Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Courses For Distribution Requirement purposes, all NMC/NML courses except NMC 465H1 and 462Y1 are classified as HUMANITIES
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HUM199H1/Y1 Undergraduate seminar that focuses on specific ideas, questions, phenomena or controversies, taught by a regular Faculty member deeply engaged in the discipline. Open only to newly admitted first year students. It may serve as a distribution requirement course but not a program requirement; see page 47. NMC101Y1 Introduction to the archaeology, history and literature of the ancient Near East. The contributions made by the Egyptians, Babylonians and Assyrians to the development of civilization. NMC201Y1 This course acquaints students with the main features and legacies of the civilization that was formed in the Middle East in the 8th-10th centuries C.E. under the impetus of Islam, and marked by several highpoints before the early modern period. Continuity with the earlier civilizations of the ancient Near East are highlighted, and the diverse cultural traditions that contributed to the formation of Islamic civilization are described. NML305Y1 Introduction to Old Babylonian. Grammar and the reading of selected texts. (Offered in alternate years) NML405Y1 (Offered in alternate years) NML210Y1 Introduction to the grammar and basic vocabulary of standard or literary Arabic, the one language written and read, and also spoken by those educated to speak it, throughout the Arab world. NML310Y1 Begins with a review of basic grammar and proceeds with the reading of simple, connected prose passages that typify normal patterns of Arabic syntax. More literary and idiomatic passages are introduced gradually. NML410Y1 Connected passages of Arabic texts drawn from both classical and modern times are studied in detail. NML411H1 Directed readings of passages drawn from well-known Arabic newspapers such as: al-Ahram (Egypt), al-Ra’y (Jordan), al-Safir (Lebanon), al-Khalij (UAE), and al-Haya (UK). The course is designed to make advanced students of Arabic familiar with the language, style and topics of the Arabic Press. NML412Y1 Systematic outline of the development, characteristics, and peculiarities of selected genres of classical Arabic literature such as historiography, belles-lettres (adab), philosophy, ethics - Qur’an, exegesis, Literature of Tradition - poetry. Complementary readings, analysis and translation of original text passages are given emphasis. NML413H1 Insights into the history of ideas in Islam. Original texts by Jurjani (d. 1078, literary criticism), Ghazali (d. 1111, philosophy), Ibn Rushd (d. 1196, law), Shahrastani (d. 1153, heresiography), Ibn Taymiyah (d. 1328, dogmatics), and Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406, social history). (Offered in alternate years) NML414H1 This course offers students of Arabic the opportunity to study more closely the text of the Qur’an. The course will focus on the Arabic language of the Qur’an and its function both semantically and aesthetically. Selected Qur’anic passages will be examined in detail. NML 415H1 This course is an investigation of the formal properties of Modern Standard
Arabic. Its primary goal is to provide the student with an in depth knowledge
of the grammar of the language. To this end, the course makes use of concepts
and tools of analysis common to contemporary generative linguistics. NML220Y1 Introduction to Aramaic grammar. Readings from biblical Aramaic. (Offered in alternate years) NML320H1 An intensive study of various Targumim to the Pentateuch: Onkelos, Pseudo-Jonathan, Neophyti, Samaritan and Fragment Targumim. Differences among them in vocabulary, syntax and verb usage are discussed, as well as their relationship to the Palestinian midrashim. (Offered in alternate years) NML420Y1 The Talmud of the Land of Israel, also called Talmud Yerushalmi or Palestinian Talmud, is written in a mixture of Jewish Western Aramaic and Mishnaic Hebrew. It is the principal document of the Land of Israel in Late Antiquity. The course examines the legal argumentation, terminology and language which differ from those of the Babylonian Talmud. (Offered in alternate years) NML421Y1 (Offered in alternate years)
NML180Y1 An introduction to Modern Armenian (Eastern standard), the official and
spoken language of the Republic of Armenia. Eastern Armenian is also the language
of the Armenian communities in Iran, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and several
other countries. The course is designed for students with no previous knowledge
of Armenian. NML230H1 Introduces the student to the last stage of the Egyptian language, written mostly in Greek characters. The course will first concentrate on the grammar of the language and go on to read short texts. NML231H1 A continuation of NML230H1, Elementary Coptic I. NML240Y1 Grammar and reading of selected hieroglyphic texts. NML241Y1 This course deals with the recognition and interpretation of ancient Egyptian symbols and the representations of divine and royal figures as preserved in the epigraphic record. NML340Y1 Middle Egyptian texts. NML440Y1 Texts of significance for the reconstruction and understanding of Egyptian History will be read in the original, and analyzed for content, style, and grammar. The social and archaeological context of these texts will also receive attention. NML441Y1 