NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS

NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS
(AS) {NELC}

SM 242. (ANEL642, JWST242) Readings in the Aramaic Targums. (M) Tigay. Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of Biblical Hebrew.

In late antiquity, both in Israel and in Babylonia, the custom developed of accompanying the Bible reading in synagogues with simultaneous oral translation (targum) into the Aramaic spoken language of the day. The translators negotiated their way between literal translation and various degrees of interpretive translation based on considerations of theology, law, and other matters. The targums favored in the land of Israel expanded the text considerably by introducing aggadic lore in the translation. After the targums were put in writing they exerted a strong influence on the medieval Bible commentators and are still regularly studied in some Jewish circles today. They constitute a valuable resource for the study of the Hebrew Bible and for understanding Jewish belief, practice, and folklore. The translators' methods, especially as explained by S.D. Luzzatto (Shadal) in the 19th century, are a virtual encyclopedia of the philosophy and techniques of translation. The prerequisite for this course is knowledge of Biblical Hebrew.(see next paragraph)

It will begin with a brief orientation in the grammar of the targums to enable students to recognize the main differences between Hebrew and Aramaic. The main focus of the course will be on studying and comparing selected narrative, poetic and legal passages from the most important targums and analyzing their interpretive emphases, their religious ideas, and their methods of translation.

042. BEGINNING ARABIC II. (B)

298. ARABIC.

298. STUDY ABROAD.

SM 350. (HEBR550, JWST351, RELS322) A Book of the Bible. (A) Tigay. Prerequisite(s): Thorough command of Biblical Hebrew and prior experience studying the Bible in the original in high school, college, or a comparable setting. Qualified undergraduates are welcome but must contact the instructor for permission to register and show how they meet the requirements. Language of instruction is in English. The course is designed primarily for undergraduates who have previously studied the Bible in Hebrew either in high school or college. It presupposes fluency in reading Biblical Hebrew, including a working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew grammar.

The book of Ezra-Nehemiah describes the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Exile and the reestablishment of Jewish life in and around Jerusalem under the the Persian Empire, including the building of the Second Temple, the canonization of the Torah, and the first explicit record of Biblical exegesis. This course will be a close study of the Hebrew and Aramaic text of these books and their historical-archaeological background.

399. INDEPENDENT STUDY.

GENERAL

L/R 085. (COLL004, EALC011) Life and Death in Ancient China and Ancient Egypt. (M) Humanities & Social Science Sector. Class of 2010 & beyond. Steinhardt/Silverman/Wegner.

Using materials excavated in tombs, this course investigates funerary cults, death rituals, beliefs about the afterlife, and the preparations for death during life in China from 1500 BCE to AD 1000 and in Egypt from 3000-1000 BCE.

NEAR EASTERN NON-LANGUAGE COURSES IN LITERATURE, HISTORY AND CULTURE

030. (HIST147, RELS147) Islamic History to 1517. (C) Staff.

This course consists of an overview of the history of the major Islamic dynasties which ruled over the Middle East and North Africa from the beginning of the "Islamic empire" to 1517 A.D.

L/R 031. (HIST081) History of the Middle East Since 1800. (C) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Kashani-Sabet.

A survey of the modern Middle East with special emphasis on the experiences of ordinary men and women as articulated in biographies, novels, and regional case studies. Issues covered include the collapse of empires and the rise of a new state system following WWI, and the roots and consequences of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Iranian revolution and the U.S.-Iraq War. Themes include: the colonial encounter with Europe and the emergence of nationalist movements, the relationship between state and society, economic development and international relations, and religion and cultural identity. Requirements: one paper and two take-home exams.

032. (HIST084) The Middle East in the 20th-Century. (C) Kashani-Sabet.

If "the clash of civilizations" is the first image that jumps to mind when thinking about the modern Middle East, then this is the course for you. From the familiar narratives about the creation of modern nation-states to the oft-neglected accounts of cultural life, this course surveys the multi-faceted societies of the twentieth-century Middle East. Although inclusive of the military battles and conflicts that have affected the region, this course will move beyond the cliches of war and conflict in the Middle East to show the range of issues and ideas with which intellectuals and governments grappled throughout the century. The cultural politics and economic value of oil as well as the formation of a vibrant literary life will be among the topics covered in the course. Ty considering illustrative cultural moments that shed light on the political history of the period, this course will adopt a nuanced framework to approach the Arab/Israeli conflict, the history of the Gulf States, the Iran-Iraq War, and U.S. involvement in the region.

SM 037. People of Modern Egypt. (M) Sharkey. Freshman Seminar.

During the past hundred years, Egypt has been the cultural and political pacesetter in the Middle East. It has been on the cutting edge of developments in Arabic literature, movies, and music, and has produced intellectual leaders ranging from feminists to Muslim activists. In the 1950s and '60s, the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser inspired the pan-Arab movement and at the same time made his country a central player in postcolonial Africa. Meanwhile, Egypt led the Arab countries in opposing the state of Israel until breaking ranks in 1978 to sign peace accords at Camp David. In this class, we will approach the history of twentieth-century Egypt through the lives of a spectrum of its peoples, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews; presidents and peasants; singers, writers, and radical thinkers. Along the way we will examine the social pressures that have inspired modern Egyptian revolutionaries and militants, and attempt to explain the reasons for the country's continuing prominence in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

SM 038. (AFST038) Narrative Journeys: Africa and Asia. (A) Allen.

Have you ever read the Tales of Sindbad and his travels? Do you like narratives about journeys, both ancient and contemporary? The purpose of this seminar is to introduce freshmen to a variety of narratives in different literary genres; to do so through the theme of the journey, whether it be a physical journey from one place to another, a process of change--a rite of passage perhaps, or an inward psychological quest. Female and male authors are presented, as are different periods in the long history of the Middle East and Africa. All the texts to be read are in English translation.

046. (RELS014) Myths and Religions of the Ancient World. (B) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Frame.

This course will survey the religions of the ancient Middle East, situating each in its historical and socio-cultural context and focusing on the key issues of concern to humanity: creation, birth, the place of humans in the order of the universe, death, and destruction. The course will cover not only the better-known cultures from the area, such as Egypt and Mesopotamia, but also some lesser-known traditions, such as those of the Hurrians, or of the ancient Mediterranean town of Ugarit. Religion will not be viewed merely as a separate, sealed-off element of the ancient societies, but rather as an element in various cultural contexts, for example, the relationship between religion and magic and the role of religion in politics will be recurring topics in the survey. Background readings for the lectures will be drawn not only from the modern scholarly literature, but also from the words of the ancients themselves in the form of their myths, rituals, and liturgies.

SM 047. Magical Science: Sages, Scholars and Knowledge in Babylon and Assyria. (M) Tinney. Freshman Seminar.

From sympathetic rituals to cure sexual dysfunction to the sages' esoteric creation of worlds through the manipulation of words, we will learn from the ancient writings of Assyria and Babylonia just what knowledge was, what it was good for, and how it was divided up. This interdisciplinary course will combine literary, anthropological, historical and cultural approaches to textual, archaeological and iconographic data to bring to life the world, words and beliefs of these ancient intellectuals.

048. Introduction to Mesopotamian Civilization. (M) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Tinney.

This class provides a chronologically organized survey of ancient Mesopotamian culture and history from the dawn of urbanization to the advent of the Greeks. Material culture and primary texts in translation are discussed in their contexts, introducing alongtside the history such topics as urbanization and state formation; the invention of writing and the development of education; the king and his scholars in the Assyrian empire; the epic of Gilgamesh and other major works of Sumerian and Akkadian literature. One class will be held at the Penn Museum and will include hands-on experience of cuneiform school texts.

SM 049. Myths of Ancient Mesopotamia. (M) Tinney. Sometimes offered as a Freshman Seminar.

Iraq's ancient civilizations, Sumer, Babylon and Assyria, have emerged spectacularly from their ruin mounds over the last century and a half. In this class we will read the core myths of these cultures in translation and situate them in their literary, historical, religious and cultural contexts. The case of characters includes, among other, Enki, trickster and god of wisdom; Inana, goddess of sex and war; and Marduk, warrior son, slayer of the sea, king of the gods and founder of Babylon. Themes range from creation to flood, from combat to the dangers of humans acting in the worlds of the divine, to the heroic peregrinations of Gilgamesh as he wrestles with monsters, fate and the pain of mortality.

051. (HIST139, JWST156, NELC451, RELS120) History of Jewish Civilization I--Jews and Judaism in Antiquity: From the Bible to the Talmud. (A) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Dohrmann.

A broad introduction to the history of Jewish civilization from its Biblical beginnings until the Middle Ages, with the main focus on the formative period of classical rabbinic Judaism and on the symbiotic relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Fulfills History & Tradition Sector (all classes) and Cross Cultural Analysis - Class of '10 and after.

052. (HIST140, JWST157, NELC452, RELS121) History of Jewish Civilization II: The Middle Ages. (A) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Ruderman.

Exploration of intellectual, social, and cultural developments in Jewish civilization from the dawn of rabbinic culture in the Near East through the assault on established conceptions of faith and religious authority in 17th century Europe. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of Christian and Muslim "host societies" on expressions of Jewish culture.

L/R 053. (HIST141, JWST158, NELC453, RELS122) The History of Jewish Civilization from the Late Seventeenth Century to the Present. (B) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Ruderman.

This course offers an intensive survey of the major currents in Jewish life frotrace the process by which the Jews gradually ceased to be a society unto themstransformations of the modern era, from the Enlightenment and the rise of a bouand revolutionary socialism. Within the evolving forms of Jewish religious expetopics as emancipation, Jewish-gentile relations, the emergence of distinct denreestablishment of political sovereignty in modern Israel. Weekly readings inclprimary sources such as memoirs, petitions, folklore, and works of literature.

061. (NELC463) Literary Legacy of Ancient Egypt. (M) Houser Wegner.

This course surveys the literature of Ancient Egypt from the Old Kingdom through the Graeco-Roman period, focusing upon theme, structure, and style, as well as historical and social context. A wide range of literary genres are treated, including epics; tales, such as the "world's oldest fairy tale;" poetry, including love poems, songs, and hymns; religious texts, including the "Cannibal Hymn"; magical spells; biographies; didactic literature; drama; royal and other monumental inscriptions; and letters, including personal letters, model letters, and letters to the dead. Issues such as literacy, oral tradition, and the question poetry vs. prose are also discussed. No prior knowledge of Egyptian is required.

062. (AFST062) Land of the Pharaohs. (C) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Wegner.

This course provides an introduction to the society, culture and history of ancient Egypt. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding of the characteristics of the civilization of ancient Egypt and how that ancient society succeeded as one of the most successful and long-lived civilizations in world history.

064. (NELC664) The World of Cleopatra. (M) Houser Wegner.

The figure of Cleopatra is familiar from modern stories, legends, and film. Was this famous woman a brazen seductress or a brilliant political mind? How many of these presentations are historically accurate? This class will examine the Ptolemaic period in Egypt (305-30 BCE), the time period during which Cleopatra lived, in an attempt to separate myth from reality. The Ptolemaic period is filled with political and personal intrigue. It was also a time of dynamic multiculturalism. Arguably one of the most violent and fascinating eras in ancient Egyptian history, the Ptolemaic period is largely unknown and often misunderstood. This course will examine the history, art, religion and literature of Egypt's Ptolemaic period which culminated in the reign of Cleopatra VII.

