Faculty of Arts & Science 2012-2013 Calendar

Calendar Home | Course Timetables

Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations

Faculty

The Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations is concerned with the interdisciplinary study of the civilizations and cultures of the Near and Middle East from Neolithic times until the present, including their archaeology, history, mythology, religion and thought, art and architecture, and languages and literatures (Akkadian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Aramaic, Syriac, ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish). The Department’s programs provide students with a unique opportunity to study non-Western complex societies and civilizations.

The Near East is generally understood to refer to the region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and beyond, from ancient times up to the advent of Islam in the seventh century CE. The Middle East begins with the advent of Islam and refers to a much broader geographical area whose predominant Islamic culture in medieval and modern times has stretched to North Africa and Spain in the west and to Central Asia, India, and Southeast Asia in the east.

The Department welcomes students of all academic backgrounds who wish to learn about the Near and Middle East. NMC101H1, NMC102H1 and NMC104H1 introduce students to the ancient Near East, including ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Israel, while NMC103H1 introduces students to the Islamic world. Students pursuing a Specialist or Major program are required to take two of these Gateway courses.

Many courses offered in the Department do not require any knowledge of the languages of the region. However, the Department strongly believes that a deeper understanding of the civilizations and cultures of the Near and Middle East can be achieved through the study of one or more of its languages. In fact, admission to a graduate program in NMC requires the applicant to have acquired a background in languages. Students should consult the Department’s web site www.utoronto.ca/nmc for more detailed information about programs and courses offered in a particular year.

Undergraduate Enquiries:  4 Bancroft Avenue, Room 200, robert.holmstedt@utoronto.ca

Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Programs

Enrolment in this program requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

11 FCEs, including at least four 300+ FCEs, one of which must be at the 400-level.

At least 9 FCEs must be NMC and/or NML courses. Others may be taken only from a list of pre-approved courses offered by other departments.

First Year: One FCE from NMC101Y1/NMC101H1/NMC102H1/NMC103H1/NMC104H1/NMC184H1. It is recommended that language instruction begin in first year if possible.
1. Four FCEs in one or two primary source languages (Akkadian, Ancient Egyptian, Biblical or Modern Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Turkish), with NML designator (i.e., not literature in translation).
2. Three FCEs in History & Society and/or Religion & Thought.
3. Two FCEs in Archaeology and/or Art & Architecture.
4. One additional FCE.

Enrolment in this program requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

6 FCEs including at least two 300+ series FCEs, one of which must be at the 400-level.

At least five FCEs must be NMC and/or NML courses. One FCE may be taken from a list of pre-approved courses offered by other departments.

Students can choose to take a Major with language(s). NML courses are language courses. NMC courses are courses in culture and civilization.

Major with language component:

First Year: One FCE from NMC101Y1/NMC101H1/NMC102H1/NMC103H1/NMC104H1/NMC184H1.

Higher Years: Two to four FCEs in one or two languages, and at least two FCEs with an NMC designator.

Major without language component:

First Year: One FCE from NMC101Y1/NMC101H1/NMC102H1/NMC103H1/NMC184H1.

Higher Years: at least three full courses from one of the NMC subject groupings below, one of which must be at the 400-level. Two full courses may be taken from the other groupings.

N.B. Admission to a Graduate Program in NMC requires the applicant to have acquired a background in languages.

Enrolment in this program requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

Four FCEs, including at least one 300+ series course. All four must be NMC and/or NML courses.

Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Courses

The 199Y1 and 199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details here.

These courses are designed to introduce students to the major civilizations and cultures of the Near and Middle East, ancient, medieval, and modern, and to present students with the range of possibilities for further study in their chosen areas of interest.

The course traces the history of ancient Egypt from the foundation of the Egyptian state around 3050 BCE to its incorporation into the Roman Empire. The focus is on various aspects of Egyptian culture, including the institution of kingship, the role of women, and the peculiarities of Egyptian art, literature, and religion. Emphasis is placed on the methods by which knowledge about this ancient civilization can be obtained.

The history of ancient Near Eastern peoples and empires, particularly those centered in Mesopotamia. The origins and role of writing systems in the development of civilization. The cultural contributions of the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, ancient Israelites, Persians, and others, in the areas of law, administration, science, art and architecture, religion, and literature.

An introduction to the history, lands, peoples, religions, and cultures that came under the influence of Islam and that, in turn, contributed to the formation of Islamic civilization. Topics to be covered include an overview of the geographical and ethno-linguistic scope of the Islamic world, the role of the Qur’an and Arabic language, the major Islamic empires, the production and transmission of knowledge, law and society, and literary and artistic expressions.