Readings, analysis, and comparisons of selections from the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the New Kingdom mortuary literature; study of cultic, magical, and mythological texts relating to funerary and cultic beliefs and practices. All texts to be read in the original. NML150Y1 An introduction to biblical Hebrew prose. Grammar and selected texts. For students with no previous knowledge of Hebrew. NML155H1 Introduction to the fundamentals of Hebrew grammar and syntax through classroom and language laboratory practice. Emphasis on the development of oral and writing skills. (Offered in alternate years) NML156H1 Introduction to the fundamentals of Hebrew grammar and syntax through classroom and language laboratory practice. Emphasis on the development of oral and writing skills. (Offered in alternate years) NML250Y1 Study of Hebrew grammar, providing a continuation of NMC230Y1/NML150Y1. Through extensive reading of Hebrew in the books of Joshua-2 Kings, grammar is reviewed and consolidated, and vocabulary expanded. (Offered in alternate years) NML251Y1 Study of Hebrew grammar, providing a continuation of NMC230Y1/NML150Y1. Through extensive reading of Hebrew in the books of Genesis-Deuteronomy, grammar is reviewed and consolidated, and vocabulary expanded. (Offered in alternate years) NML255Y1 Intensive study of written and spoken Hebrew. (Offered in alternate years) NML350Y1 Advanced Biblical Hebrew language, focusing on grammar through an extensive reading of the Hebrew Bible. NML351H1 This course examines ancient Israel’s history writers, focusing on the Deuteronomistic History and the Chronicler’s History. Attention will be given to linguistic forms, rhetorical style and goals, and comparison of national or ethnic self-perceptions. NML352H1 An investigation of two closely related types of ancient Hebrew narrative: myth and story. Focus will be equally on Hebrew language, rhetorical style and goals, and when appropriate, the comparative ancient near eastern backdrop for the Hebrew texts. NML353H1 This course provides an introduction to the study of the origin, form and function of ancient Jewish and related apocalyptic literature which flourished between 200 BCE and 200 CE, understood in its cultural and literary contexts. Law reflects the way in which society understands and organizes itself
through common agreements and forms of restraint. This course examines the
different
ways religious and ritual legislation was generated in ancient Jewish communities
and the different functions such legislation served in these communities.
All texts to be read in the original. NML355Y1 Advanced intensive study of written and spoken Hebrew. (Offered in alternate years) NML356Y1 Selections from a tractate in Babylonian Talmud in order to gain facility in the understanding of the dialogic structure of the legal discussions. Practice in the use of classical commentaries and critical aids to allow independent study of the text. (Conducted in Hebrew) (Offered in alternate years) NML357H1 The themes of Eros and Thanatos will be explored in Aggadic texts from Song of Songs Rabbah. This Midrashic text stands halfway in the tradition, both making use of earlier texts and being used by editors of later compilations. These interrelations will be the focus of our study as well as the relationship of work to Scripture. NML358H1 Introduction to Mishnah and Tosefta, two of the three foundational documents of Middle Hebrew. In addition to studying specific features of this level of Hebrew, examining these compositions independently, and analyzing their interaction, students will examine current scholarly literature on these documents and their relationship to each other. (Offered in alternate years) NML359H1 An examination of different concepts of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible and in later Second Temple traditions, such as Dead Sea Scrolls, Hellenistic Jewish writings, and early Christian writings. NML450Y1 Students will address special topics in Biblical Hebrew grammar. NML451H1 Students will be introduced to the problems of text criticism involving variant readings and the redaction of Talmudic texts. Problems of transmission of the text, its relationship to the Palestinian Talmud, Tosefta and other texts will be explored. Use of Medieval Talmudic commentaries will be addressed. NML452H1 This course familiarizes students with the methodology and terminology of the two midrashic systems: Devei R. Akiba and Devei R. Ishmael. Sections of all the midrashic halakha (Mekhiltot, Sifra and Sifre) are studied and compared to other Tannaitic materials. (Conducted in Hebrew) (Offered in alternate years) NML454H1 An examination of how the Bible was interpreted in the closing centuries BCE and the first century CE, beginning with the Book of Jubilees. This text will be read in combination with related material from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. NML455H1 A study of the poetic works of a major modern Hebrew poet. (Conducted in Hebrew) (Offered in alternate years) NML456H1 A study of an important modern writer of Hebrew fiction. (Conducted in Hebrew) (Offered in alternate years) NML457H1 Advanced language course placing ancient Hebrew within its geographic and typological context. Priority will be given to 1) methods used to reconstruct “proto-Semitic” and ancient Hebrew (versus the Tiberian Hebrew of the Hebrew Bible); 2) classifications of Semitic languages; 3) comparison of phoneme and lexical inventories, morphology and syntax; and 4) dialectal variation and dialect geography. NML260Y1 The fundamentals of modern standard Persian grammar, with emphasis on attaining fluency in reading and writing simple texts. Also serves as a basis for classical Persian. (Offered in alternate years) NML360Y1 Reading of a variety of modern prose texts on the intermediate level, with an emphasis on grammatical analysis and translation. Introduction to the classical language in the second term, with readings from selected authors. (Offered in alternate years)
