NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

130.101 (H)

ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CIVILIZATION (3) Schwartz   Limit 50 Review of important issues in ancient Near Eastern history and culture from the Neolithic era to the Persian period. Included will be an examination of the Neolithic agricultural revolution, the emergence of cities, states and writing, and formation of empires. Cultures such as Sumer and Akkad, Egypt, the Hittites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians will be discussed.

Sec. 01

MW 10

130.135 (H)

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION (3) Bryan    Limit 50 Introduction to the monuments and culture of Egypt from 3500 B.C. to 100 A.D.  From the pyramids at Giza to Hellenistic Alexandria, this course surveys in slide illustrated lectures the remains of one of the worlds greatest early cultures.Course canceled 3/27/06

Sec. 01

MWF 12

130.140 (H)

INTRODUCTION TO THE HEBREW BIBLE/OLD TESTAMENT (3)  Lewis   Limit 40  A critical and historical survey of the books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) giving primary attention to the religious ideas they contain and the ancient contexts in which they were composed. Topics include: The Academic Study of Religion, Textual Criticism, Canaanite and Israelite Religion, Patriarchal Religion, The Exodus and Moses, Covenant, The Tribal League, The Ideology of Kingship, Prophecy, Priestly Sources, Psalms, Wisdom Literature, and Apocalyptic Thought.  Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

MTW 11

130.195 (H)

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE HOLY LAND FROM THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION TO THE END OF THE IRON AGE (3) Ilan    Limit 50    The course will cover the culture history of the land of the Bible (Israel / Palestine / Jordan) from ca. 5000 to 587 BCE as revealed through archaeological research and will include the rise of Canaanite civilization, the emergence of theIsraelites, and new information on the Philistine phenomenon.
Cross-listed with Jewish Studies 

Sec. 01

ThF 10:30-12

130.301 (H)

HISTORY OF ANCIENT SYRIA-PALESTINE (3) McCarter  Limit 50  A survey of the history of Ancient Syria and Cannan, including Ancient Israel.

Sec. 01

MW 2

130.329 (H)

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART (3) Bryan   Limit 30   A survey of Egyptian art as seen in the temples, tombs, funerary, and minor arts of Egypt between 3000 and 100 B.C. Slide lectures will provide a survey of art from the Pyramids to Augustus Caesar and will focus on such topics as the principles of Egyptian art; can the term art apply to early Egypt? How were artisans trained and what techniques and materials were utilized in their work?

Sec. 01

MW 3:30-5pm MW 1

130.330(H)

SEX AND THE GARDEN (3) Robbins    Limit 10   The history of the interpretation of Genesis 2-3.
Cross-listed with Jewish Studies and Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality

Sec. 01

ThF 12:30-2

130.348 (H)

RELIGIOUS LAW WRESTLES WITH CHANGES: THE CASE OF JUDAISM (3) Katz  Limit 20  How does a religious system which defines its ancient laws as God-given and unchangeable apply them to radically different and changing social, political, and intellectual situations? This course explores the literature of "She'elt u-Teshuvot," the Jewish legal responsa which have struggled to match Jewish religious law to modern life for 15 centuries. A sweeping survey of Jewish history as revealed by one of its most inpenetrable yet fascinating sources. Cross-listed with Jewish Studies Course added 3/20/06

Sec. 01

MW 10

130.349 (H)

PICTURING GOD: IMAGES OF THE DIVINE IN ANCIENT ISRAEL (3) Kang    Limit 15   This course is a study of various modes of representations of the gods and of the emergence and development of aniconism (or, iconoclasm) in early Israel in light of archaelogical, iconographical, and biblical evidence. A good number of visual materials will be used to illuminate the topic. Cross-listed with Jewish Studies Course added 3/16/06

Sec. 01

MT 3 T 3-5

130.400 (H)

INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE EGYPTIAN (Hieroglyphs) (3) Waraksa Jasnow  Limit 15   Introduction to the grammar and writing system of the classical language of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (ca. 2055-1650 B.C.). In the second semester, literary texts and royal inscriptions will be read.