SM 066. Lords of the Nile: Rulership and Government in Ancient Egypt. (M) Wegner. Freshman Seminar.

In this course we will examine the ways in which one of the world's most ancient and longest lasting civilizations was governed. Egypt is renowned for the ubiquitous images of its Pharaohs: divine kings who ruled Egypt under the divine sanction of the gods. The king was only the top of a vast pyramid of powerful officials which included viziers, treasurers, military leaders, local governors, town mayors and scribes. The course aims to investigate the ways in which the rulership of Egypt worked: from the highest levels of royal power down to the running of towns and villages.

In the first part of the course we will explore the nature of the Pharaoh and his role as the supreme political and religious leader in the country. We will continue by looking at the activities of the royal family and central government working our way into an examination of how Egypt's provinces were run by local noble families (the "nomarchs"-who could often become as powerful as the king himself). At a lower level, but perhaps more important in the daily lives of most ancient Egyptians, we will look at the administration of cities, towns and villages by local headmen and mayors. Other topics we will delve into will include the role of the temples; crime and punishment; the military; the lifestyles of Egypt's rich and powerful, as well as the ways in which Egypt's rulers could be rapidly altered through revolution, coups and assassinations. Our ultimate goal will be an appreciation of both the successes and failures of the lords of the Nile in ruling their country over the remarkable time span of 3000 years.

068. (NELC668) Art and Architecture in Ancient Egypt. (M) Silverman.

This course will be an introduction to the art, architecture and minor arts that were produced during the three thousand years of ancient Egyptian history. This material will be presented in its cultural and historical contexts through illustrated lectures and will include visits to the collection of the University Museum.

L/R 101. (ANCH025, HIST024) Introduction to the Ancient Near East. (A) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Frame.

The great pyramids and mysterious mummies of Egypt, the fabled Tower of Babel, and the laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi are some of the things that might come to mind when you think of the ancient Near East. Yet these are only a very few of the many fascinating -- and at time perplexing -- aspects of the civilizations that flourished there c. 3300-300 BCE. This is where writing first developed, where people thought that the gods wrote down what would happen in the future on the lungs and livers of sacrificed sheep, and where people knew how to determine the length of hypotenuse a thousand years before the Greek Pythagoras was born. During this course, we will learn more about these other matters and discover their place in the cultures and civilizations of that area.

This is an interdisciplinary survey of the history, society and culture of the ancient Near East, in particular Egypt and Mesopotamia, utilizing extensive readings from ancient texts in translation (including the Epic of Gilgamesh, "one of the great masterpieces of world literature"), but also making use of archaeological and art historical materials. The goal of the course is to gain an appreciation of the various societies of the time, to understand some of their great achievements, to become acquainted with some of the fascinating individuals of the time (such as Hatshepsut, "the women pharaoh," and Akhenaten, "the heretic king"), and to appreciate the rich heritage that they have left us.

102. Introduction to the Middle East. (B) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Cobb.

This is the second half of the Near East sequence. This course surveys Islamic civilization from circa 600 (the rise of Islam) to the start of the modern era and concentrates on political, social, and cultural trends. Although the emphasis will be on Middle Eastern societies, we will occasionally consider developments in other parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and Spain, where Islamic civilization was or has been influential. Our goal is to understand the shared features that have distinguished Islamic civilization as well as the varieties of experience that have endowed it with so much diversity.

103. (ANTH121, URBS121) Origin and Culture of Cities. (A) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Zettler.

The UN estimates that 2.9 of the world's 6.1 billion people live in cities and that this percentage is rapidly increasing in many parts of the world. This course examines urban life and urban problems by providing anthropological perspectives on this distinctive form of human association and land use. First we will examine the "origin" of cities, focusing on several of the places where cities first developed, including Mesopotamia and the Valley of Mexico. We will then investigate the internal structure of non-industrial cities by looking at case studies from around the world and from connections between the cities of the past and the city in which we live and work today.

104. Jerusalem through Ages. (M) Zimmerle. Offered through the College of General Studies.

A study of Jerusalem, the sacred city for three different world religions, is fundamental to a rich understanding of the history and religions of the Middle East. Beginning in antiquity and continuing through the medieval and modern periods, this course will chronicle the rise, fall and reconstruction of Jerusalem many times over. Particular emphasis will be placed on the archaeology and architecture of the city, the phenomenology of sacred space, the meanings of Jerusalem in art, and the religious history of the city. We will investigate the meanings Jerusalem has had in the past and will also consider current questions about its future.

115. (COML114, NELC515, RELS144, RELS544) Persian Mystical Thought: Rumi. (M) Minuchehr.

This course examines the works and ideas of the thirteenth century sufi and founder of the Mevlevi order, Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Although Rumi composed his mystical poetry in Persian, numerous translations in a multitude of languages have made this poet an international personality. In this course, we will examine Rumi's original mystical vocabulary and allegorical style in English translations. We will also look at Rumi's reception in different parts of the world, especially in America, where he has been on the best-seller lists for a decade.

118. (CINE118, COML118, GSOC118, GSOC418, NELC618) Iranian Cinema: Gender, Politics and Religion. (C) Minuchehr.

This seminar explores Iranian culture, art, history and politics through film in the contemporary era. We will examine a variety of works that represent the social, political, economic and cultural circumstances of post-revolutionary Iran. Along the way, we will discuss issues pertaining to gender, religion, nationialism, ethnicity, and the function of cinema in present day Iranian society. Films to be discussed will be by internationally acclaimed filmmakers, such as Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Tahmineh Milani, Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi, among others.

SM 119. (CINE119, COML119) Middle Eastern Cinema: Law and Society. (M) Minuchehr.

In the past two decades, films from the Middle East have gained exceptional international reception. This course is designed to explore the reasons behind this reception through a study of the prevalent social, political, and historical themes and issues in Middle Eastern cinema. Questions such as women's laws, literature and its function, familial issues and gender roles, historical legacies and political tensions, and religion, will be discussed. This course assumes no previous knowledge of film studies or languages of the region. Films from Israel, the Arab World, Turkey, and Iran will be shown in subtitled versions.

130. (RELS140) Introduction to the Qur'an. (M) Humanities & Social Science Sector. Class of 2010 & beyond. Lowry.

The goal of this course is to provide students with a general introduction to the holy scripture of the religion of Islam, the Qur'an. In particular, students will become familiar with various aspects of Qur'anic content and style, the significance of the Qur'an in Islamic tradition and religious practice, scholarly debates about the history of its text, and contemporary interpretations of it. Through close readings of a wide range of passages and short research assignments, students will gain first-hand knowledge of the Qur'an's treatment of prophecy, law, the Biblical tradition, and many other topics. No previous background in Islamic studies or Arabic language is required for this course.

SM 132. Origins of Islamic Political Thought. (C) Lowry.

This seminar will introduce students to the early and medieval tradition of Islamic political thought. The course will begin by examining notions of power in the Qur'an, and then turn to the career of the Prophet Muhammad. Much of the course will then be devoted to a consideration of the formation of the institution of the caliphate and of resistance of various kinds to caliphal legitimacy and authority. Medieval responses to the caliphate and its waning will also be considered, as well as the distinctive contribution of Iranian ideas and the Iranian heritage to Islamic political thought. The course will conclude with a brief consideration of some contemporary appropriations of the tradition. (This course will not cover the important, but arguably discrete topic of the reception of Greek political thought in the Islamic intellectual tradition.) The majority of the readings consist of translations of primary Arabic and Persian sources. Due consideration will be given to the literary character of these sources, as well as to the question of the limits of the qualifiers "Islamic" and "Muslim" in regard to the political ideas that emerge from the readings.

134. Getting Crusaded. (H) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Cobb.

What did it feel like to get crusaded? In this course, we will examine the roughly two-century period from the call of the First Crusade in 1095 to the final expulsion of Latin Crusaders from the Middle East in 1291. Our examination will be primarily from the perspective of the invaded, rather than the invaders, as is usually done. How did the Muslims, Jews, and Eastern Christians of the medieval Middle East respond to the presence of Frankish invaders from Europe?

136. (RELS143) Islamic Religion. (A)

A comprehensive introduction to Islamic doctrines, practices, and religious institutions in a variety of geographic settings from the rise of Islam in the seventh century to the present. Translated source materials from the Qur'an, sayings of Muhammad, legal texts, and mystical works will provide an overview of the literary expressions of the religion. The course aims, as well, to view Islam in the immediacy of everyday life. Among the topics to be covered are: The Qur'an as scripture and as liturgy; Conversion and the spread of Islam; Muhammad in history and in the popular imagination; Concepts of the feminine; Muslim women; Sectarian developments; Transmission of religious knowledge and spiritual power; Sufism and the historical elaboration of mystical communities; modern reaffirmation of Islamic identity; and Islam in the American environment.

139. (HIST189) Modern Egypt. (C) Troutt-Powell.

This course will seek to explore how Egyptian culture has dealt with its many pasts by investigating early modern and modern Egyptian history.With an emphasis on the 18th century to the present we will explore the culture of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire, slavery in Egypt, the unsuccessful French attempt to colonize Egypt and the successful British occupation of the country.

SM 145. Ancient Iraq: Mesopotamian Culture and Its Legacy. (M) Frame. Sometimes offered as a Benjamin Franklin Seminar.

A study of Mesopotamian civilization, its cultural impact on the ancient Near East and the Bible, and the legacy it bequeathed to Western civilization. Topics will include Mesopotamian religion, law, literature, historiography, and socio-political institutions.

150. (JWST150, NELC450, RELS125) Introduction to the Bible (The "Old Testament"). (A) Humanities & Social Science Sector. Class of 2010 & beyond. Tigay.

An introduction to the major themes and ideas of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), with attention to the contributions of archaeology and modern Biblical scholarship, including Biblical criticism and the response to it in Judaism and Christianity. All readings are in English.

SM 152. (JWST152, RELS127) Jewish Law & Ethics. (A) Staff. Freshman Seminar.

An introduction to the literary and legal sources of Jewish law within an historical framework. Emphasis will be placed upon the development and dynamics of Jewish jurisprudence, and the relationship between Jewish law and social ethics.

154. (GRMN262, GSOC162) Women in Jewish Literature. (M) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Hellerstein.

This course introduces students of literature, women's studies, and Jewish studies to the long tradition of women as readers, writers, and subjects in Jewish literature. All texts will be in translation from Yiddish and Hebrew, or in English. Through a variety of genres--devotional literature, memoir, fiction, and poetry -- we will study women's roles and selves, the relation of women and men, and the interaction between Jewish texts and women's lives. The legacy of women in Yiddish devotional literature will serve as background for our reading of modern Jewish fiction & poetry from the past century. The course is devided into five segments. The first presents a case study of the Matriarchs Rachel and Leah, as they are portrayed in the Hebrew Bible, in rabbinic commentary, in pre-modern prayers, and in modern poems. We then examine a modern novel that recasts the story of Dinah, Leah's daughter. Next we turn to the seventeenth century Glikl of Hamel, the first Jewish woman memoirist. The third segment focuses on devotional literature for and by women. In the fourth segment, we read modern women poets in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English. The course concludes with a fifth segment on fiction and a memoir written by women in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English.

155. (ANTH124, JWST124, RELS024) Archaeology and the Bible. (M) Staff.