Development of Old Persian (551 BC) to Middle Persian (331 BC) to Modern
Persian (7th century) with emphasis on word formation and grammar. Discussion
is based on texts written by historians, linguists and grammarians who see
language as a system which is changed by internal and external factors like
politics, religion, immigration, business, etc. In English. NML460Y1 Introduction to classical Persian poetry, including the Persian national epic and the mystical tradition, and survey of the development of classical Persian prose, based on readings from selected authors. (Offered in alternate years) NML461H1 A survey of modern Persian poetry using connected passages of Persian texts. NML462H1 A survey of modern Persian prose using connected passages of Persian texts. NML270Y1 The basic features of modern Turkish grammar. In the second term, Turkish prose and newspapers are studied, with some practice in writing simple Turkish. This course serves as a basis for the study of Ottoman Turkish. (Offered in alternate years) NMC370Y1 Modern texts literary, scholarly and journalistic. Turkish grammar and
syntax; the nature of Turkish culture. (Offered in alternate years) Literature in Translation Courses NMC150H1 An introduction to the critical study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
and related literature of ancient Jewish communities (Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha,
Dead Sea Scrolls). No prior work in biblical studies or knowledge of Hebrew
is required.
Acquainting students with the principal parts of the Hebrew Bible and
studying some of the different ways in which it has been read and interpreted
in various periods, from antiquity to modern times, the course will concentrate
on the
central biblical figures whose stories will be examined in the ancient
Israelite context, then compared with later elaborations by Jewish
and
Christian interpreters. NMC251H1 Explores a variety of different genres of ancient Egyptian literature,
including wisdom literature, funerary texts, poetry, stories and
other literary texts.
Prior attendance of an introductory history and culture course such
as NMC101Y1 may be helpful, but is not required. NMC252H1 Introduction to the epic, religious, and historical texts that provide
the immediate religious, social, and political backdrop for ancient
Israel and
its most prominent textual product, the Bible. Texts will be studied
in translation. NMC253H1 Introduction to various genres of Egyptian texts, with a focus on those
writings that provide information about aspects of funerary/religious
beliefs and
ritual, of history, politics and institutions, and of the Egyptian
quest for knowledge
of the world, as evinced in astronomical, medical, and mathematical
sources. Literary texts will be treated in so far as they relate to the
listed
topics. No knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language(s) is required;
all texts
to be read in translation. Prior attendance in an introductory
history and culture
course such as NMC101Y may be helpful, but is not required. NMC254H1 This course will survey Hebrew literature, primarily of the 19th
and 20th centuries. After a brief overview of ancient and medieval Hebrew
literature,
the course
will concentrate on the classics of the modern Hebrew revival,
studying
selected works by Bialik, Tchernikhovsky, Agnon, and Brenner.
Students will also be
introduced to contemporary Hebrew writers and poets such as Aharon
Appelfeld, Yehuda Amichai, Amos Oz, and A.B. Yehoshua. All works will be
studied
in translation. NMC255H1 Representative Arabic poems of the pre-Islamic period, followed
by certain aspects of the Qur’an. Development of lyric poetry in the Islamic
period
and of prose, with emphasis on narrative prose. (Offered in alternate
years) NMC256Y1 Introduces students to the culture of modern Israel through Israeli
literature produced from 1948 - present. Focus will be primarily on selected
short
fiction, poems, plays, songs and films. Some themes explored
are: tradition and modernity;
traumas of war; the call of history; religion and secularism;
and challenges of independence. In English translation. (Offered in alternate
years) NMC257H1 A gateway course designed to introduce students to the variety
of literary works produced by the Jewish sages who became known as the
rabbis. These
works are the classical texts of Judaism which, after the Bible,
created normative
Judaism. Sample reading in translation will acquaint students
with these works. (Offered in alternate years) NMC258H1 Introduces students to the greatest mystical poet of the Perso-Islamic
tradition, Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273). Topics include
divine love and mystical
union, imagination, and esoteric interpretation of the Qur’an.