An introduction to the history, lands, peoples, religions, literatures and cultures that produced the collection of texts known as the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. Topics to be covered include an overview of the geography of Ancient Israel and Persian/Hellenistic/Roman Judea, the role of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages, the literary genres reflected in biblical and some contemporary non-biblical texts, and the scholarly methods by  which the Bible is studied.

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)

Detailed examination of significant sites for the understanding of ancient Egyptian cultural development, encompassing the study of spatial organization, architecture, artifactual material, and archaeological evidence from each site. (Offered in alternate years)

Comprehensive survey class on the origins of complex societies, urbanism and early states in Mesopotamia from the Neolithic period to the end of the Early Bronze Age. Covers the archaeology and material culture of Iraq and surrounding regions (western Iran, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey).

Comprehensive survey class on the state societies of Babylon, Assur, and Elam during the second millennium BC and on the emergence and manifestation of world empires (Assyria, Persia) in the first millennium BC. Covers the archaeology and material culture of Iraq and surrounding regions (western Iran, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey).

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.

An overview of late antique Greek, Arab and Persian material culture, as seen through the archaeological record of Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Underlines the role of some Egyptian monasteries as active institutions carrying out numerous economic activities, and reveals the forces that enabled their survival and changing function. Exploration of these rich sites of cultural exchange, as manifested in their architecture and religious art and written material.

A survey of Coptic art, archaeology and architecture. The course will cover aspects of the religious, civil and daily life of the Copts: their houses, religious architecture, funerary monuments, art and artefacts

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)

Problems in the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East

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)

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.

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.

Seminar focuses on the social and cultural development of Egypt from the Predynastic Period through the Middle Kingdom, engaging with major theories regarding social complexity, state formation, urbanism, social organization, and regionalism.  An independent research project and hands-on experience with artifacts at the ROM are important features of the course.

Seminar focuses on the social and cultural development of Egypt from the  Middle Kingdom through the Ptolemaic Period, engaging with major theories regarding urbanism, ethnicity, core-periphery relationships, cultural interaction, and social organization.  An independent research project and hands-on experience with artifacts at the ROM are important features of the course.

An introduction to the ceramics of the Middle or Near East from the time of Alexander until recent times. A particular emphasis will be the elite glazed wares of the mediaeval and Islamic periods. Apart from providing a history of the production of ceramics and their social and archaeological context, this course is intended to train archaeologists and art-historians in the fundamental field recognition and identification of the various types and their production origins, and the course will rely heavily on the collections of the ROM.

This course offers an introduction to the contemporary Middle East from an anthropological perspective. Topics will include gender, kinship, religion, modernity, popular culture, and the study of everyday life.

The course will introduce students to the Christian communities living in the Middle East since the distant past, identified by ecclesiastical and or ethnic terms, including Armenian, Copt, Greek-Melkite, Maronite, and Syriac. The course will discuss the plurality of their cultural, literary, and theological traditions, the social and intellectual roles of their monasteries, the contributions of their top religious authorities in diplomacy between Byzantium and the Sassanians, their position in the Islamic world and contributions to Islamic culture, philosophy, sciences, and theology, interreligious dialogues and polemics with Islam. (Offered in alternate years)

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.

This course will unfold around the eastern and northern frontiers of the Islamic world from Central Asia in the east, to the Black and Caspian Sea steppes in the north, and from these frontiers its focus will move into the lands of the Middle East. For centuries Altaic peoples (Turks and Mongols), originally nomads in the Eurasian steppes (and mountains), played varied and crucial roles in the lands of the Middle Eastas raiders, migrants, slave-soldiers, conquerors, and state-builders. Topics to be covered include pastoral nomadism, steppe warfare, clan, tribal and state structures, ethnicity, sedentarization, and the roles of physical geography and ecology. (Offered in alternate years)

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.

Topics vary from year to year, depending on instructor.

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.

Presents an historical overview on the origins of Egyptian monasticism based on written sources. Comparison of written sources with archaeological artifacts reveals the relation between spiritual and material aspects of monastic life. Literary sources produced for different monastic orders -- such as sermons, canons and biographies -- will be studied.

The political and cultural history of Egypt from the later predynastic period through the Middle Kingdom; the use of both archaeological and literary evidence.  

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.