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and archaeological research provide distinct, and at times conflicting, accounts of the origins and development of ancient Israel and its neighbors. Religion, culture and politics ensure that such accounts of the past have significant implications for the world we live in today. In this course we will discuss the latest archaeological) research from Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan as it relates to the Bible, moving from Creation to the Babylonian Exile. Students will critically engage the best of both biblical and archaeological scholarship, while being exposed to the interpretive traditions of Anthropology as an alternative approach to the available evidence. Open discussions of the religious, social and political implications of the material covered will be an important aspect of the course.

156. (COML057, JWST151, NELC456, RELS027) Great Books of Judaism. (A) Stern.

The study of four paradigmatic and classic Jewish texts so as to introduce students to the literature of classic Judaism. Each text will be studied historically -- "excavated" for its sources and roots -- and holistically, as a canonical document in Jewish tradition. While each text will inevitably raise its own set of issues, we will deal throughout the semester with two basic questions: What makes a "Jewish" text? And how do these texts represent different aspects of Jewish identity? All readings will be in translation.

SM 158. (COML257, JWST153, NELC458, RELS223) Jewish Literature in the Middle Ages. (C) Stern.

An introduction to medieval Hebrew literature, with special attention to poetry, narrative, and the interpretation of the Bible, and to the varieties of Jewish experience that these literary works touch upon. All readings in translation.

159. (CINE159, COML282, ENGL279, JWST102, JWST154) Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture in Translation: The City in Israeli Literature and Film. (C) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Gold. There will be five film screenings; the films will also be placed on reserve at the library for those students unable to attend the screenings. The content of this course changes from year to year, and therefore, students may take it for credit more than once.

This course focuses on the artistic ways in which the Israeli city, be it Jerusalem, Haifa or Tiberias, is represented in Israeli literature and film. The emotional and physical connection between the writer and his/her place of dwelling is transformed in the literary or cinematic work. The artistic depiction of the city reflects the inner world as well as ideological and political conflicts and highlights questions of belonging. The "city" may become a locus for national expression, of gender indentification, or even of pure aesthetic enchantment. We will analyze how, through her portrayls of the Carmel Mountain and the pure aesthetic enchantment. We will analyze how, through her portrayals of the Carmel Mountain and the Haifa Bay, Yehudit Katzir expresses the complex bond with her mother; how Tel Aviv's streets enable Dahlia Ravikovitch examine questions of loyalty; how the "Jerusalems" of A.B. Yehoshua and Yehuda Amichai reflect their loves and hatreds and how the film director Shemi Zarhin sings a love song to the Sea of Galilee through shooting his film in his native Tiberias.

166. (NELC468, RELS114) The Religion of Ancient Egypt. (M) Silverman/Wegner.

Weekly lectures (some of which will be illustrated) and a field trip to the University Museum's Egyptian Section. The multifaceted approach to the subject matter covers such topics as funerary literature and religion, cults, magic religious art and architecture, and the religion of daily life.

168. (AFST168, GSOC168) Women in Ancient Egypt. (M) Houser Wegner.

This class will examine the many roles played by women in ancient Egypt. From goddesses and queens, to wives and mothers, women were a visible presence in ancient Egypt. We will study the lives of famous ancient Egyptian women such as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Cleopatra. More independent than many of their contemporaries in neighboring areas, Egyptian women enjoyed greater freedoms in matters of economy and law. By examining the evidence left to us in the literature (including literary texts and non-literary texts such as legal documents, administrative texts and letters), the art, and the archaeological record, we will come away with a better understanding of the position of women in this ancient culture.

180. (COML125, ENGL103) Narrative Across Cultures. (C) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Allen.

The purpose of this course is to present a variety of narrative genres and to discuss and illustrate the modes whereby they can be analyzed. We will be looking at some shorter types of narrative: short story, the novella, and the fable, but also some extracts from longer works such as autobiography. While some of the works will be from the Anglo-American tradition, a large number of others will be from European and non-Western cultural traditions and from earlier time periods. The course will thus offer ample opportunity for the exploration of the translation of cultural values in a comparative perspective.

182. (ANTH139, URBS139) Ancient Civilizations of the World. (M) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Zettler.

The archaeology of the complex societies of the Old and New Worlds from the end of the paleolithic up to and including the earliest civilizations.

201. (COML212) Modern Middle Eastern Literature in Translation. (B) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Allen/Gold.

This course is team-taught by four professors with specialties in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Turkish literatures. The course deals with the modern literature within each tradition and focuses on poetry, short story and the novel. The readings are all in English. The course is conducted in a seminar format. Students are expected to participate in classroom discussion of the materials assigned for each session, and evaluation is partially based on the quality of that participation. A short paper is assigned on the poetry and the short stories, and there is a final, longer term paper.

233. (COML215) Arabic Literary Heritage. (A) Allen.

This course provides a survey of the genres and major figures in Arabic literary history from the 6th century up to the present day. Selections will be read in translation after a general introduction to the cultural background and a session devoted to the Qur'an and its influence, a sequence of sessions will be devoted to poetry, narratives, drama, and criticism. Each set of texts is accompanied by a collection of background readings which place the authors and works into a literary, political and societal context. This course thus attempts to place the phenomenon of "literature" into the larger context of Islamic studies by illustrating the links between Arab litterateurs and other contributors to the development of an Islamic/Arab culture on the one hand and by establishing connections between the Arabic literary tradition and that of other (and particularly Western) traditions.

234. The Mongol Experience. (M) Cobb.

Was Genghis Khan really such a bad guy after all? Were the Mongol Invasions of the 13th century really a disaster? It almost seems immoral to ask questions like this, but in this class we'll go ahead and ask them anyway. This course is a survey of the history of the medieval Mongol Empire, which, at its greatest extent, stretched from Korea to Germany. We will focus more specifically on that smaller Middle Eastern piece of the empire known as the Il-Khanate, which merely stretched from Turkey to Afghanistan, and made Iran a locus for synthesizing the cultures of Iran, the Arab world, Central Asia, and China. It also produced a lasting political, economic, and cultural legacy throughout much of the Middle East and beyond.

236. (RELS246) Islamic Mysticism. (A) Staff.

Typical forms of mystical experience in Islam. The cultural assimilation of ideas achieved by Muslim mystics. The development of Sufism and the formation of the sufi orders. Medieval trends of Sufi speculation and esoteric doctrine. Emphasis on primary readings.

238. (RELS248) Introduction to Islamic Law. (A) Lowry.

This course will introduce students to classical Islamic law, the all-embracing sacred law of Islam. Among the world's various legal systems, Islamic law may be the most widely misunderstood and even misrepresented; certainly, misconceptions about it abound. Islamic law is, however, the amazing product of a rich, fascinating and diverse cultural and intellectual tradition. Most of the readings in this course will be taken from primary sources in translation. Areas covered will include criminal law, family law, law in the Quran, gender and sexuality, the modern application of Islamic law, Islamic government and other selected topics.

241. (ANTH236, ANTH636, NELC641, URBS236) Iraq: Ancient Cities and Empires. (M) Zettler.

This course surveys the cultural traditions of ancient Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, a region commonly dubbed "cradle of civilization" or "heartland of cities," from an archaeological perspective. It will investigate the emergence of sedentism and agriculture; early villages and increasingly complex Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures; the evolution of urban, literate societies in the late 4th millennium; the city-states and incipient supra-regional polities of the third and second millennium; the gradual emergence of the Assyrian and Babylonian "world empires," well-known from historical books of the Bible, in the first millennium; and the cultural mix of Mesopotamia under the successive domination of Greeks, Persians and Arabs. The course seeks to foster an appreciation of the rich cultural heritage of ancient Mesopotamia, an understanding of cultural continuities in the Middle East and a sense of the ancient Near Eastern underpinnings of western civilization. No Prerequisite.

242. (ANCH542, ANTH259, NELC542) Early Empires of the Ancient Near East: The Neo-Assyrian Empire. (M) Frame. Prerequisite(s): NELC 101 or permission of the instructor.

The Assyrians appear as destructive and impious enemies of the Israelites and Judeans in various books of the Bible and this view is reflected in Lord Byron's poem: "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, / And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold" (Hebrew Melodies. The Destruction of Sennacherib). In the ninth, eighth and seventh centuries BCE, Assyrian armies marched out from their homeland in northern Iraq to Iran in the East, Egypt in the West, the Persian Gulf in the south and central Turkey in the north, and they created the largest empire known up until that time. They built impressive palaces and cities, created great works of art and have left us a vast number of documents preserving ancient literature and scholarly knowledge. In the course we will look at the structure of the Assyrian state, Assyrian culture, the development of the Assyrian empire, and its sudden collapse at the end of the seventh century. While the course will emphasize the use of textual sources, archaeological and iconographic data will also be used to help us arrive at an understanding of the great achievements of the ancient Assyrians.

SM 250. (COML380, JWST255, NELC550, RELS224) The Bible in Translation. (C) Tigay.

Careful study of a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) as a literary and religious work in the light of modern scholarship, ancient Near Eastern documents, comparative literature and religion, and its reverberations in later Judaism, Christianity, and Western (particularly American) Civilization. May be repeated for credit. Benjamin Franklin Seminar. Fulfills Distribution CRS Arts & Letters-class of '09 and prior and Cross Cultural Analysis - Class of '10 and after.

SM 251. (JWST225, NELC651, RELS225) Dead Sea Scrolls. (M) Staff.

Exploration of the issues relating to the identification and history of the people who produced and used these materials as well as the claims made about the inhabitants of the Qumran site near the caves in which the scrolls were discovered, with a focus on what can be known about the community depicted by some of the scrolls, its institutions and religious life, in relation to the known Jewish groups at that time (the beginning of the Common Era). This will involve detailed description and analysis of the writings found in the caves -- sectarian writings, "apocrypha" and "pseudepigrapha," biblical texts and interpretations.

SM 252. (JWST100, NELC552, RELS129) Themes in Jewish Tradition. (C) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. Ben-Amos, Stern, Dohrmann.

Course topics will vary; they have included The Binding of Isaac, Responses to Catastrophies in Jewish History, and Concepts of Jewishness from Biblical Israel to the Modern State (Stern); Holy Men & Women (Ben-Amos); Rewriting the Bible (Dohrmann).

254. (COML259, FOLK296, JWST102) Jewish Humor. (M) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Ben-Amos.

In modern American popular culture Jewish humor is considered by Jews and non-Jews as a recognizable and distinct form of humor. Focusing upon folk-humor, in this course we will examine the history of this perception, and study different manifestation of Jewish humor as a particular case study of ethnic in general. Specific topics for analysis will be: humor in the Hebrew Bible, Jewish humor in Europe and in America, JAP and JAM jokes, Jewish tricksters and pranksters, Jewish humor in the Holocaust and Jewish humor in Israel. The term paper will be collecting project of Jewish jokes.

255. (ANTH235, JWST251, NELC555, RELS215) Archaeology and Society in the Holy Land--4,500 BCE - 500 BCE. (M) Staff.

This course will survey the archaeological history of the southern Levant (Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, southern Lebanon and Syria) from the early complex societies of the Chalcolithic through the demise of the biblical states of the Iron Age. It will focus in particular on the changing organization of society through time, using excavated evidence from burials, houses, temples and palaces to track changes in heterogeneity, hierarchy and identity. In following the general themes of this course, students will have opportunity to familiarize themselves with the geographic features, major sites and important historical events of the southern Levant. Class materials will be presented in illustrated lectures and supplemented by the study of artifacts in the University Museum's collections. Anyone interested in a better understanding of the land that has given us both the "Old Testament"/TaNak and so much of our daily news, should find much of interest in this course.