Also introduces the main ideas of Sufism and the figurative language of
Persian mystical
poetry. In English translation. (Offered in alternate years) NMC259H1
This course offers selected texts written
between the 5th and the 19th centuries CE, including pre-Christian epic stories,
the Armenian version
of the Bible,
hagiography, chronicles, translations from Syriac and Greek;
poetry and secular literature of the early modern period. All works studied
are
in English translation. NMC350H1
Selected texts from Syriac literature written
between the 3rd and 13th centuries C.E., including versions of the Bible
and prominent authors
of biblical commentaries,
hymns, acts of martyrs, liturgical texts, historiography, grammatical
and lexicographical works, as well as translations from Greek.
(Offered in
alternate years) NMC352H1 An exploration of the relationship of modern Heberw poetry to the Jewish religious tradition. The focus of the course will be to discern whether modern Hebrew poetry constitutes a rebellion against that tradition, or whether it is a source of continuity and revitalization. (Offered in alternate years) Archaeology Courses NMC260Y1 A general introduction to the archaeology of the ancient Near East including prehistory, Syria-Palestine, and the high civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Organized chronologically to trace the historical development of agriculture, urbanism, and complex state-ordered societies in the region.
Participation for 4 - 7 weeks during
the summer in an approved archaeological excavation in the eastern Mediterranean/Middle
East. This experience
is then critiqued in a previously assigned essay researched and written
under guidance
upon return. Departmental permission is required in December-February
prior
to the fieldwork.
The
archaeology of Syria-Palestine from prehistoric times until the
end of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BCE), with a special emphasis
on the
development of complex society, and inter-relations with the neighboring
regions of
Egypt
and Syro-Mesopotamia. Attention will also be given to the history
of archaeological research in the region, current field techniques and
methods of archaeological
analysis, and the relationship between archaeological evidence and
contemporary written records, including the Hebrew Bible. (Offered
in alternate years)
The archaeology of Syria-Palestine from the collapse of the Late
Bronze Age until the Persian Period, with a special emphasis on
the emergence
of Israel
and the small territorial nation-states of the eastern Mediterranean
seaboard. Particular attention will be given to the relationship
between the archaeological
evidence and contemporary written records, including the Hebrew
Bible. (Offered in alternate years)
Architecture, formal arts, and decorative arts to the end of the
Pharaonic period. Cultural evolution rather than art history.
(Offered in alternate
years)
The archaeology, art and architecture of Iraq, North Syria and
western Iran from ca. 3000 - 1600 BCE. The civilizations of
Sumer, Akkad,
Babylonia and
Assyria, as well as their relationship to those of the surrounding
areas. (Offered in alternate years)
The archaeology, art and architecture of Iraq, North Syria
and western Iran from ca. 1600 B.C.E. to the Persian period.
The
civilizations of Sumer, Akkad,
Babylonia and Assyria, as well as their relationship to those
of the surrounding areas. (Offered in alternate years)
A survey of Islamic archaeology, covering the rise of Islam from 7th century
to the end of the Fatimid period in 1171, examining sites in the Middle East,
North Africa and Andalusia through the archaeological record, artifacts evidencing
history, art history, urbanism and socio-ecology of early Muslim communities. Architectural studies, historical sources and archaeological research are used to examine the physical and social morphology of the pre-industrial Islamic city from Central Asia to North Africa and Spain, from the 7th to the 17th centuries.