Sec. 01

TTh 2-4

130.440

ELEMENTARY BIBLICAL HEBREW (3) Davis Kang   Limit 10 Survey of grammar and reading of simple texts. (Credit given only on completion of both semesters.) May not be taken on a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory basis.
Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

TBA ThF 12-1:30

130.450

ELEMENTARY MODERN HEBREW (3) Braun  Limit 15   Credit given only on completion of both semesters. May not be taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis.
Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

TTh 11

130.452 (H)

INTERMEDIATE MODERN HEBREW (3) Braun  Limit 10 Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

TTh 12

130.454 (H)

ADVANCED MODERN HEBREW (3) Braun Limit 10   Reading of nonliterary and technical texts. Expositional writing. Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

TTh 1

010.390 (H)

ART MUSEUM POLICY AND PRACTICE: INFORMATION IN THE ART MUSEUM (3) Maguire, E.  Limit 12 Cross-listed with History of Art and Classics

Sec. 01

T 2-5

130.501

READINGS AND RESEARCH  (3) Staff

130.590

INDEPENDENT STUDY

131.622

ARCHAEOLOGY OF IRON AGE PALESTINE Ilan   The course will survey Iron Age material culture, how it changed over time and what these changes represent from a social, political and economic viewpoint.  Our archaeological approach will be informed both by texts (Biblical and extra-biblical) and anthropology.   Out of the chaos of collapsing Late Bronze Age empires emerged new social and political entities such as Israelites, Philistines, Moabites and Ammonites; how were these similar and how where they different?  Can archaeology discern ethnicity?  How did the region's first territorial states develop and what is the archaeological expression of a state society in Palestine?  How do military conquests and population transfers appear in the archaeological record?  To what degree do archaeology and the Biblical text converge and diverge?  Which chronology is correct, the traditional one or the new low chronology?  Did Kings David and Solomon exist?    Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

F 2-4

131.634

SEMINAR IN NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY  Schwartz  Topic varies but can include the archaeology of Mesopotamia, Syria, or Palestine, or thematic discussions (e.g., on ideology, state collapse, etc.).

Sec. 01

T 10-12

131.800

READINGS AND RESEARCH
Sec.01 - Staff             Sec. 05 - Schwartz
Sec.02 - McCarter     Sec. 06 - Bryan
Sec.03 - Lewis           Sec. 07 - Cooper
Sec.04 - Westbrook   Sec. 08 – Jasnow

131.848

DISSERTATION RESEARCH
Sec. 01 - Bryan         Sec. 04 - Cooper
Sec. 02 - Schwartz   Sec. 05 - Westbrook
Sec. 03 - McCarter  Sec. 06 - Lewis
Sec. 07- Jasnow

132.600

ELEMENTARY AKKADIAN Kleinerman   Limit 10 Course added 5/18/06

Sec. 01

TBA

132.630

LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS TEXTS Cooper   We will read the Babylonian Epic of Creation, Enuma Elish, in the original cuneiform.

Sec. 01

T 4-6pm W 2-4

132.680

NEO-BABYLONIAN   Westbrook   

Sec. 01

W 4-6pm

132.700

ELEMENTARY SUMERIAN  Kleinerman

Sec. 01

W 9-11

132.710

ADVANCED SUMERIAN  Cooper     We will read Letter Collection B and related materials in the original cuneiform.

Sec. 01

M 2-4

132.800

MESOPOTAMIAN SEMINAR   Cooper/Schwarts/Westbrook Research and discussion on topics of current interest.

Sec. 01

TBA

133.600

INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE EGYPTIAN (HIEROGLYPHS) Waraksa Jasnow Limit 15   Introduction to the grammar and writing system of the classical language of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (ca. 2135-2000 B.C.). In the second semester, literary texts and royal inscriptions will be read.

Sec. 01

TTh 2-4

040.609

SEXUALITY IN EGYPTIAN AND ROMAN ART Bryan / Valladares Cross-listed with Classics and Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality

Sec. 01

M 1-3

133.610

MIDDLE EGYPTIAN TEXTS Bryan/Jasnow

Sec. 01

Th 9-12

133.648

INTRODUCTION TO COPTIC Jasnow

Sec. 01

F 9-11 M 1-3

133.656

ADVANCED DEMOTIC Jasnow

Sec. 01

M 9-11

133.704

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART Bryan Co-taught with 130.329. Course added 3/27/06

Sec. 01

MW 3:30-5pm

134.602

WISDOM LITERATURE AND THE HEBREW BIBLE   Lewis     Limit 10       Perm. Req’d for non-NES graduate students   A study of the Hebrew Text of Qohelet and/or the Book of Proverbs. Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

T 2-4 W 2-4

134.660

HISTORY OF SYRIA / PALESTINE   McCarter   A survey of the history of Ancient Syria and Cannan, including Ancient Israel.
Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

MW 2

plus 1 hour TBA

134.700

NORTHWEST SEMITIC EPIGRAPHY McCarter
Cross-listed with Jewish Studies

Sec. 01

Th 2-5