258. (COML283, FOLK280, JWST260, RELS221) Jewish Folklore. (A) Ben-Amos.

The Jews are among the few nations and ethnic groups whose oral tradition occurs in literary and religious texts dating back more than two thousand years. This tradition changed and diversified over the years in terms of the migrations of Jews into different countries and the historical, social, and cultural changes that these countries underwent. The course attempts to capture the historical and ethnic diversity of Jewish Folklore in a variety of oral literary forms. A basic book of Hasidic legends from the 18th century will serve as a key text to explore problems in Jewish folklore relating to both earlier and later periods.

266. (NELC666) History of Ancient Egypt. (A) Wegner.

Review and discussion of the principal aspects of ancient Egyptian history, 3000-500 BC.

281. (ANTH100, ANTH654, NELC681, SAST161) Topics In Anthropology and the Modern World. (B) Spooner.

This course relates anthropological models and methods to current problems in the Modern World. The overall objective is to show how the research findings and analytical concepts of anthropology may be used to illuminate and explain events as they have unfolded in the recent news and in the course of the semester. Each edition of the course will focus on a particular country or region that has been in the news.

SM 283. (JWST123, RELS123) Introduction to Classical Judaism. (M) Fishman.

Focusing on the festivals of the Jewish calendar and on Jewish life-cycle events, this course examines primary sources from various periods and places that illuminate changes in Jewish practice, in Jewish understandings of ritual, and in ritual's place in Jewish life.

SM 285. (JWST258, RELS228) Jews Under Medieval Islam. (M) May be counted as a General Requirement Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only. Goldstein.

This seminar will examine what Jews living in Muslim lands wrote during medieval times, focusing on a range of primary sources including poetry, Biblle commentary, historiography and polemics. Through these sources we will develop an understanding of the place of this community in Jewish history as well as within the medieval empire of Islam.

SM 331. (AFST331, AFST531, NELC531) Iraq, Egypt, Algeria: Case Studies from the Arab World. (M) Sharkey.

This reading- and discussion-intensive seminar will use historical and political analyses, ethnographic studies, novels, and films to consider and compare the experiences of Iraq, Egypt, and Algeria in the modern period. Themes to be covered include the nature of local Arab and Arabic cultures; the impact and legacies of Ottoman and Western imperialism; the development of Islamist, nationalist, and feminist movements; the status of non-Arab or non-Muslim minorities (notably the Iraqi Kurds, Egyptian Copts, and Algerian Berbers); and patterns of social and economic change. The class will culminate in research projects that students individually design and pursue. Some prior familiarity with Middle Eastern or North African studies is required.

SM 332. (AFST332, AFST533, NELC632) North Africa: History, Culture, Society. (M) Sharkey. Prerequisite(s): A university-level survey course in Middle Eastern, African, or Mediterranean history.

This interdisciplinary seminar aims to introduce students to the countries of North Africa, with a focus on the Maghreb and Libya (1830-present). It does so while examining the region's close economic and cultural connections to sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Readings will include histories, political analyses, anthropological studies, and novels, and will cover a wide range of topics such as colonial and postcolonial experiences, developments in Islamic thought and practice, and labor migration. This class is intended for juniors, seniors, and graduate students.

SM 334. (AFST373, HIST371) Africa and the Middle East. (C) Troutt Powell.

SM 335. (HIST630, JWST335, NELC535, RELS311) Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Relations in the Middle East and North Africa: Historical Perspectives. (C) Sharkey.

This class is a reading- and discussion-intensive seminar that addresses several recurring questions with regard to the Middle East and North Africa. How have Islam, Judaism, and Christianity influenced each other in these regions historically? How have Jews, Christians, and Muslims fared as religious minorities? To what extent have communal relations been characterized by harmony and cooperation, or by strife and discord, and how have these relations changed in different contexts over time? To what extent and under what circumstances have members of these communities converted, intermarried, formed business alliances, and adopted or developed similar customs? How has the emergence of the modern nation-state system affected communal relations as well as the legal or social status of religious minorities in particular countries? How important has religion been as one variable in social identity (along with sect, ethnicity, class, gender, etc.), and to what extent has religious identity figured into regional conflicts and wars? The focus of the class will be on the modern period (c. 1800-present) although we will read about some relevant trends in the early and middle Islamic periods as well. Students will also pursue individually tailored research to produce final papers. Prior background in Islamic studies and

Middle Eastern history is required.

SM 336. (NELC536) Nationalism and Communal Identity in the Middle East. (A) Sharkey. Prerequisite(s): NELC 102 (AMES 036) or other relevant introductory courses on the Middle East.

This seminar views the phenomenon of nationalism as it affected the modern Middle East in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Together we will consider the diverse components of nationalism, including religion, language, territorial loyalty, and ethnicity, and test the thesis that nations are "imagined communities" built on "invented traditions." At the same time, we will examine other forms of communal identity that transcend national borders or flourish on more localized scales. This class approaches nationalism and communal identity as complex products of cultural, political, and social forces, and places Middle Eastern experiences within a global context. Students must take a survey of modern Middle Eastern history or politics before enrolling in this class.

SM 342. (NELC642) Introduction to Mesopotamian Literature. (C) Tinney.

An introduction to the literature of Ancient Mesopotamia.

351. (NELC551) History and Civilization of Ancient Israel. (M) Staff.

This course is a study of ancient Israel from its pre-nation origins through the early Second Temple period. Topics include: methodological issues for the reconstruction of Israelite history; pre-Israelite Canaan - a bridge between empires; the patriarchal and Exodus traditions; Israelite settlement of Canaan; the rise of the monarchy; the Davidic dynasty; the states of Israel and Judah in the context of the greater ancient Near East; the fall of the Israelite states - the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles - and the return from exile in the Persian period. Special issues include: the development of monotheism; the role of the prophet in Israelite society; and the formation of Biblical corpus. Archaeological evidence from the land of Israel and other Near Eastern States, especially written material, will be utilized to supplement the Biblical sources.

SM 356. (COML556, JWST356, JWST555, NELC556, RELS418) Ancient Interpretation of the Bible. (M) Stern.

Christianity and Judaism are often called "Biblical religions" because they are believed to be founded upon the Bible. But the truth of the matter is that it was less the Bible itself than the particular ways in which the Bible was read and interpreted by Christians and Jews that shaped the development of these two religions and that also marked the difference between them. So, too, ancient Biblical interpretation --Jewish and Christian-- laid the groundwork for and developed virtually all the techniques and methods that have dominated literary criticism and hermeneutics (the science of interpretation) since then.

The purpose of this course is to study some of the more important ways in which the Bible was read and interpreted by Jews and Christians before the modern period, and particularly in the first six centuries in the common era. We will make a concerted effort to view these interpretive approaches not only historically but also through the lens of contemporary critical and hermeneutical theory in order to examine their contemporary relevance to literary interpretation and the use that some modern literary theorists (e.g. Bloom, Kermode, Derrida, Todorov) have made of these ancient exegetes and their methods. All readings are in English translation, and will include selections from Philo of Alexandria, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Rabbinic midrash, the New Testament and early Church Fathers, Gnostic writings, Origen, and Augustine. No previous familiarity with Biblical scholarship is required although some familiarity with the Bible itself would be helpful.

382. (HIST302) Islam and the West. (C) Haq.

422. (ARTH422) Art of the Ancient Near East. (C) Pittman.

Emphasis on monumental art work of the Ancient Near East as the product of cultural and historical factors. Major focus will be on Mesopotamia from the late Neolithic to the Neo-Assyrian period, with occasional attention to related surrounding areas such as Western Iran, Anatolia, and Syria.

434. (COML353, COML505) Arabic Literature and Literary Theory. (A) Allen.

This course takes a number of different areas of Literary Theory and, on the basis of research completed and in progress in both Arabic and Western languages, applies some of the ideas to texts from the Arabic literary tradition. Among these areas are: Evaluation and Interpretation, Structuralism, Metrics, Genre Theory, Narratology, and Orality.

SM 437. Islamic Intellectual Tradition. (M) Lowry.

This comprehensive survey of the traditions of rational thought in classical Islamic culture is distinguished by its attempt to contextualize and localize the history of what is best described as philosophy in Islam, including not only the Islamic products of the Hellenistic mode of thought but also religious and linguistic sciences whose methodology is philosophical. Reading history as a set of local contingencies, the course examines the influence of these different disciplines upon each other, and the process of the Islamic "aspecting" of the Greek intellectual legacy. The readings thus include not only the works of Hellenized philosophers (falasifa) of Islam, but also those of theologians (mutakallimun), legists (fiqh scholars), and grammarians (nahw/lugha scholars). No prerequisites. Additional advanced-level assignments can be given for graduate credit.

450. (NELC150) Introduction to the Bible (The "Old Testament"). (A) Tigay.

451. (HIST139, JWST156, NELC051, RELS120) History of Jewish Civilization I--Jews and Judaism in Antiquity: From the Bible to the Talmud. (A) Staff.

452. (HIST140, JWST157, NELC052, RELS121) History of Jewish Civilization II: The Middle Ages. (A) Ruderman.

L/R 453. (HIST141, JWST158, NELC053, RELS122) The History of Jewish Civilization from the Late Seventeenth Century to the Present. (B) Ruderman.

SM 454. (JWST320, JWST520, RELS321, RELS520) Spirit and Law. (M) Fishman.

While accepting "the yoke of the commandments", Jewish thinkers from antiquity onward have perennially sought to make the teachings of revelation more meaningful in their own lives. Additional impetus for this quest has come from overtly polemical challenges to the law, such as those leveled by Paul, medieval Aristotelians, Spinoza and Kant. This course explores both the critiques of Jewish Law, and Jewish reflections on the Law's meaning and purpose, by examining a range of primary sources within their intellectual and historical contexts. Texts (in English translation) include selections from Midrash, Talmud, medieval Jewish philosophy and biblical exegesis, kabbalah, Hasidic homilies, Jewish responses to the Enlightenment, and contemporary attempts to re-value and invent Jewish rituals.

456. (NELC156) Great Books of Judaism. (A) Stern.

SM 458. (COML257, JWST153, NELC158, RELS223) Jewish Literature in the Middle Ages. (C) Stern.

463. (NELC061) Literary Legacy of Ancient Egypt. (M) Silverman.

465. Egyptian Artifacts. (C) Wegner.

Detailed typological and chronological discussion of principal kinds of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

SM 466. Archaeology and History of the Middle Kingdom. (M) Wegner.

467. (AFST467) History of Egypt -New Kingdom. (M) Wegner.

Covers principal aspects of ancient Egyptian culture (environment, urbanism, religion, technology, etc.) with special focus on archaeological data; includes study of University Museum artifacts. Follows AMES 266/466 - History of Egypt taught in the Fall semester.

468. (NELC166, RELS114) The Religion of Ancient Egypt. (M) Silverman/Wegner.

469. (AFST469) The Archaeology of Nubia. (M) Wegner.

The course will examine the archaeology of Ancient Nubia from Pre-history through the Bronze and Iron Ages, ca. 5000 BCE to 300 AD. The course will focus on the various Nubian cultures of the Middle Nile, and social and cultural development, along with a detailed examination of the major archaeological sites and central issues of Nubian archaeology.

SM 489. (JWST419, RELS419) Jewish-Christian Relations Through the Ages. (M) Fishman.

