisdom texts from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia from a comparative perspective. We will explore how ‘wisdom literature’ traditions developed in these two interconnected regions, how the texts relate to their respective social and political contexts, in what material contexts they were written and read, and how they compare with ancient Greek and Hebrew, as well as later Arabic and Persian texts. In contrast with text-reading classes in Egyptology, Assyriology, and Sumerology, the seminar will focus on broader methodological and interpretive questions about this body of literature. 

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.

The second quarter of a two-section course in which Elementary Kazakh and Elementary Uzbek will be offered as one class, with the option for students to study one or the other, or both simultaneously.

Elementary Turkish (First Year)

This course covers Elementary Sumerian.

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 course will examine a variety of important themes in late Ottoman history such as institutional reform, family reform, the development of consultative structures, taxation, capitulations, and nationalism.

The American Muslim community hails from all corners of the globe, and represents a diverse mix of ethnic groups, socio-economic backgrounds, political persuasions, and theological positions. American Islam is older than the nation itself, and Muslims have contributed to the American project throughout its history. Today, the United States represents one unique node in a complex, global Muslim world, with deep and active relationships connecting the United States to the historic centers of Muslim life. Conspicuously religious Muslims also occupy greater positions of power and visibility across American society, from the halls of Congress to the comedy club stage. This course will provide a historically-informed, globally-inflected exploration of contemporary American Islam. Students will engage primary texts of American Muslim life and consider them within social, cultural, and historical context.