NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS
(AS) {NELC}
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) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course
in History & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. 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) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. 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) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior
only. 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) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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) Distribution Course in Hist &
Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior only.
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.
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. Staff.
An overview of Jewish history, culture, and society in its
Biblical, Hellenistic-Roman, and Rabbinic
settings. It will trace the political,
social, and intellectual-religious development
of Judaism from its beginnings through the
Second Temple period to the formation and
evolution of Rabbinic Judaism. Topics
to be covered include: Biblical thought and
religious practice; varieties of Judaism,
Topics to be covered include: Biblical thought
and religious practice; varieties of Judaism,
the Dead Sea sect and the birth of Christianity;
the emergence of the Rabbinic class and institutions;
Babylonian Judaism and the composition of
the Talmud; the role of the Geonim and the
solidification of normative religious practice.
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) Distribution
Course in Arts & Letters. Class of
2009 & prior only. Silverman.
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) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of
2009 & prior only. 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) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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.
A cultural history of Middle Eastern civilization from the
invention of writing to the rise of Islam. We
will look at the history, society and culture
of the various civilizations of the ancient
Near East, in particular Egypt and Mesopotomia
during the third, second and first millennia
BCE. itilizing extensive readings from ancient
texts in translation but also making use
of archaeological and art historical materials. The
goal of the course is to note bothe similarities
and differences between the various societies
of the time, to understand some of their
great achievements, and to appreciate the
rich heritage that they have left us.
102. Introduction to the Middle
East. (B) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course
in History & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Sharkey.
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) Distribution Course in Hist &
Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior only.
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) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of
2009 & prior only. 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, NELC618,
GSOC118, GSOC418) Iranian Cinema: Gender,
Politics and Religion. (C) Distribution Course in Arts &
Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only.
Minuchehr.
Post-Revolutionary Iranian cinema has gained exceptional international
reception in the past two decades. In
most major national and international festivals,
Iranian films have taken numerous prizes
for their outstanding representation of life
and society, and their courage in defying
censorship barriers. In this course,
we will examine the distinct characteristics
of the post-revolutionary Iranian cinema. Discussion
will revolve around themes such as gender
politics, family relationships and women's
social, economic and political roles, as
well as the levels of representation and
criticism of modern Iran's political and
religious structure within the current boundaries.
There will be a total of 12 films shown and
will include works by Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf,
Beizai, Milani, Bani-Etemad and Panahi, among
others.
SM 119. (CINE119, COML119) Middle
Eastern Cinema: Law and Society. (M) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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 contempory
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) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of
2009 & prior only. 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.
SM 145. Ancient Iraq: Mesopotamian
Culture and Its Legacy. (M) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. 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) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of
2009 & prior only. Eichler. 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 will introduce Penn students of literature, women's
studies, and Jewish studies -- both undergraduates
and graduates -- to the long tradition of
women as readers, writers, and subjects in
Jewish literature (in translation from Yiddish,
Hebrew, and in English). By examining
the interaction of culture, gender, and religion
in a variety of literary works by Jewish
authors, from the seventeenth century to
the present, the course will argue for the
importance of Jewish women's writing. Authors
include Glikl of Hameln, Cynthia Ozick, Anzia
Yezierska, Kadya Molodowsky, Esther Raab,
Anne Frank, and others.
155. (ANTH124, JWST124, RELS024)
Archaeology and the Bible. (M) History & Tradition Sector. All classes. 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) May be counted as a General Requirement Course in Arts
& Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only. 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. (CINE329, COML282, ENGL279,
JWST102, JWST154) Modern Hebrew Literature
and Culture in Translation. (C) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes.
Gold. The course is taught in English and
the texts are in translation. 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 Israeli literature and cinema, examining
works of fiction, poetry and film created
by men and women from 1948 to the present.
Although Israeli works constitute more than
half of the courses material, European and
American film and fiction often play comparative
roles. This course analyzes how the
media of film,poetry and prose use their
respective languages to reconstruct experience
and memory. It analyzes the artistic
works using theorectical, literary and psychological
methods. Additionally, many of the
works are placed, and therefore discussed,
against a backdrop of national, collective,
or historical conflicts. Throughout
the various semesters of this course, it
has dealt with canonic works representative
of the central Israeli narrative, but also
responded to previously unheard Israeli literary
and cinematic expressions. Past topics
have included: "Childhood in Times of
Peace and War;" "War and Love:
Heroism and Anti-Heroism in Israeli Writings;" "Fantasy,
Dreams & Madness in Hebrew Literature:
Escape or Solution;" "The Many
Voices of Israel: The 'Other';"
"The Holocaust in Literature and Film"
166. (NELC468, RELS114) The Religion
of Ancient Egypt. (M) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of
2009 & prior only. 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.
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) May
be counted as a General Requirement Course
in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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.
238. (RELS248) Introduction to
Islamic Law. (A) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of
2009 & prior only. 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.
SM 250. (COML380, JWST255, NELC550,
RELS224) The Bible in Translation. (C) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009
& prior only. Tigay. May be repeated for credit.
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.
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. (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) May be counted as a General Requirement
Course in History & Tradition. Class
of 2009 & prior only. 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) May be counted as a General Requirement Course in History
& Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior only. 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) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of
2009 & prior only. 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) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. 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) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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 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) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Sharkey.
This reading- and discussion-intensive seminar approaches
the history of modern North Africa (c. 1800-2000)
by focusing on the experiences of Morocco,
Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. Among
the issues that we will consider are colonialism
and post-colonialism, gender, relations,
Islam and political activism, civic participation
and authoritarianism, trends in economic
development, labor migration, ethnicity and
minority affairs, and nationalism. Students
will conduct an independent research project
and report to the class on their findings
at the end of the term. Some prior
familiarity with Middle Eastern or African
studies is required.
SM 335. (JWST335, NELC535, RELS311)
Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Relations
in the Middle East and North Africa: Historical
Perspectives. (C) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. 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 useful.
SM 336. (NELC536) Nationalism and
Communal Identity in the Middle East. (A) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class
of 2009 & prior only. 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.
SM 342. (NELC642) Introduction to
Mesopotamian Literature. (C) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Eichler.
An introduction to the literature of Ancient Mesopotamia.
351. (NELC551) History and Civilization
of Ancient Israel. (M) Distribution Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009
& prior only. 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) Distribution Course in Arts &
Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only.
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.
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