This is a Bi-directional course which explores attitudes toward, and perceptions of, the religious "Other", in different periods of history. Themes include legislation regulating interactions with the Other, polemics, popular beliefs about the Other, divergent approaches to scriptural

515. (NELC115, RELS544) Persian Mystical Thought: Rumi. (M) Minuchehr.

SM 531. (NELC331) Iraq, Egypt, Algeria: Case Studies from the Arab World. (M) Sharkey.

SM 534. (RELS545) Topics in Islamic Religion. (M) Staff.

Selected topics, such as Sufi texts or The Qur'an, in the study of Islamic religion.

SM 535. (HIST630, NELC335, RELS311) Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Relations in the Middle East and North Africa: Historical Perspectives. (M) Sharkey.

SM 536. (NELC336) Nationalism and Communal Identity in the Middle East. (A) Sharkey. Prerequisite(s): NELC 101 or other relevant introductory courses on the Middle East.

537. Introduction to Islamic Intellectual History: Hellenism, Arabism, and Islamism. (C) Staff.

A comprehensive survey of the traditions of rational thought in classical Islamic culture. The course is distinguished by its attempt to contextualize and localize the history of what is best described as philosophy in Islam, including not only the Islamic products of the Hellenistic mode of thought but also religious and linguistic sciences whose methodology is philosophical. Reading history as a set of local contingencies, the course examines the influence of these different disciplines upon each other, and the process of the Islamic "aspecting" of the Greek intellectual legacy. The readings thus include not only the works of Hellenized philosophers (falasifa) of Islam, but also those of theologians (mutakallimun), legists (fiqh-writers), and grammarians (nahw/lugha-writers). No prerequisites. Additional advanced-level assignments can be given for graduate credit.

542. (ANCH542, NELC242) Early Empires of the Ancient Near East: The Neo-Assyrian Empire. (M) Frame. Prerequisite(s): NELC 101 or permission of the instructor.

SM 550. (COML380, JWST255, NELC250, RELS224) The Bible in Translation. (C) Tigay. May be repeated for credit.

551. (NELC351) History and Civilization of Ancient Israel. (M) Staff.

SM 552. (JWST100, NELC252, RELS129) Themes in Jewish Tradition. (C) Ben-Amos, Stern.

555. (NELC255) Archaeology and Society of the Holy Land. (M) Staff.

This course will survey the archaeological history of the southern Levant (Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, southern Lebanon and Syria) from the early complex societies of the Chalcolithic through the demise of the biblical states of the Iron Age. It will focus in particular on the changing organization of society through time, using excavated evidence from burials, houses, temples and palaces to track changes in social heterogeneity, hierarchy and identity. In following the general themes of this course, students will have opportunity to familiarize themselves with the geographic features, major sites and important historical events of the southern Levant. Class material will be presented in illustrated and supplemented by the study

SM 556. (NELC356) Ancient Interpretation of the Bible. (M) Stern. May be repeated for credit.

SM 557. (JWST553) Seminar in Rabbinic Literature. (B) Stern. May be repeated for credit.

Readings in Rabbinic literature for students with advanced knowledge of Hebrew.

SM 567. Seminar on Egyptian Archaeology and History. (M) Wegner.

Specific topics will vary from year to year.

SM 569. Problems in Ancient Egyptian History. (M) Wegner.

In depth analysis of specific historical issues and topics. Reading knowledge in French and German is required.

SM 617. (AAMW518, ARTH518) Art of Iran. (M) Holod.

Iranian art and architecture of the Parthian, Sassanian and Islamic periods, with particular emphasis on regional characteristics in the period. Different themes are explored each time the course is offered. In the past, these have been Ilkhanid and Timurid painting, the city of Isfahan, metropolitan and provincial architecture in the fourteenth century.

618. (NELC118) Iranian Cinema: Gender, Politics and Religion. (C) Minuchehr.

SM 632. (AFST332, AFST533, NELC332) North Africa: History, Culture, Society. (M) Sharkey. Prerequisite(s): A university-level survey course in Middle Eastern, African, or Mediterranean history.

SM 633. Seminar in Selected Topics in Arabic Literature. (B) Allen.

This is the graduate seminar course in which a variety of aspects of Arabic literature studies are covered at the advanced graduate level. Students in this course are expected to be able to read large amounts of literature in Arabic on a weekly basis and to be able to discuss them critically during the class itself. Topics are chosen to reflect student interest. Recent topics have included: 1001 NIGHTS; the short story; the novel; MAQAMAT; classical ADAB prose; the drama; the novella; modern Arabic poetry.

SM 638. (LAW 737) Approaches to Islamic Law. (M) Lowry. Prerequisite(s): Some background knowledge about Islam is an asset.

This course aims to introduce students to the study of Islamic law, the all-embracing sacred law of Islam. In this course we will attempt to consider many different facets of the historical, doctrinal, institutional and social complexity of Islamic law. In addition, the various approaches that have been taken to the study of these aspects of Islamic law will be analyzed. The focus will be mostly, though not exclusively, on classical Islamic law. Specific topics covered include the beginnings of legal thought in Islam, various areas of Islamic positive law (substantive law), public and private legal institutions, Islamic legal theory, and issues in the contemporary development and application of Islamic law.

641. (ANTH236, NELC241) Mesopotamia: The Heartland of Cities. (M) Zettler.

SM 642. (NELC342) Introduction to Mesopotamian Literature. (C) Eichler.

An introduction to the literature of ancient Mesopotamia.

SM 651. (NELC251, RELS225) Dead Sea Scrolls. (M) Staff.

SM 653. (FOLK653, JWST653) Folklore in the Hebrew Bible. (M) Ben Amos.

664. (NELC064) The World of Cleopatra. (M) Houser Wegner.

666. (NELC266) History of Ancient Egypt. (A) Wegner.

Review and discussion of the principal aspects of ancient Egyptian history, 3000-500 BC.

668. (NELC068) Art and Architecture in Ancient Egypt. (M) Silverman.

This ccourse will be an introduction to the art, architecture and minor arts that were produced during the three thousand years of ancient Egyptian history. This material will be presented in its cultural and historical contexts through illustrated lectures and will include visits to the collection of the University Museum.

681. (ANTH100, ANTH654, NELC281, SAST161) Topics In Anthropology and the Modern World. (B) Spooner.

682. (COML529, FOLK532) Proverb, Riddle & Speech Metaphor. (M) Ben-Amos.

Through readings and collaborative projects this working seminar will explore the place of metaphor in the genres of proverb and riddle and examine their position in oral communication in traditional and modern societies. Critical readings of former definitions and models of riddles and metaphors will enable students to obtain a comprehensive perspective of these genres that will synthesize functional, structural, metaphoric, and rhetoric theories.

683. (COML662, FOLK629, RELS605) Theories of Myth. (M) Ben-Amos.

Theories of myth are the center of modern and post-modern, structural and post-structural thought. Myth has served as a vehicle and a metaphor for the formulation of a broad range of modern theories. In this course we will examine the theoretical foundations of these approaches to myth focusing on early thinkers such as Vico, and concluding with modern twentieth century scholars in several disciplines that make myth the central idea of their studies.

ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGE COURSES ANEL

246. (ANEL646) The Land of Sumer: Writing, Language, and Culture. (C) Tinney.

This self-contained course sets the Sumerian language, writing system and use of writing in their social and historical context. The aim is to provide students of ancient history and culture from diverse disciplines with a good grounding in Sumerian culture, familiarity with the Sumerian language and cuneiform writing system and the requisite knowledge for critical assessment of published translations and of the secondary literature. The course is organized as two threads, culture on the one hand and language on the other. The two threads are united by taking examples in the language exercises, vocabulary assignments, etc., as far as possible from the domain of the week's cultural topics. The net effect is to examine the culture both through contemporary secondary literature and through direct contact with elementary primary texts of relevance to the various topics of discussion. The language component of the course will be carried out in a combination of transliteration and cuneiform, with an expectation that all students will gain familiarity with at least the core 80 syllabic signs, and about 100 additional logographic signs.

440. (ANEL640) First Year Akkadian I. (A) Staff.

Introduction to the grammar of the Akkadian language with emphasis on developing skills in the cuneiform writing system and reading of selected texts.

441. (ANEL641) First Year Akkadian II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 440.

Introduction to the grammar of the Akkadian language with emphasis on developing skills in the cuneiform writing system and reading of selected texts.

460. (AFST460) Middle Egyptian. (E) Silverman.

Introduction to the grammar of Middle Egyptian.

461. Middle Egyptian Texts: Literary. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 460.

This course will deal with those texts of the Middle Kingdom that are written in the classical form of the language. It will include both monumental inscriptions, such as autobiographical stela inscriptions (P. Newberry, BENI HASSAN) and stelae (Seth, LESESTUCKE) as well as narratives in prose (DeBuck, READING BOOK). Religious texts (ibid. and COFFIN TEXTS) will also be studied and analyzed. Distinctions between the grammar of the literary and non-literary genres will be discussed.

462. (AFST462) Middle Egyptian Texts: Non-Literary. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 460.

The course will emphasize non-literary texts dating to Middle Kingdom: letters, reports, medical and mathematical papyri, and dialogues in tombs. The material will in large part be in the hieratic script, except for the tomb inscriptions.

540. Akkadian Literary Texts. (C) Frame. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641 (AMES 540).

Readings in Akkadian literary texts from ancient Mesopotamia.

541. Akkadian Historical Texts. (C) Frame. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641.

Readings in Akkadian historical texts from ancient Mesopotamia

542. Akkadian Letters. (C) Frame. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641.

Readings in Akkadian letters from ancient Mesopotamia.

546. Intermediate Sumerian. (E) Tinney.

549. Introduction to Hittite. (M) Staff.

Basic grammar and vocabulary. Mastery of cuneiform writing system and reading of selected texts.

560. Late Egyptian. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 460.

Introduction to the grammar of Late Egyptian.

561. Late Egyptian Texts: Literary. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 560 (AMES 560).

This course will concentrate on the literary texts of the New Kingdom: Late Egyptian narratives such as THE DOOMED PRINCE, THE TWO BROTHERS, and HOURS AND SETH (Gardiner, LATE EGYPTIAN STORIES) and poetry; (Gardiner, CHESTER BEATTY I and Muller, LIEBESPOESIE). The grammar will be analyzed (Erman, NEUAGYPTISCHE GRAMMATIK and Korostovtzev, GRAMMARIE DU NEO-EGYPTIEN) and compared to that used in non-literary texts (Groll, THE NEGATIVE VERBAL SYSTEM OF LATE EGYPTIAN,NON-VERBAL SENTENCE PATTERNS IN LATER EGYPTIAN, and THE LITERARY AND NON-LITERARY VERBAL SYSTEMS IN LATE EGYPTIAN).

562. Late Egyptian Texts: Non-Literary. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 560 (AMES 560).

This course will concentrate on the translation and grammatical analysis of non-literary texts.

563. (AFST563) Old Egyptian. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 460.

This course is an introduction to the language of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. The grammar of the period will be introduced during the early part of the semester, using Ededl's ALTAGYPTISCHE GRAMMATIK as the basic reference. Other grammatical studies to be utilized will include works by Allen, Baer, Polotsky,Satzinger, Gilula, Doret, and Silverman. The majority of time in the course will be devoted to reading varied textual material: the unpublished inscriptions in the tomb of the Old Kingdom offical Kapure--on view in the collection of the University Museum; several autobiographical inscriptions as recorded by Sethe in URKUNDEN I; and a letter in hieratic (Baer, ZAS 93, 1966, 1-9).