Materials and technology help define the cultures and civilizations
that use them, especially for archaeologists. Focusing
on the Near and Middle
East,
this course is aimed at promoting understanding of the
nature of materials used by the peoples of the region from the earliest
prehistory
until
recent times. This course has a hands-on emphasis. (Offered
in alternate years) NMC394H1 A continuation of NMC393H1, covering Islamic art and material culture in
the years from the 13th century CE to the modern period. Workshop sessions
with
the Royal Ontario Museum collection. NMC461Y1 Prerequisite: 1.5 courses from NMC361Y1/NMC362Y1/NMC363H1/NMC364H1/363Y/NMC465H1/NMC466H1; two courses from NMC370Y1/371Y1/372Y1/NMC343H1/NMC344H1/NMC346H1/NMC347H1 NMC462Y1 The use of polarized-light microscopy in the examination of ceramics, stone, other materials, and microstratigraphy. Lectures in elementary optical mineralogy and case-studies are followed by lab sessions in which typical thin-sections of pottery, rocks, soils and other materials are studied. (Offered in alternate years)
Providing students with a solid understanding of the concepts and techniques
used in landscape studies as applied to the Near East. The course uses
a thematic approach, studying the theories and methodologies of landscape
archaeology
and case studies, and introduces students GIS and the use of remote sensing
data. (One-time only) NMC464H1 An intense view of the basic corpus of pottery from the Middle East, ca. 700-1800 C.E. The identification of technology, form, and style of the main ceramic groups, enabling identification, dating and attribution of original provenance. (Offered in alternate years) NMC465H1 A survey of methods of classification and analysis (form, fabric and style) involved in the study of archaeological ceramics, and the use of ceramics to infer patterns of production, distribution, and social organization; linking research questions with appropriate analytical techniques. NMC466H1 An introduction to the basic corpus of Near Eastern ceramics, from the invention of pottery production in the Neolithic until the Persian period, utilizing existing collections at the University and in the Royal Ontario Museum. NMC467H1 The archaeology and material culture of ancient Egypt, with emphasis on the theoretical and methodological issues inherent in interpreting the archaeological record. Students will also work directly with artifactual material from the Egyptian collection of the ROM. NMC468H1 The archaeology and material culture of ancient Egypt, with emphasis on the theoretical and methodological issues inherent in interpreting the archaeological record. Students will also work directly with artifactual material from the Egyptian collection of the ROM.
This course will use ceramics as the central core to study the material
culture of the medieval Middle East and the central Islamic lands. As such
they will
be the running narrative, to which other materials will be referred, or in
turn used to refer to other materials. The same motifs found on ceramics
may be found in the contemporary buildings, textiles or woodwork; the same
forms
are found in metalwork and glass; illustrations on ceramics will survive
better than contemporary manuscript paintings, and there are more illustrations
of,
for instance, medieval swords to be found on pottery than there are actual
swords. The course will rely heavily on the collections of the ROM, and provide
a thorough grounding on the technical production and typological variability
of the various types of materials attested within their archaeological and
cultural context. NMC250H1 An examination of the political context in which these scrolls were produced and preserved.; different theories of who produced these texts, e.g., Sadduccees, Zadokite Priests or Essenes; the way the scrolls use earlier biblical traditions. No Hebrew/Aramaic required; students with background in these languages will have opportunities to use them. NMC270H1 The birth of Christianity in Syria and Mesopotamia and the rise of the Monophysite and Nestorian Churches; their life under the Byzantines, Sassanians, Arabs, Mongols and Ottomans. The role of Syrian Christians in diplomacy, science, missions, and relations with other churches. (Offered in alternate years) NMC271H1 Surveying conditions present in the region dominated by the Byzantine and Sasanian empires prior to the rise of Islam (6th-7th C.E.) in order to better understand the environment in which Islam was born, and the features which allowed for the birth of a new religion and a new civilization. NMC272H1 Rather than being a survey of political history of the Byzantine Empire this course covers selected topics relating to institutions, society, economy, and culture of the era. NMC273Y1 Features of the pre-Islamic Middle East inherited by Islamic civilization, birth of Islam, life and times of Muhammad, formation of Islamic empire and civilization, political disintegration of the caliphate, emergence of autonomous dynasties, the fall of Baghdad to Mongols in 1258 and the rise of the Mamluks. NMC274H1 Eurasian steppe nomads as slave-soldiers, conquerors, world-empire builders throughout pre-modern Islamic Middle East and Central Asia. Topics include pastoral nomadism, steppe politics and