The political and cultural history of the peoples of ancient South-Western Asia from 3000 BCE to the destruction of Babylon by the Hittites ca. 1600 BCE. (Offered in alternate years)

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)

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. 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. (Offered in alternate years.)

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 IIs accession and the defeat of the Ottoman empire in World War I. Focusing largely on Istanbul and the Ottoman capitals 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.

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)

Situated within a world historical context, this course offers a critical history of modern Iran from the establishment of the Safavid Empire in 1501 to the Islamic Revolution of 1979. While focusing on institutional and political reforms and revolutions, it also explains the making of modern Iranian political, literary, and visual cultures.

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)

Muslim conquest of North Africa and Spain, history of Spain under Muslim rule to 1492. Attention given to institutional and cultural development, Islamic Spains relations with the Islamic east and neighbours in Europe. (Offered in alternate years)

A survey of the Ottoman Empire from its late 13th/early 14th century origins as a border principality through the classical age of Mehmed the Conqueror and Süleyman the Magnificent when as a mature Islamic Empire it ruled lands in Europe, Asia, and Africa, to the internal and external challenges faced by the empire during the 17th and 18th centuries when it underwent substantial transformation. Coverage includes topics in Ottoman institutions, economy, society, and culture. (Offered in alternate years)

A thematic treatment of the Arab lands of the Middle East and North Africa from 1700 onward, focusing on the Ottoman and colonial periods.

Explores competing narratives of the Constitutional Revolution (19061911), 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 Revolutions memory. (Offered in alternate years)

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. Intended for upper year students. (Offered in alternate years)

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. Intended for 4th year students only.

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. Intended for upper year students. (Offered in alternate years)

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. Intended for upper year students.

This course examines the role nineteenth and twentieth-century archaeology played in Middle Eastern politics, the culture of colonialism and in nationalist struggles. The course will first familiarize the students with the diplomatic and intellectual context of the formation of archaeology as a field of study in Europe and analyse the role archaeology played in the production of knowledge about the Middle East. Next, the course will examine the archaeological practices on the ground (and underground) and inquire what happens in the contact zone between foreign and local archaeologists. Finally, we will trace the ways in which emergent nationalist discourse challenge, appropriate and imitate the historical narratives of Western archaeology.

A seminar built around thematic readings of social and economic history of the modern Arab world. Offered every other year.

A seminar that critically examines the types and varieties of national expression in Arab societies of the Middle East and North Africa, through a reading of common texts and students' individual research projects. (Offered in alternate years)

This course will examine the religious beliefs and practices of Muslims. The period of time covered by the course is from shortly before the birth of Islam in the 7th century to the present. Attention will focus on the central concerns of the religion: God, Prophethood, Holy Book, Community, the Individual. The sources and development of the Sharí‘a, the teachings of the mystical tradition, the contributions to art and science, social institutions such as marriage and divorce, family life, the position of women in Islam, modern social changes and the more recent impact of the West on Muslim lands (and vice versa) will also be discussed. Lectures, assignments and workshops will be framed by the close identification between “religion” and “civilization” found in the Islamic sources, beginning with the Qur’an. Doubtless in part a reflection of the 7th century “view from the Hijaz,” of the contemporary and competing civilizations of the Christian Eastern Roman Empire in the west and the Zoroastrian Iranian Sasanid Empire in the east, this identification may be seen as a presupposition of Islamic religious discourse, beginning with the two foundational opposites, the defining and characteristic Islamic religio-cultural categories: jahiliyya, “ignorance, barbarism” and islamiyya, “Islām”. (Offered in alternate years.)

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 womens prayer groups are some of the topics considered. (Offered in alternate years)

Concern is mainly with the sacred character of the Quran (koran), its preeminence in Islam. Topics include: the idea of the sacred book, the Quran and the Bible, the influence of the Quran on Islamic spirituality, literature, theology, law, philosophy, and the various apporaches taken in interpreting the Quran. Knowledge of Arabic is not required. (Offered in alternate years)

This course is a continuation of NMC285H1. 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.

Overview of the history of the Copts from political, religious, social and economic perspectives. Literary and documentary sources will illustrate these different aspects of Coptic Civilization. The focus on Coptic Monasticism will underline the role of monasteries as conservers of the Coptic Orthodox Church tradition.