564. Ancient Egyptian Biographical Inscription. (M) Silverman.

571. History of the Linguistics of the Near East. (M) Staff.

572. (JWST558) Northwest Semitic Epigraphy. (D) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Ability to read an unpointed Hebrew text and facility in the Hebrew Bible.

This is a seminar in which we read inscriptions in the Canaanite dialects other than Hebrew (Phoenician, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite) as well as Aramaic and Philistine texts, which were written in the 10th-6th centuries BCE, and discovered in the last 140 years by archeologists. The course is a continuation of HEBR555, but can be taken independently.

573. Ugaritic I. (A) Staff.

An introduction to the grammar of the Ugaritic language with emphasis on developing skills in reading Ugaritic texts.

574. Ugaritic II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 573 or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to the grammar of the Ugaritic language with emphasis on developing skills in reading Ugaratic texts.

575. (JWST457) Aramaic I. (A) Staff.

An introduction to the grammar of the Aramaic language with emphasis on developing skills in reading Aramaic texts.

576. (JWST457) Aramaic II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 575 or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to the grammar of the Aramaic language with emphasis on developing skills in reading Aramaic texts.

577. Syriac I. (A) Staff.

An introduction to the grammar of Syriac with emphasis on developing skills in reading Syriac texts.

578. Syriac II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 577 or permission of the instructor.

An introduction to the grammar of Syriac with emphasis on developing skills in reading texts.

640. (ANEL440) First Year Akkadian I. (A) Staff.

Introduction to the grammar of the Akkadian language with emphasis on developing skills in the cuneiform writing system and reading of selected texts.

641. (ANEL441) 1st Year Akkadian II. (M) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 440, ANEL 640 or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to the grammar of the Akkadian language with emphasis on developing skills in the cuneiform writing system and reading of selected texts.

646. (ANEL246) The Land of Sumer: Writing, Language, and Culture. (C) Tinney.

This self-contained course sets the Sumerian language, writing system and use of writing in their social and historical context. The aim is to provide students of ancient history and culture from diverse disciplines with a good grounding in Sumerian culture, familiarity with the Sumerian language and cuneiform writing system and the requisite knowledge for critical assessment of published translations and of the secondary literature. The course is organized as two threads, culture on the one hand and language on the other. The two threads are united by taking examples in the language exercises, vocabulary assignments, etc., as far as possible from the domain of the week' cultural topics. The net effect is to examine the culture both through contemporary secondary literature and through direct contact with elementary primary texts of relevance to the various topics of discussion. The language component of the course will be carried out in a combination of transliteration and cuneiform, with an expectation that all students will gain familiarity with at least the core 80 syllabic signs, and about 100 additional logographic signs.

660. Old Egyptian Texts: Religious. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 563.

This course will examine the texts and grammar of religious and wisdom literature. The religious texts utilized will come from the spells of the Pyramid Texts (K. Sethe, DIE ALTAGYPTISCHEN PYRAMIDENTEXTS), and the offering formulae carved on stelae and tomb walls. Sources for the latter will include published and unpublished material from Dendera, Giza, and other sites in the collections of the University Museum (H. Fischer, DENDERA IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, B.C., C. Fisher, THE MINOR CEMETERIES AT GIZA and W. Barta, AUFBAU UND BEDEUTUNG DER ALTAGYPTISCHEN OPFERFORMEL). For the wisdom literature, the texts of Kagemni (Jequier, LE PAPYRUS PRISSE ET SES VARIANTES) and Prince Hordjedef (Brunner-Traut, ZAS 76 (1940), 3-9 will be read.

661. Old Egyptian Texts: Secular. (C) Silverman. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 563.

This course will concentrate on non-religious themes written in Old Egyptia The texts utilized will include those written in the hieratic as well as hieroglyphic script; comparisons to and distinctions between the grammar us in these texts and those in the religious material will be made. The autobiographical inscriptions in tombs from Giza, Elephantine and Saqqara,(Sethe, URKUNDEN I) will be studied in addition to contemporaneous letters (Gunn, ASAE 25, (1925) 242-55, Gardiner and Sethe, LETTERS to the DEAD,and P. Posener-Krieger, HIERATIC PAPYRI in the BRITISH MUSEUM) and economic documents (ibid. and LES ARCHIVS du TEMPLE FUNERAIRE de NEFERIRKARE-KAKAI).

664. (RELS616) Coptic. (M) Silverman.

The course will be an introduction to the writing, grammar, and literature of Coptic.

665. Demotic. (M) Houser Wegner.

The course will be an introduction to the writing, grammar, and literature of Demotic, the phase of the language in use during the latter periods of Egyptian history.

740. Akkadian Religious and Scientific Texts. (C) Frame. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641.

Readings in Akkadian of religious and scientific texts from ancient Mesopotamia.

741. Akkadian Legal Texts. (C) Frame. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641.

Readings in Akkadian legal texts and law corpora from ancient Mesopotamia.

742. Akkadian Economic Texts. (C) Frame. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641.

Readings in Akkadian economic texts from ancient Mesopotamia.

743. Peripheral Akkadian. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441/641.

Readings in selected texts in Akkadian from the periphery of Mesopotamia, including Alalah, Ugarit, Nuzi, Suza and El-Amarna.

746. Readings in Sumerian Texts. (C) Tinney. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 246/646.

Selected readings in Sumerian texts.

SM 748. Sumerian Seminar. (C) Tinney.

Extensive readings in a variety of Sumerian texts.

SM 749. Seminar in Cuneiform Texts. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ANEL 441.

Extensive readings in selected cuneiform texts.

Amharic Language Courses

481. (AFRC240, AFRC540, AFST240, AFST540) Elementary Amharic I. (A) Wogayehu.

482. (AFRC241, AFRC541, AFST241, AFST541) Elementary Amharic II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Completion of NELC 481 (AMES 240). Offered through the Penn Language Center.

483. (AFRC242, AFRC543, AFST242, AFST543) Intermediate Amharic I. (A) Wogayehu. Prerequisite(s): Completion of NELC 482 or permission of the instructor.

484. (AFRC243, AFRC544, AFST243, AFST544) Intermediate Amharic II. (B) Staff.

583. (AFST247, AFST547) Advanced Amharic. (M) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Completion of NELC 484 or permission of the instructor.

An advanced Amharic course that will further sharpen the students' knowledge of the Amharic language and the culture of the Amharas. The learners communicative skills will be further developed through listening, speaking, reading and writing. There will also be discussions on cultural and political issues.

ARABIC LANGUAGE COURSES ARAB

031. (ARAB631) Elementary Arabic I. (A) Staff.

This is the beginners course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It will introduce you to the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab World. The course is proficiency-based,implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course (ARAB 002) students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermedaite Low on the ACTFL scale; in other words (using the terminology of the government's Foreign Service Institute), from 'incipient survival' to 'full' survival' in the native-speaking environment.

032. (ARAB632) Elementary Arabic II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 031.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 031/631.

033. (ARAB633) Intermediate Arabic III. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 032 or equivalent.

This is the continuation of the Elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This course is also proficiency-based, implying that all activities within the course are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. This is the continuation of ARAB031 and ARAB 032, the elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This course is also proficiency-based, implying that all activites within the couse are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. As in ARAB 031-032, evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that students range from Intermediate Low to Intermediate High according to the ACTFL scale.

034. (ARAB634) Intermediate Arabic IV. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 033.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 033/633.

035. (ARAB635) Advanced Intermediate Arabic I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 034.

This is a proficiency-based course which continues from the first intermediate course, ARAB 033/034. Emphasis contintues to be on all four language skills: Speaking, Listening, Reading, & Writing. The readings for the class are chosen from actual texts from both medieval and modern Arabic in a variety of fields and subjects. Students will be expected to give classroom presentations and to write short essays in Arabic. Evaluation will be both Achievement- and proficiency- based. The test of speaking ability will consist of the Oral Proficiency Interview.

036. (ARAB636) Advanced Intermediate Arabic II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 035.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 035/635.

037. (ARAB637) Advanced Arabic and Syntax I. (A) Rushdie. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036/636 or permission of the instructor.

Advanced syntax through the reading of Arab grammarians. Development of reading in bulk. Emphasis on classical Arabic read in works by medieval and modern writers. This course is designed to give the student experience in reading whole works in Arabic and giving reports on them.

038. (ARAB638) Advanced Arabic & Syntax II. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 037.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 037/637.

039. (ARAB639) Colloquial Arabic. (C) Staff.

A one-semester, introductory course to the spoken Arabic of one of the regions of the Arab world, chosen according to the dialect of instructor.

041. Beginning Arabic I. (A) Sayed. See the CLPS Course Guide. **This course does not fulfill the College language requirement.

This is a beginner course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). It will introduce you to the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in the standard means of communication in the Arab world. The course is proficiency-based, implying that all activities are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, dictations, grammar and translation exercises). We anticipate that by the end of this course (ARAB 042) students will range in proficiency from Novice High to Intermedaite Low on the ACTFL scale; in other words (using the terminology of the government's Foreign Service Institute), from 'incipient survival' to 'full' survival' in the native-speaking environment.

043. Continuing Arabic III. (A) Sayed. See the CLPS Course Guide. **This coure does not fulfill the College language rrequirement.

This is the continuation of ARAB041 and ARAB 042, the elementary course in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This course is also proficiency-based, implying that all activites within the couse are aimed at placing you, the learner, in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. As in ARAB 041-042, evaluation is done by the more traditional testing methods (vocabulary tests, grammar and translation exercises). Completion of this course fulfulls the College of Liberal and Professional Studies language requirement in Arabic but not for the School of Arts and Sciences. However, it should be emphasized that you will need a longer period of study to achieve proficiency in Arabic. We anticipate that students range from Intermediate Low to Intermediate High according to the ACTFL scale.

331. (ARAB531) Advanced Spoken Standard Arabic. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036/636.

The course will concentrate on the reading and speaking skills at the advanced level. Students will be assigned reading and audio-visual materials on which to prepare oral classroom presentations. Final examination in the course will be based on performance in the oral proficiency interview.

332. (ARAB532) Advanced Arabic Composition. (M) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036/636.

Development of writing skills within a variety of subjects. Extensive readings in various prose techniques and a thorough review of Arabic grammar.

SM 432. (COLL226, COML432) Arabic Readings in Belles-Lettres. (A) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Allen. Prerequisite(s): Proficiency in ARAB 036/636.

Readings in Arabic texts taken from a variety of literary genres from all periods. The course aims to improve reading skills and vocabulary by introducing students to extensive passages taken from Arabic literature.

433. Arabic Readings in the Social Sciences and the Media. (K) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Proficiency in ARAB 036/636.

This course is designed to train students interested in a professional career involving the use of Arabic written materials. The texts are selected to reflect various topics and styles. An additional specialized glossary will be

SM 435. Readings in Islamics. (M) Lowry. Prerequisite(s): Completion of ARAB 036/636 Advanced Intermediate Arabic; or permission of the instructor.

This course provides practice in reading pre-modern classical Arabic texts drawn from a variety of intellectual disciplines, especially (but not exclusively) the religious sciences.

