Winter

This is the first 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.).

This three-quarter sequence enables the students to reach an advanced level of proficiency in the Armenian language. Reading, discussion and writing assignments include a selection of original Armenian literature and excerpts from mass media. A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies and related area studies or to pursue work in Armenia.

This is not just a literature course: it is at the same time an exploration of Iran’s recent history as mirrored in satirical works. Against the background of Iran’s recent history, from late Qajar period to present, this course will focus on a selection of satirical works (mainly in verse, but also some prose) in Persian language. Apart from a thorough review of the recent history, and apart from providing a lot of fun through satirical works, the students will be introduced to more advanced Persian. The secondary sources recommended will include articles, interviews and reviews in both Persian and English. 

Despite the genocide, Armenians have known thriving political, sociocultural, ideological, and ecclesiastical centers in the twentieth century. The seminar Beyond Genocide & Diaspora: Armenians in the Middle East focuses on such centers: in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, amongst others. This will not be a journey of loss or simple rebirth, perspectives omnipresent in writings on modern Armenian history. Rather, we will be analyzing the history of power: on how Armenians experienced the everyday and the ordinary in the Middle East,  making these places their own, and how they manipulated and managed loss and renewal. At the same time, this seminar asks: what can we learn about these spaces, and the region more broadly, by looking at it through the lens of everyday Armenian sociopolitics? This analysis of Armenians does not only contribute to the study of Armenians, then. Rather, it shows how Armenians in the Middle East experienced politics everyday, and what those experiences can teach us about interlinked national and global events. This course also examines changing aspects of belonging, and explores how these concepts travel over time and space.

Stretching from Pakistan to Egypt and Greece, the Achaemenid Persian Empire dominated the Middle East for over 200 years (559-330 BCE) and was the first world empire in history. The Persian Empire brought diverse cultures, such as those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, under a single rule, and witnessed transformations in the economies, religions, and political structures of the ancient world. In this course, we will trace the rise and fall of the Persian Empire and its afterlife, as the history of the Persian Empire continues to affect how we conceive of the Middle East today.

Continued reading of texts in the Ugaritic language, emphasis on prose texts.

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.

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.