The ancient religions of the ancient Near East are interesting for the profound insights their myths enshrine, and for the impact they had on Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as on Greek literature. This course will give equal attention to the religions of Mesopotamia (Sumerian, Assyro-Babylonian), and to those of Syria (especially Ugarit). (Offered in alternate years)

Survey of major intellectual trends in the Islamic tradition, particularly those identified with Middle Eastern Muslim thinkers, from the early 19th century to the present. Topics include reformism, modernism, hermeneutics, feminism, Islamism, and liberal and progressive trends in contemporary Muslim thought. Readings in English translation.

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)

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)

The course will introduce students to the history, theory, and doctrines of Islamic law, and focus on hot-topics that are at the center of public debate in various regions across the world. Students will be required to do close readings of primary sources, provide oral and written responses to secondary literature, and engage the materials of the course in light of their own context and experiences. It will be designed for students from various departments, teach them critical thinking skills, and help them understand the dynamics of legal reasoning and analysis in a comparative perspective.

Mysticism and spirituality in Islam: the Quran; doctrine; prayer; Sufism; Irfan (Shii mysticism). Themes include love, knowledge, authority, being, interpretation.

Subjects covered include the rise and development of the Shii version of Islamic orthodoxy from the mid-7th to the mid-13th centuries CE. Distinctive Shii interpretations of the Quran will be examined.

This course continues the study of Shiism from 1258 to the present day and will include the history and teachings of the various members of the Shii family of Islamic religion.

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, and the nature of their literary productions. There is no prerequisite, but students must be advanced undergraduates in the Humanities.

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)

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)

A survey of the arts of the Islamic world from the 7th century to the Mongol conquest in the mid-13th century. Studying objects in the ROM collections of Islamic art.

A continuation of NMC393H1, covering art and material culture in the eastern Islamic lands from the late 13th century CE to the modern period. Studying objects in the ROM collections of Islamic art..

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.

This course focuses on a comprehensive introduction and discussion of Mesopotamian artwork from the Neolithic to the Iron Age periods (ca. 6000 - 300 BCE). Following an introduction of major artifact classes (including sculpture, relief, and glyptics [seals and sealings]), students will learn to describe and catalogue works of Mesopotamian art, allowing them to critically use and evaluate primary and secondary publications. Systematic descriptions and labels for key characteristics such as the object materials, size, iconography, genre, style, and theme will be established to show how meaningful artifact typologies can be constructed. The potential as well as limitations of art-historical approaches for archaeological work, especially for the chronology and interpretation of archeological contexts, will be discussed and examined on selected cases. Several classes will be taught at the Royal Ontario Museum to demonstrate the handling and physical analysis of artifacts.

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details here.

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details here.

Independent Studies

Independent Studies

Independent Studies

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.

Note:

The Department reserves the right to place students in the course level best suited to their linguistic preparation.

Introduction to Old Babylonian. Grammar and the reading of selected texts. (Offered in alternate years)

(Offered in alternate years)

Introduces students to the richness and breadth of modern Arabic literature in translation. The course starts with the age of translation in the nineteenth century, then it examines several literary schools and trends that emerged in the twentieth century, such as romanticism, the novel, modernism, free verse, symbolism, and postmodernism. The course covers a wide range of selected texts and genres, which may include travel accounts, novellas, fiction, prose, poetry, and drama. (Offered in alternate years)

This course is an introduction to the formal variety of Arabic used throughout the Arab world. It is designed for students with no prior knowledge of Arabic language and it follows a teaching approach that places equal emphasis on the development of all language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The fundamental learning philosophy underlying this approach is that proficiency in a foreign language is best achieved through consistent, deliberate, and systematic practice. From the outset, students are strongly encouraged to develop the habit of consistently and continuously practicing learned material.

Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have active knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered in the introductory level. After a brief review, the course continues from where NML110Y1leaves off. Following the same teaching approach and learning philosophy, emphasis is placed on balanced development of all language skills. As the course progresses, students are introduced to the fundamentals of Arabic morphology and syntax. This is achieved through analysis of texts covering a wide range of topics. By the end of the course, students are expected to achieve upper intermediate level of proficiency.

Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have active knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered in previous two levels. After a brief review, the course continues from where NML211Y1 leaves off. Following the same teaching approach and learning philosophy, emphasis is placed on balanced development of all language skills. Throughout the course, students are introduced to increasingly complex morphological and syntactic patterns of Arabic. This is achieved through analysis of texts covering a wide range of genres. By the end of the course, students are expected to achieve advanced level of proficiency.

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.

Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have active knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary covered in previous levels. After a brief review, the course continues from where NML310Y1leaves off. Following the same teaching approach and learning philosophy, the goal of this course is to enable the students to reach a superior level of proficiency in Arabic. To this end, the materials covered are designed to strengthen the students reading and writing skills, refine and expand their knowledge of sentence structure, morphological patterns, verb system, and enrich their cultural background. The primary method is analysis of sophisticated authentic texts covering a wide range of genres and drawn from different parts of the Arabic speaking world. Although the main focus remains to be on Modern Standard Arabic, texts from the Classical Arabic literary tradition will be introduced incrementally throughout the course.

The primary goal of this course is to familiarize advanced students of Arabic with structural properties, styles, and discourse features of the language used in the Arabic Press.  To achieve this goal, class time is devoted to directed readings of authentic texts covering a wide range of topics and are drawn from various Arabic newspapers.
The newspaper articles assigned for reading are approached from a purely linguistic point of view.  It is not the course objective to assess the factual accuracy of the content of the articles nor is it to evaluate the validity of the claims and assumptions made by their authors.

Systematic outline of the development, characteristics, and peculiarities of selected genres of classical Arabic literature such as historiography, belles-lettres (adab), philosophy, ethics - Quran, exegesis, Literature of Tradition - poetry. Complementary readings, analysis and translation of original text passages are given emphasis.

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)

Introduction to Aramaic grammar. Readings from biblical Aramaic. (Offered in alternate years)

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)

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)

This course is primarily a reading course in Syriac literature with reference to specific points in grammar and syntax as contrasted with Aramaic. The texts are read with reference to the history of Syriac literature. (Offered in alternate years)

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.

A continuation of NML230H1.

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 NMC101H1 may be helpful, but is not required.

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 NMC101H1 may be helpful, but is not required.

Grammar and reading of selected hieroglyphic texts.

Middle Egyptian texts.

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.

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.

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.

This course provides an examination of the historical and cultural context in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were authored and copied, the types of writings included in the Scrolls, and the ancient Jewish groups behind these texts. It also discusses the significance of the Scrolls for understanding the textual development of the Hebrew Bible, ancient scriptural interpretation, and the thought world of the Jews during the period that gave birth to both Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. No knowledge of Hebrew or Aramaic is required.

A seminar focusing on the critical analysis of the Hebrew Bible and related ancient Jewish texts. Literary genre and critical topics will vary according to instructor’s research interests. Focus will be given to developing research skills by working with accepted critical methodologies.

See MHB155H1 in Religion.

See MHB156H1 in Religion.

An introduction to biblical Hebrew prose. Grammar and selected texts. For students with no previous knowledge of Hebrew.

This course marks the transition from easy to regular Hebrew. Conversational skills developed by regular participation in class presentations and discussions of current events and cultural issues; reading unadapted texts, simple articles in regular Hebrew; beginning of practical writing on topics discussed in class, writing about personal experiences, writing of structured compositions; completion of syntactic study of main structures; study of the weak verb.

This course offers practice in understanding both spoken and written Hebrew at a university level. Focuses on: (1) Comprehension: listening to the news, radio and television programs, and lectures in regular Hebrew; (2) Conversation: intensive practice in oral expression to improve proficiency; (3) Reading: texts from various academic fields, the press and literature; (4) Writing: practical writing and the expression of opinions; (5) Grammatical Skills: enhanced perception of the construction of the language; broadening of grammatical knowledge.

A continuation of the study of ancient Hebrew grammar and texts. Focus is given to covering a wide variety of genres, e.g., narrative, chronicle, genealogy, oracle, prayer, hymn, and proverb.

A continuation of the study of ancient Hebrew grammar and texts. Focus is given to covering a wide variety of genres, e.g., narrative, chronicle, genealogy, oracle, prayer, hymn, and proverb.

The course is designed to deepen the student's knowledge of Hebrew in various fields. Areas of focus include: (1) Comprehension: listening to radio programs on an advanced level and viewing regular television programs; (2) Conversation: increasing the vocabulary used in conversations and discussions, while placing emphasis on different language styles; (3) Reading: Scientific articles, newspaper editorials, prose and poetry passages; (4) Writing: practical writing according to communicative functions, according to models of persuasion, explanation, etc; (5) Grammatical Skills: complementing the student's linguistic knowledge; the handling of irregular forms.

This course is designed to enable the student to use Hebrew freely, incorporating all of the language skills – comprehension, conversation, reading and writing – with exposure to a wide range of vocabulary, language structures, and academic and scientific texts. Attention is paid to lexical collocations and semantic fields.

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.