SM 436. Introduction to Classical Arabic Texts. (C) Lowry. Prerequisite(s): Completion of ARAB 036/636 Advanced Intermediate Arabic; or permission of the instructor.

This course aims to provide incoming graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with an introduction to issues in Arabic grammar and syntax that commonly arise in pre-modern Arabic texts. Students will also be introduced to, and expected to consult, the standard reference works used as aids in reading such texts. Students will be expected to prepare a text or set of texts assigned by the instructor for each session. Preparation means, for these purposes, supplying all vowels and other necessary diacritical marks, as well as looking up unfamiliar words and constructions in appropriate dictionaries or other reference works. Regular attendance and thorough preparation are essential to success in this course. It is intended that, upon completion of this course, students will be able to work independently with a wide variety of pre-modern Arabic texts.

531. (ARAB331) Advanced Spoken Standard Arabic. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036/636.

532. (ARAB332) Advanced Arabic Composition. (M) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036/636.

Development of writing skills within a variety of subjects. Extensive readings in various prose techniques and a thorough review of Arabic grammar.

631. (ARAB031) Elementary Arabic I. (E) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor.

632. (ARAB032) Elementary Arabic II. (E) Staff.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 031/631.

633. (ARAB033) Intermediate Arabic III. (E) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 033 or equivalent. For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor.

634. (ARAB034) Intermediate Arabic IV. (E) Staff.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 033/633.

635. (ARAB035) Advanced Intermediate Arabic I. Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 033 or permission of instructor.

636. (ARAB036) Advanced Intermediate Arabic II. (E) Staff.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 035/635.

637. (ARAB037) Advanced Arabic and Syntax I. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036/636 or permission of the instructor.

638. (ARAB038) Advanced Arabic & Syntax II. (B) Staff.

This course is a continuation of ARAB 037/637.

639. (ARAB039) Colloquial Arabic. (M) Staff.

A one-semester, introductory course to the spoken Arabic of one of the regions of the Arab world, chosen according to the dialect of instructor.

SM 730. Topics in Islamics. (C) Staff.

The topic may vary from year to year.

SM 731. Topics in Islamic Studies. (C) Lowry.

Topics vary from year to year in accordance with the interests and needs of students.

SM 733. Arabic Texts in Islamic History. (M) Cobb. Prerequisite(s): ARAB 036 or permission of the instructor.

This is the graduate seminar course in which a variety of aspects of Arabic literature studies are covered at the advanced graduate level. Students in thiscourse are expected to be able to read large amounts of literature on a weekly basis and to be able to discuss them critically during the class itself. Topicsare chosen to reflect student interest. Recent topics have included: 1001 NIGHTS; the short story; the novel; MAQAMAT; classical ADAB prose; the drama; the novella; modern Arabic poetry.

HEBREW LANGUAGE COURSES HEBR

051. (HEBR651, JWST051) Elementary Modern Hebrew I. (C) Staff.

An introduction to the skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew. This course assumes no previous knowledge of Hebrew.

052. (HEBR652, JWST052) Elementary Modern Hebrew II. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 051 or permission of instructor.

A continuation of HEBR 051, First Year Modern Hebrew, which assumes basic skills of reading and speaking and the use of the present tense. Open to all students who have completed one semester of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency.

053. (HEBR653, JWST053) Intermediate Modern Hebrew III. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 052 or permission of the instructor.

Development of the skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew on an intermediate level. Open to all students who have completed two semesters of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency.

054. (HEBR654, JWST054) Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 053 or permission of instructor.

This course constitutes the final semester of Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Hence, one of the main goals of the course is to prepare the students for the proficiency exam in Hebrew. Emphasis will be placed on grammar skills and ability to read literary texts. Open to all students who have completed three semesters of Hebrew at Penn with a grade of B- or above and new students with equivalent competency.

059. (HEBR552, JWST059) Advanced Modern Hebrew: Reading and Composition. (E) Engel. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 054 or permission of instructor.

Reading and discussion of contemporary Israeli journalism and imaginative writing and development of conversation skills, accompanied by visual material from films and the internet. Students will be expected to give a classroom presentation and to write short essays.

151. (HEBR451, JWST171, JWST471) Elementary Biblical Hebrew I. (A) Carasik.

This course is an introduction to Biblical Hebrew. It assumes no prior knowledge, but students who can begin to acquire a reading knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet before class starts will find it extremely helpful. The course is the 1st of a 4-semester sequence whose purpose is to prepare students to take courses in Bible that demand a familiarity with the original language of the text.

152. (HEBR452, JWST172, JWST472) Elementary Biblical Hebrew II. (B) Carasik. Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of HEBR 151 or permission of the instructor.

A continued introduction to the grammar of Biblical Hebrew, focusing on the verbal system, with an emphasis on developing language skills in handling Biblical texts. A suitable entry point for students who have had some modern Hebrew.

153. (HEBR453, JWST173, JWST473) Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I. (A) Carasik. Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of HEBR 152 or permission of the instructor. This course is the prerequisite for HEBR 154 (no one is "permitted" into that semester; you must take the previous semester course).

This course will focus on using the grammar and vocabulary learned at the introductory level to enable students to read Biblical texts independently and take advanced Bible exegesis courses. We will also work on getting comfortable with the standard dictionaries, concordances, and grammars used by scholars of the Bible. We will concentrate on prose this semester, closely reading Ruth, Jonah, and other prose selections. We will begin to translate from English into Biblical Hebrew, and there will also be a unit on the punctuation marks used in the Bible. This is a suitable entry point for students who already have strong Hebrew skills.

154. (HEBR454, JWST174, JWST474) Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II. (B) Carasik. Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of HEBR 153.

This course is a continuation of the Fall semester's Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I. No one will be admitted into the course who has not taken the Fall semester. It will continue to focus on using the grammar and vocabulary learned at the introductory level to enable students to read biblical texts independently and take advanced Bible exegesis courses. We will concentrate this semester on various selections of Biblical poetry, including Exodus 15 and Job 28. We will also continue to translate English prose into Biblical Hebrew.

250. (COML228, JWST256, RELS220) Studies in the Hebrew Bible. (B) Tigay.

This course introduces students to the methods and resources used in the modern study of the Bible. To the extent possible, these methods will be illustrated as they apply to a single book of the Hebrew Bible that will serve as the main focus of the course.

The course is designed for undergraduates who have previously studied the Bible in Hebrew either in high school or college. It presupposes fluency in reading and translating Bibical Hebrew and a working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew grammar.

SM 257. (HEBR557, JWST257, RELS226) Studies in Rabbinic Literature: Talmudic Literature. (D) Stern.

This course will introduce students to the modern study of Talmudic literature-- Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds. The first part of the course will deal with the history of the concept of the Oral Law (Torah shebe'al peh) and its practice, and the history of the literature that eventually comes out of that oral tradition, including the history of its transmission in medieval manuscripts and printed editions, and the ways in which the material shape of the text influenced its study and reception in Jewish culture. The second part of the course will consist of an intensive analysis of one chapter in the Talmud, Berakhot 8, by tracing its history through the documents of Talmudic literature (the Mishnah, Tosefta, and two Talmuds). No previous experience in Rabbinic literature is required (although it is recommended), but all students must be able to read unpointed Hebrew texts. If you have a question as to whether this course is appropriate for you, please contact the professor.

SM 258. (FOLK258, HEBR558, JWST258, RELS228) Studies in Medieval Jewish Literature. (C) Stern. Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of Hebrew.

This course introduces students to medieval Jewish literature and to the various modern methods and critical approaches--cultural history, literary theory, codicology, the comparative history of religions--that have been developed to study the literature and its cultural meaning. Texts studied will vary from semester to semester, and will include medieval Hebrew poetry, both religious and secular, Biblical exegesis, philosophical and ethical texts, and historiographic works.

SM 259. (COLL227, COML266, HEBR559, JWST259) Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature: Generation of the State. (A) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Gold. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 059 or equivalent. The class will be conducted in Hebrew and the texts read in the original. There will be 3-4 short papers and a final exam.

"I Want to Die in My Bed", a young Yehuda Amichai's anti-war poem, led the rebellion of Israeli authors in the 1950s. Scholars would later call Amichai and his peers "The Generation of the State," because they were the first authors to publish in the State of Israel (after it was established) and they forged its literary future. These "rebels" distanced themselves from the Zionist father- figures and their ideological focus. Poets, like Nathan Zach, promoted the use of common language while A.B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz wrote anti- heroic short stories.

The content of this course changes from year to year, thus students may take it for credit more than once.

356. (HEBR656, RELS327) Talmudic Midrashic Literature. (M) Stern. Prerequisite(s): Two years of Hebrew or equivalent required.

An introduction to the reading of classical Rabbinic literature. The topic will vary ranging from Talmudic to Siddur. Readings will be in Hebrew with supplemental English works.

357. (HEBR657, JWST352, JWST552) Classical Midrash & Aggadah. (D) Stern. Prerequisite(s): Students must be able to read an unpointed Hebrew text.

Readings in Rabbinic lore from classical Midrashic texts.

358. (HEBR658, JWST355) Siddur and Piyyut. (M) Stern. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 052 (AMES 052) or equivalent.

A study of the institution of Jewish prayer, its literature, and synagogu poetry. Texts will be read in Hebrew with supplementary English readings.

SM 359. (CINE359, COLL227, COML359, JWST359, JWST556) Seminar Modern Hebrew Literature: The Holocaust in Israeli Literature & Film. (B) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Gold. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 059 or HEBR 259 or permission of the instructor. This class is conducted in Hebrew and the texts are read in the original. The content of this course changes from year to year and therefore students may take it for credit more than once.

Israeli literature "waited" until the 1961 public indictment of a Nazi war-criminal to hesitantly begin to face the Holocaust. The Zionist wish to forge a "New Jew" was in part responsible for this suppression. Aharon Applefeld's understated short stories were the first to enter the modernist literary scene in the 1960s, followed in 1970 by the cryptic verse of Dan Pagis, a fellow child survivor. Only in 1988 two Isreali-born pop singers--haunted children of survivors--broke the continuous practice of concealing the past and its emotional aftermath in the watershed documentary "Because of That War." The process of breaking the silence intensified in the last two decades; the "Second Generation" burst forth artistically with writers like Etgar Keret, Amir Gutfreund and Savyon Liebrect who told what their parents were unable to utter. This course will analyze the transformation of Israeli literature and cinema from instruments of suppression into means for dealing with the national trauma.

451. (HEBR151, JWST171, JWST471) Elementary Biblical Hebrew I. (A) Carasik.

452. (HEBR152, JWST172, JWST472) Elementary Biblical Hebrew II. (B) Carasik. Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of HEBR 451 or permission of the instructor.

453. (HEBR153, JWST173, JWST473) Intermediate Biblical Hebrew I. (A) Carasik. Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of HEBR 452 or permission of the instructor. This course is the prerequisite for HEBR 454 (no one is "permitted" into that semester; you must take the previous semester course).

454. (HEBR154, JWST174, JWST474) Intermediate Biblical Hebrew II. (B) Carasik. Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of HEBR 453.

455. Post-Baccalaureate Hebrew Texts. (M) Staff.

SM 486. (JWST426, RELS426) Rabbinic Writers on Rabbinic Culture. (M) Fishman. Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of Hebrew.

This course traces reflections on rabbinic culture produced within Jewish legal literature of the classic rabbinic period - - Midrash, Mishna, and Talmud - - and in later juridical gemres - - Talmudic commentary, codes and responsa. Attention will be paid to the mechanics of different genres, the role of the underlying prooftext, the inclusion or exclusion of variant opinions, the presence of non-legal information, attitudes toward predecessors, balance between precedent and innovation.