warfare, conversion, jihad. Provides basis for understanding past and present issues of lands, such as Iran, Afghanistan, India, Syria, Egypt and Turkey, where Turks and Mongols played decisive historical roles. (Offered in alternate years) NMC275H1 An introduction to the encounter between Jews and Muslims in medieval times, when a majority of Jewish people subsisted under Muslim rule. An overview of religious/political/intellectual settings of the Judeo-Muslim experience is followed by exploring cultural cross-pollination, the Jews’ legal status under Islam, and interfaith politics. Source materials in translation. NMC276Y1 This course examines the transformation of Middle Eastern societies form the perspective of non-state actors, especially the social and political movements of peasants, women, labour, students, and other social groups. NMC278H1 Historical survey of the principal countries of the Middle East in the 19th and 20th centuries. Themes include the interplay of imperial and local interests, the emergence of national movements, and the formation of modern states. NMC279H1 A survey covering early Christianity in Greater Armenia – the role of Gregory the Illuminator; Christological controversies of the 5th century and Armenian Christianity; early Christian art and architecture; the life of the Armenians under the Sassanians and the Byzantines; and subsequently under the Abbasids, Saljuks, Mongols, Safavids and Ottomans. NMC324H1 A study of the Jewish community that produced the Greek Bible (Septuagint). Philosophical texts (Philo of Alexandria), historical narratives (Pseudo-Aristeas, Josephus), liturgical (Synagogue Prayers) and interpretive texts (Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Joseph and Asenath). No Greek/Hebrew required; students with background in these languages will have opportunities to use them. NMC343H1 The political and cultural history of Egypt from the later predynastic period through the Middle Kingdom; the use of both archaeological and literary evidence. NMC344H1 The political and cultural history of Egypt from the Second Intermediate Period through the Middle Greco-Roman Period; the use of both archaeological and literary evidence. NMC346H1 The political and cultural history of the peoples of ancient South-Western Asia from 3000BCE to the destruction of Babylon by the Hittites ca. 1600 BCE. (Offered in alternate years) NMC347H1 The political and cultural history of the peoples of ancient South-Western Asia from ca. 1600 BCE to the conquest of Babylon by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE (Offered in alternate years) NMC348Y1 The political history and cultural legacy of the Sasanian empire before the Arab conquests of Iran in the 7th-8th centuries, with a focus on the transmission of Persian concepts of kingship, administration, and social organization into Islamic civilization. The rise of native Iranian dynasties in the eastern Islamic world and the creation of the Perso-Islamic cultural synthesis under the Samanids in the 10th century. The history of greater Iran (including Central Asia and Afghanistan) under the rule of Turkic and Turko-Mongolian dynasties, such as the Ghaznavids, Seljuqs, Ilkhanids, and Timurids, with special attention to the interaction between nomadic and sedentary cultures. The emergence of the Safavid state in the 16th century, a watershed in the political and religious history of Iran, to the early modern period in the 18th century. NMC355H1 The last phase of the Ottoman empire has long been viewed by Orientalists and Middle East nationalists as a period of inevitable decline. More recently, cultural historians of the Middle East have framed the long 19th. century as a period of grand reforms - or Tanzimat. This course seeks to critically examine the notions of ‘reform of the state’ and ‘reform of the individual’ between Sultan Mahmud II’s accession and the defeat of the Ottoman empire in World War I. Focusing largely on Istanbul and the Ottoman capital’s political relations with the Arab provinces, we will relate economic, social and intellectual transformations to state laws and policies, Mediterranean capitalism and the rise of sectarianism and nationalism in the Middle East. NMC357H1 The Middle East and Far East are the birthplace of the world’s most important communication revolutions, writing and its mechanization, i.e., printing. However, the modern mass media including journalism, film, radio, and television as well as communication technologies such as telegraphy, telephony, photography, sound recording, photocopying, computers, satellites, facsimile and Internet originated in the West. These media are important actors in the social, cultural, and political life of the Middle East, and its diasporas in the West. This course deals with, among other topics, media, state and empire formation; the social and historical contexts of the rise of modern mass media; the formation of reading, listening and viewing publics; civil society, public spheres and democratisation; media and social movements; media, language and nation; satellite broadcasting; “high” and “popular” cultures; radio wars; the Internet; communication rights. Evaluation will be based on participation, weekly writing assignments, one major research paper or a final exam.