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)

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)

Advanced survey of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of ancient Hebrew. Introduction to the various methods used to investigate ancient Hebrew.

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.

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)

A study of the poetic works of a major modern Hebrew poet. (Conducted in Hebrew) (Offered in alternate years)

A study of an important modern writer of Hebrew fiction. (Conducted in Hebrew) (Offered in alternate years)

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.

This course provides an advanced investigation of selected issues in ancient Jewish texts stemming from the Second Temple Period (5th cent. BCE 1st cent. CE), and includes comparative study of biblical writings, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and writings of ancient Jewish historians and philosophers. The specific topic for the course varies from one semester to another, and can deal with, e.g., language, scriptural interpretation, poetry and liturgy, theology, legal developments, and social and political history. The course has a strong research and writing component.

Introduction to a millennium of Persian poetry and prose. Selected readings in translation from such classics of Persian literature as the Persian national epic (Shah-nameh), Attars Conference of the Birds, Rumis Masnavi, and Sadis Rose Garden.

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)

This course involves reading, grammatical analysis, and translation of representative samples of contemporary Persian prose of intermediate difficulty. The reading materials are selected from a wide range of sources in order to ensure balanced, yet comprehensive exposure to the different usage of the language. The course serves as preparation for courses on both classical and contemporary Persian literature.

Survey of Persian literature, chiefly poetry, from the 10th to the 15th centuries, based on selected readings at an advanced level from representative authors, including Rudaki, Nizami, Sadi, Rumi, and Hafiz, as well as from the Persian national epic, Shah-nameh. Introduction to the Persian prosodial system, and analysis of the rhetorical devices and imagery employed by the classical poets Intended for upper year students.

A survey of modern Persian poetry using connected passages of Persian texts.

A survey of modern Persian prose using connected passages of Persian texts.

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.

This course covers the essentials of Turkish grammar, and introduces students to reading and translation of passages of elementary difficulty. Designed for students with no previous knowledge of Turkish. This course also serves as a basis for the study of Ottoman Turkish and other Turkic languages.

This course involves reading, grammatical analysis and translation of modern Turkish texts of intermediate difficulty. The reading materials are selected from a wide range of literary genres (short stories, poetry, essays, and newspaper articles). There will be a review of basic Turkish grammar, as well as an introduction of more advanced topics. This course serves as a preparation for further study of Turkish language and literature, as well as Ottoman Turkish language and literature

Advanced Turkish language practice designed to enable students to pursue independent work in Turkish and Ottoman studies. Differences between modern Turkish and Ottoman grammar will be pointed out. Elements of Arabic and Persian grammar that occur in Ottoman will be presented.

The Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations participates in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Language Citation initiative for Arabic, Persian, ancient Egyptian, Biblical Hebrew, and modern Hebrew.  The study of ancient languages is a demanding and intellectually rewarding experience that makes available to the modern student the rich resources of primary texts in the original languages.  The many languages offered by NMC provide invaluable insights into the varieties of human culture and expression and offer many directions in which to take the study of a foreign language.

Students should note that, as explained on page 20 of this Calendar, the Language Citation is not equivalent to an academic program and that enrollment in a program is not necessary in order to earn the recognition bestowed by the Citation.

The Citation in Biblical Hebrew is available to students who complete NML250Y1 (or the equivalent Prerequisite training) and earn a grade of at least B- in NML350H1, NML351H1 and any 1 FCE of the following: NML450H1, NML457H1, NML459H1 and NMC450H1.

The Citation in ancient Egyptian is available to students who complete NML240Y1 (or the equivalent Prerequisite training) and earn a grade of at least B- in NML340Y1 and either NML440Y1 or NML441Y1.

The Citation in Arabic is available to students who complete NML110Y1 (or the equivalent Prerequisite training) and earn a grade of at least B- in NML211Y1 or NML310Y1 and any 1 FCE of the following: NML315H1, NML410Y1, NML411H1, or NML412Y1

The Citation in Persian is available to students who complete NML260Y1 (or the equivalent Prerequisite training) and earn a grade of at least B- in NML360Y1 and any 1 FCE of the following: NML460Y1, NML461H1, NML462H1, or NML463H1.

The Citation in modern Hebrew is available to students who complete NML155H1 and NML156H1 (or the equivalent Prerequisite training) and earn a grade of at least B- in NML255H1 and NML256H1 and any 1 FCE of the following: NML355H1, NML356H1, NML357H1, NML358H1, NML359Y1, NML451H1, NML452H1, NML455H1, or NML456H1.