SM 550. (HEBR350, JWST550, RELS322, RELS521) A Book of the Bible. (A) Tigay. Prerequisite(s): Thorough command of Biblical Hebrew and prior experience studying the Bible in the original in high school, college, or a comparable setting. Qualified undergraduates are welcome but must contact the instructor for permission to register and show how they meet the requirements. Language of instruction is in English. The course is designed primarily for undergraduates who have previously studied the Bible in Hebrew either in high school or college. It presupposes fluency in reading Biblical Hebrew, including a working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew grammar.

551. (JWST456, RELS427) Dead Sea Texts. (M) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of Hebrew and ability to read unpointed texts.

552. (HEBR059, JWST059) Advanced Hebrew: Reading & Comprehension. (E) Engel. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 054 or permission of instructor.

Further development of reading, writing, and speaking skills in modern Hebrew. The course is designed for students who have completed the basic language courses and passed the proficiency examination (or passed the Department's placement test at the appropriate level). The readings are based on literary texts and poetry. Special attention is given to the recurrence of biblical themes in modern Hebrew writing.

555. (JWST545) Hebrew Epigraphy. (D) Staff. Ability to read an unpointed Hebrew text and facility in the Hebrew Bible.

This course is a seminar covering inscriptions in Hebrew of the Biblical period, such as the Gezer Calendar, the Arad and Lachish letters, and numerous other inscriptions. We will read these texts and examine their linguistic features, but primarily we will focus on the ways these texts are useful in Biblical studies. The historical and linguistic information we glean from these texts, and the use of this information in studying Biblical history and interpreting the Hebrew Bible will be central to the course.

SM 556. (JWST650, RELS620) Seminar in Biblical Studies. (B) Tigay. Prerequisite(s): Facility in Biblical Hebrew. May be repeated for credit.

In-depth study of a special topic or issue in Biblical studies.

SM 557. (HEBR257, JWST257, RELS226) Studies in Rabbinic Literature: Talmudic Literature. (D) Stern.

SM 558. (FOLK258, HEBR258, JWST258, RELS228) Studies in Medieval Jewish Literature. (C) Stern. Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates need permission from the instructor.

Advanced studies in Medieval Hebrew literature. Topics range from liturgy to exegesis.

SM 559. (COLL227, COML266, HEBR259, JWST259) Introduction to Modern Hebrew Literature: Generation of the State. (A) Gold. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 059 or equivalent. The class will be conducted in Hebrew and the texts read in the original.dents There will be 3-4 short papers and a final exam.

The content of this course changes from year to year, thus students may take it for credit more than once.

SM 583. (COML527, HIST523, JWST523, RELS523) Studies in Medieval Jewish Culture. (A) Fishman. Prerequisite(s): Unless otherwise noted, reading knowledge of Hebrew is required.

Primary source readings from a broad array of medieval Jewish genres. Topic will vary from one semester to another, for example: custom, gender, dissent.

651. (HEBR051, JWST051) Elementary Modern Hebrew I. (C) Staff.

An introduction to the skills of reading, writing, and conversing in modern Hebrew. This course assumes no previous knowledge of Hebrew.

652. (HEBR052, JWST052) Elementary Modern Hebrew II. Staff. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 651 or permission of instructor.

653. (HEBR053, JWST053) Intermediate Modern Hebrew III. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 652 or permission of the instructor.

654. (HEBR054, JWST054) Intermediate Modern Hebrew IV. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 653 or permission of instructor.

656. (HEBR356, RELS327) Talmudic Midrashic Literature. (M) Stern. Prerequisite(s): Two years of Hebrew or equivalent required.

An introduction to the reading of classical Rabbinic literature. The topic will vary ranging from Talmudic to Siddur. Readings will be in Hebrew with supplemental English works.

657. (HEBR357, JWST352, JWST552) Classical Midrash & Aggadah. (D) Stern. Prerequisite(s): Students must be able to read an unpointed Hebrew text.

Readings in Rabbinic lore from classical Midrashic texts.

658. (HEBR358, JWST355, JWST655) Siddur & Piyyut. Stern. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 054 (AMES 054) or equivalent.

A study of the institution of Jewish prayer, its literature, and synagogue poetry. Texts will be read in Hebrew with supplementary English readings.

SM 659. (COML359, HEBR359, JWST359, JWST556) Seminar Modern Hebrew Literature: The Holocaust in Israeli Literature & Film. (M) Gold. Prerequisite(s): HEBR 059 or HEBR 259 or permission of the instructor. This class is conducted in Hebrew and the texts are read in the original. The content of this course changes from year to year and therefore students may take it for credit more than once. The content of this course changes from year to year; and, therefore, students may take it for credit more than once.

Israeli literature "waited" until the 1961 public indictment of a Nazi n war-criminal to hesitantly begin to face the Holocaust. The Zionist wish to forge a "New Jew" was in part responsible for this suppression. Aharon d Applefeld's understated short stories were the first to enter the modernist literary scene in the 1960s, followed in 1970 by the cryptic verse of Dan Pagis, a fellow child survivor. Only in 1988 two Isreali-born pop singers--haunted children of survivors--broke the continuous practice of concealing the past and its emotional aftermath in the watershed documentary "Because of That War." The process of breaking the silence intensified in then last two decades; the "Second Generation" burst forth artistically with writers like Etgar Keret, Amir Gutfreund and Savyon Liebrect who told what their parents were unable to utter. This course will analyze the transformation of Israeli literature and cinema from instruments of suppression into means for dealing with the national trauma.

PERSIAN LANGUAGE COURSES PERS

011. (PERS611) Elementary Persian I. (A) Minuchehr. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: completion of first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.

An introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Iran.

012. (PERS612) Elementary Persian II. (B) Staff.

An introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Iran.

013. (PERS613) Intermediate Persian I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through the Penn Language Center. See the CGS course guide.

A continuation of PERS 012, with graded readings.

014. (PERS614) Intermediate Persian II. (B) Staff.

015. (PERS615) Advanced Persian I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor; PERS 013 or PERS 017 or permission of the instructor. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

016. (PERS616) Advanced Persian II. (B) Staff.

017. (PERS617) Persian Reading and Writing for Fluent Speakers. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Fluency in spoken Persian. Offered through Penn Language Center.

An intensive, one-semester course designed to teach the reading and writing of standard Tehran Persian to those with a speaking knowledge of that language. In recent years there has been an increasing demand from Persian-speaking Iranian-American students for formal instruction in Persian. While many of these students have some degree of spoken fluency in Persian, they are often unable to read or write it. Their speaking ability makes it difficult to integrate them into first- or second-year classes of students who have started with no knowledge of Persian. If these Persian-speaking students could be brought to at least a second-year level of reading and writing, they could then be enrolled in more advanced courses in Persian where they would be more or less at the same level as other students. The course will focus on the lexical and syntactic differences between written and spoken Persian, and the problems of Persian spelling.

018. Advanced Persian in the Media. (C) Staff.

111. (PERS511, SAST405) Beginning Pashtu I. (A) Santry. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

Reading, writing, basic grammar and elemental speaking.

112. (PERS512, SAST415) Beginning Pashtu II. (B) Santry. Prerequisite(s): For second semester, completion of the first semester. Offered through Penn Language Center. This is a two-semester course.

Reading, writing, basic grammar and elemental speaking.

113. (PERS513, SAST425) Intermediate Pashtu. (A) Santry. Prerequisite(s): Beg. Pashtu, or permission by instructor. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

A wide variety of reading genres, writing, and oral expression.

114. (PERS514, SAST416) Intermediate Pashtu II. (B) Santry. Offered through Penn Language Center. This is a two-semester course.

Beg. Pashto, or permission of the instructor. A wide variety of reading genres, writing, and oral expression

115. (PERS515, SAST435) Advanced Pashtu I. (A) Santry. Prerequisite(s): Beg. And Int. Pashto required. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

Modern literary short stories. BBC news broadcasts for listening comprehension and discussion.

116. (PERS516, SAST445) Advanced Pashtu II. (B) Santry. Offered through Penn Language Center.

Pashto dialects, using recordings from different regions. BBC broadcasts for listening comprehension and discussion.

511. (PERS111, SAST405) Beginning Pashtu I. (A) Santry. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

Reading, writing, basic grammar and elemental speaking.

512. (PERS112) Beginning Pashtu II. (G) Santry. Prerequisite(s): For second semester, completion of the first semester. Offered through Penn Language Center. This is a two-semester course.

Reading, writing, basic grammar and elemental speaking.

513. (PERS113, SAST431) Intermediate Pashtu I. (G) Santry. Prerequisite(s): Beg. Pashtu, or permission by instructor. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

A wide variety of reading genres, writing, and oral expression.

514. (PERS114) Intermediate Pashtu II. (G) Santry. Offered through Penn Language Center. This is a two-semester course.

515. (PERS115, SAST432) Advanced Pashtu I. (G) Santry. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

516. (PERS116) Advanced Pashtu II. (G) Santry. Offered through Penn Language Center.

611. (PERS011) Elementary Persian I. (A) Minuchehr. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: completion of first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.

An introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Iran.

612. (PERS012) Elementary Persian II. (B) Staff.

An introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Iran.

613. (PERS013) Intermediate Persian I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: Completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through the Penn Language Center. See the CGS course guide.

A continuation of PERS 011, with graded readings.

614. (PERS014) Intermediate Persian II. (B) Staff.

615. (PERS015) Advanced Persian I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor; PERS 013 or PERS 017 or permission of the instructor. Offered through the Penn Language Center.

616. (PERS016) Advanced Persian II. (B) Staff.

617. (PERS017) Persian Reading and Writing for Fluent Speakers. (C) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Fluency in spoken Persian. Offered through Penn Language Center.

TURKISH LANGUAGE COURSES TURK

021. (TURK621) Elementary Turkish I & II. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: Completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.

Introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Turkey.

022. (TURK622) Elementary Turkish II. (B) Staff.

023. (TURK623) Intermediate Turkish I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): TURK 021 or equivalent. For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.

A continuation of TURK 021, with emphasis on grammar and reading

024. (TURK624) Intermediate Turkish II. (B) Staff.

025. (TURK625) Advanced Modern Turkish. (A) Hatiboglu. Prerequisite(s): TURK 023 (AMES 021) or equivalent.

The study of modern Turkish at the advanced level; emphasis on grammar and reading, focusing on Business Turkish in Spring 2001.

026. (TURK626) Advanced Modern Turkish II. (B) Staff.

621. (TURK021) Elementary Turkish I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): For the second semester: Completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.

Introduction to the spoken and written language of contemporary Turkey.

622. (TURK022) Elementary Turkish II. (B) Staff.

623. (TURK023) Intermediate Turkish I. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): TURK 021 or equivalent. For the second semester: completion of the first semester or permission of the instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.

A continuation of TURK 021, with emphasis on grammar and reading

624. (TURK024) Intermediate Turkish II. (B) Staff.

625. (TURK025) Advanced Modern Turkish. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): TURK 023 (AMES 021) or equivalent.

The study of modern Turkish at the advanced level; emphasis on grammar and reading, focusing on Business Turkish in Spring 2001.

626. (TURK026) Advanced Modern Turkish II. (B) Staff.