Mass media and popular culture play a prominent role in the ways in which
Western societies understand the Middle East. This course examines a variety
of academic approaches to the study of the world’s changing media environments in the context of relations between the West and the Middle East. NMC359H1 Explores competing narratives of the Constitutional Revolution (1906–1911), particularly the transformation of public and private spheres and their corresponding modes of collective and personal self-presentation. Students explore revolutionary legacies, and the ways in which competing political, religious and ideological forces have attempted to shape the Revolution’s memory. (Offered in alternate years NMC370Y1 The political and cultural history of ancient Israel from the origin of the Hebrews to the exile and restoration in the Persian period. (Offered in alternate years) NMC373H1 A survey of the social, cultural, and political transformations of Turkey and Iran in the context of Eurasian and international relations. (Offered in alternate years) NMC374H1 A survey of the history of Egypt under Islamic rule from the Arab to the Ottoman conquest (1517 C.E.), including the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties. Issues treated thematically include conversion and inter-communal relations, relations with Syria, militarization of the political structure, including the military slave (mamluk) institution, religious currents, the impact of the Crusades and Mongol invasions, commercial and diplomatic relations, the emergence of Cairo as the centre of the later mediaeval western Islamic world. (Offered in alternate years) NMC376H1 Muslim conquest of North Africa and Spain, history of Spain under Muslim rule to 1492. Attention given to institutional and cultural development, Islamic Spain’s relations with the Islamic east and neighbours in Europe. (Offered in alternate years) NMC377Y1 History of the emergence of the Ottoman state and its evolution from a border principality in Asia Minor into an empire. Ottoman expansion into Europe, Asia and Africa. The empire at its height under Süleyman the Lawgiver. The development of important administrative and military institutions. First military and diplomatic setbacks. NMC378H1 A thematic treatment of the Arab lands of the Middle East and North Africa from 1700 onward, focusing on the Ottoman and colonial periods. NMC471H1 A seminar organized around readings on a topic selected by the instructor. Possible topics might include authority and power in medieval Islamic society in the Middle East, slavery, women, taxation, landholding, iqta’ and payment of the military, waqf, etc. (Offered in alternate years) NMC472H1 Examines current theoretical and methodological trends in the study of the Near/Middle East. A seminar course, it consists of presentations, discussions, lectures, guest speakers, and documentaries. No previous knowledge of methodology required. Special attention will be paid to the politics, culture, political economy, gender, and ethics of various research practices. NMC473H1 The course is designed to re-examine the role of intellectuals in the Arab world and political events that shaped their thinking. It introduces the life and thought of some leading thinkers of the Arab world and relates their thought to the lived experience of political, social, economic and cultural change in the Middle East. (Offered in alternate years) NMC474H1 Although Iraq is the site of the earliest major revolutions in history (communication, agrarian and urban revolutions), this course is a survey of more recent history, i.e., the creation of the Iraqi state under British rule, its role in post-WWI colonial projects, the Cold War, and regional and international conflicts. Focus will be on the emergence of Iraqi nationalism, Kurdish nationalism, political Islam, social movements, as well as the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-88, the U.S. wars of 1991 and 2003, and the outcomes of these wars. Evaluation will be based on participation, weekly writing assignments, and one major research paper. NMC475H1 This course probes the contemporaneous formation of modern Oriental Studies in Europe and the emergence of discourses on Europe (Ifranj/Farang) in the Middle East from the eighteenth century to the present. Special emphasis will be devoted to encounters between scholars in Western Europe, Iran, India, and the Ottoman Empire. This seminar-style course explains that Orientals gazed and returned the gaze, and in the process of “cultural looking,” they, like their Occidental counterparts, exoticized and eroticized the Farangi-Other. In the interplay of looks between Orientals and Occidentals, there was no steady position of spectatorship, no objective observer, and no “aperspectival” position. NMC476H1 While the ideas and practices of civil society in the Middle East date back to the late nineteenth century, the region has emerged as an enduring war zone of the world. This course examines the dynamics of conflict and coexistence in the heterogenous societies of the region. Focus will be on Middle Eastern politics and practice of civil society, the nation-state system, and modernist forms of state and non-state violence such as massacre, genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnocide, ethnic cleansing, linguicide, racism, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia. Evaluation will be based on participation, weekly writing assignments, and one major research paper. NMC477H1 Although the Middle East is often viewed, in the West, as an ethnically and religiously homogeneous region (Arab, Islamic), it is one of the world’s diverse regions in language, culture, ethnicity, nationality, and religion. Nationalist movements, which emerged in the late nineteenth century, re-shaped the political, economic, linguistic and cultural make-up of the region. The course will focus on four state-nationalisms (Arab, Jewish, Persian, Turkish) and one non-state nationalism (Kurdish). Students are encouraged, in this seminar course, to study other nationalist movements. While course content is diverse, the approach to nationalism will be informed by the growing body of critical theories. Evaluation will be based on participation, weekly writing assignments, and one major research paper.
A seminar built around thematic readings of social and economic history
of the modern Arab world. Offered every other year. NMC479H1 A seminar organized around readings in selected topics. The topics are related to the instructor’s research interests. (Offered in alternate years)
NMC185H1 The place of Islam in world history, its central beliefs and practices. The Islamic contribution to world civilization; the pluralistic community, learning and the arts. Islam and modernity. NMC281H1 Practices and concepts of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple traditions such as Dead Sea Scrolls, Hellenistic Jewish writings, and early Christian writings. How did prophets, priests and scribes claim divine inspiration? How did they connect revelation and heavenly journey to textual authority and the production of Scripture? NMC284H1 Explores the interaction between Jewish religious and secular movements and feminism. Investigates Jewish law (halakha) and the Jewish legal (halakhic) process in terms of feminist critique. Marriage, divorce, Torah study, bat mitzvah, other ceremonies, female rabbinic ordination and women’s prayer groups are some of the topics considered. (Offered in alternate years) NMC285H1 Concern is mainly with the sacred character of the Qur’an (koran), its preeminence in Islam. Topics include: the idea of the sacred book, the Qur’an and the Bible, the influence of the Qur’an on Islamic spirituality, literature, theology, law, philosophy, and the various apporaches taken in interpreting the Qur’an. Knowledge of Arabic is not required. (Offered in alternate years) NMC286H1 This course is a continuation of NMC285H1F. Students will be required to engage directly with the text in English or French translation, to discuss and write on major and minor quranic topics and themes and to study the works of other astute readers of the text. Arabic is not required or expected.
The phenomenon of mysticism and the forms it took in the religions of
Judaism and Islam. A survey of the main trends in each mystical tradition,
with a focus
on Sufism (Islamic mysticism) and Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), both of which
flourished during the mediaeval period. Parallel developments will be identified
and possible mutual influences suggested. Readings in English translation
include Attar’s Conference of the Birds, Ruzbihan Baqli’s
Unveiling of Secrets, the Book Bahir, and the Zohar. NMC380Y1 Religious belief and practice in Mesopotamia and Syria (Ugarit). (Offered in alternate years) NMC381H1 A survey of major intellectual trends in the Islamic religious tradition, particularly those identified with Middle Eastern Muslim thinkers, from the eighteenth century until the present. NMC382Y1 Religious belief and practice in ancient Egypt. The course will focus on gods and mythology, which will be studied through primary sources in translation. (Offered in alternate years) NMC384H1 Jewish attitudes to various personal status issues, such as the foetus, the minor, the pubescent child, and the mentally and physically challenged adult from biblical and rabbinic sources to modern Jewish positions. (Offered in alternate years) NMC387H1 Mysticism and spirituality in Islam: the Qur’an; doctrine; prayer; NMC388H1 Subjects covered include: the rise and development of the Shi’i version of Islamic “orthodoxy” from the mid-7th to the mid-13th centuries CE. Distinctive Shi’i interpretations of the Qur’an will be examined. NMC389H1 This course continues the study of Shi’ism from 1258 to the present day and will include the history and teachings of the various members of the Shi’i family of Islamic religion. NMC481H1 This course will present for study a different prominent figure each year: Hallaj, Ghazali, Suhrawardi, Ibn Arabi, Rumi, Mulla Sadra, and so on. Attention will be given to their respective social and historical milieux, their modes of expression and experience, an the nature of their literary productions. NMC484H1 Abortion, rape, family violence and similar topics from the perspective of historical and legal development, scientific theory, socio-ethical attitudes and anthropological comparison in the Bible and other ancient Near Eastern sources, through Jewish legal texts to modern responses. (Offered in alternate years)
NMC392H1 Monumental architecture, whether for secular or religious purposes, played a special role in Muslim societies, particularly in major centres such as Isfahan, Samarkand and Delhi. Beginning with the Taj Mahal (1632) the best-known elements of Islamic architecture the double dome, the pointed arch, glazed tiles are traced retroactively in Iran, Central Asia, and India, and their social context is studied. (Offered every three years) NMC393H1 A survey of the arts of the Islamic world from the 7th century to the Mongol conquest in the mid-13th century. NMC394H1 A continuation of NMC393H1, covering Islamic art and material culture in the years from the 13th century CE to the modern period. Workshop sessions with the Royal Ontario Museum collection. NMC396Y1 An overview of late antique Greek, Arab and Persian material culture, as seen through the archaeological record of Syria, Iraq, and Iran. NMC299Y1 Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. See page 47 for details. NMC398H0/399Y0 An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. See page 47 for details. NMC495Y1 Prerequisite: Permission of Department NMC496H1 Prerequisite: Permission of Department NMC497H1 Prerequisite: Permission of Department NMC499Y1 A course of study tailored to the individual needs or interests of advanced undergraduate students. A selection of readings chosen by the student, under the supervision of a faculty member on which the student may be examined serves as background preparation for the writing of a research paper. |
Armenian