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GEC Courses in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures:

NELC

Au, Sp Qtrs. 2 2-hr cl. Not open to students with credit for Anthrop 241.

Cross-listed in Anthropology. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

This course provides an ethnographic overview of the "Culture" and cultures of the contemporary Middle East. It is designed to increase student knowledge and awareness about the Middle East in regard to its cultural, social, political and religious institutions. The history of the region is examined as background to developing a more thorough understanding of the contemporary Middle East as represented by its villages, towns, and cities. This is also a course in the comparative study of culture, addressing essential questions in the study of societies located within a single regional context which are informed by different cultural traditions. Films, tapes, slides and other resources will supplement course readings.

244 Films of the Middle East U 5
Overview of contemporary films from different Middle Eastern countries; how filmmakers of the region view, present, and construct their countries using particular modes of representation.

Au Qtr. 2 2-hr cl. Prereq: English 110 or 111. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

In this course, contemporary films of different Middle Eastern countries will be approached from several perspectives. The course will present films of several countries in the region to give an introductory account of the specific cultures of their production. The emphasis will be on how various national cultures have built popular cultural products that may be representative of their specific cultural locations. In this respect, the course will bring about national, social, cultural, and historical issues and problems pertaining to the region. Film as a form of popular art will be considered as useful for understanding the production of narratives about Middle Eastern lives. Both a narrative and a visual medium, film will be presented as a way of seeing and representing the realities and fictions of these societies. Students will be asked to relate, compare and contrast these films as examples of national projects and cultural products. This introduction to different cinematic experiences in a particular region will consider how the representation and narration of reality in filmic texts are related to its contexts. This course will equip students with a basic knowledge of contemporary Middle Eastern culture. It will give students a chance to understand foreign cultures by presenting examples of how these cultures envision themselves in their films. Film, as a social practice and as a medium for national imagination and representation, will provide students a comparative and critical perspective with which to reconsider their own understanding of film.

271 Sacred Texts of the Near East U 5
An introductory survey of the sacred texts of the Near East: Egyptian and Mesopotamian, the Bible, the Avesta, Hellenistic Gnostic literature, and the Qur'an.

Au Qtr. 5 cl. GEC arts and hums lit course.

Given the diversity of cultural backgrounds, genres, times of composition, factors of transmission, languages -- even the very applicability of the term "sacred text" when used to describe a peculiar literary and religious phenomenon in such environments -- it may seem overly ambitious to treat the subject matter of this course under a single rubric. There is no question, however, that most of the traditions to be discussed interact with -- receive stimulus from or react against -- one another or the cultural values which they represent. In the context of a liberal education, there must be a format for a synthetic comprehension of these crucial texts on the elementary level, ultimately enhancing the comprehension of the individual traditions. The significance of these particular traditions does not lie in acknowledging the debt of Western civilization to its non-Western antecedents, or in acknowledging the need to expand eastward our sense of "Western civilization", but such a course provides the necessary introductory context for those who will be specializing in one of the traditions here represented. The course will focus upon two crucial areas in which the above sacred literatures can be analyzed: (1) Prescription and Practice - what God wants and how to do it (morality, covenant, prayer, law, cult); and (2) Theory and Reflection - how God and man relate (history, prophecy, eschatology, creation, election).

311 Rebuilding the Tower of Babel: Language, Diversity, History, and Ideology U 5
A critical study of some of the mechanisms shaping language evolution, examining a number of linguistic, historical, ideological, and cultural issues.

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 2 2-hr cl. Not open to students with credit for Linguist 311 or 385. Cross-listed in Linguistics. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

This course is designed to provide the student with a broad perspective on some of the different mechanisms shaping language evolution. The insights of historical linguistics are examined alongside a critical study of other ideological, historical, and cultural issues which can be seen to inform the development of languages outside the Indo-European language family. Traditional courses on historical linguistics are, in essence, introductions to Indo-European linguistics. In contrast, this course seeks to achieve a much broader perspective, in which, for instance, Afroasiatic, African, Far Eastern, and Amerindian languages deserve the same attention and contribute in the same way to our better understanding of the mechanisms of language evolution. Moreover, that broad perspective will put special stress on how ideology shapes historical linguistics, through an overview of the history of the research. Furthermore, linguistics will be just one part of the course, since the ideological, historical, and cultural issues involved (re-construction of identity, ethnicity, gender, etc.) will play an essential role. Thus, a problem like the search for the homeland of the primitive speakers of Semitic or Indo-European will be analyzed not only from a linguistic point of view, but also from that of the critical study of the theoretical framework used in that research and the ideology hidden behind each hypothesis.

314 The Road to the Alphabet: The Middle Eastern Origins of Western Writing U 5
A broad overview of the alphabet and the writing systems that constituted its cultural surroundings and shaped its origins.

Sp Qtr. 2 2-hr cl. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

In order to achieve a holistic understanding of the alphabet and its significance within its historical context, the course will start with the study of the non-alphabetical writing systems of the Ancient Near East, i.e. those used in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Northwest Semitic realm (the so-called Syro-Palestinian region). The emphasis will be placed on cognitive, social, anthropological, and historical problems. In order to fully comprehend the nature of these problems, the students will be introduced to the mechanisms and conventions of the Ancient Near Eastern writing systems and how they led to the appearance of the alphabet. Such an overview of the actual data will enable the student to address the wide variety of theoretical issues raised by the origins and development of the earliest writing systems in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syro-Palestine. Our approach will be mostly diachronic and, therefore, special emphasis will be placed on the evolution of practices and conventions within a writing system throughout history. For instance, we will examine how the earliest writing systems in the Near East originated and developed orthographic strategies and standards to record the linguistic realities for which they were designed; what processes and mechanisms facilitated the creation of the first alphabet in the Syro-Palestinian region; how this alphabet was adopted and adapted to write other languages in the Ancient Mediterranean world (Greek, Latin, etc.); and how modern scholars have been able to decipher scripts lost long ago (such as Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform). In order to enhance our theoretical perspective and to establish a typological comparison with the Western and Middle Eastern worlds, the course will devote some time to Meso-American materials, especially to the still ongoing decipherment of the Mayan hieroglyphs. Examining the methodology of modern Mayanists will enable us to reassess a wide variety of theoretical and practical issues involved in the study of ancient writing systems whose chain of tradition and transmission was interrupted at a given time and whose decipherment involves the scholarly resurrection of a dead language. The more social and anthropological aspects of writing will be grounded also in our eminently diachronic approach. General and detailed sessions will be devoted to a variety of these concerns: the possible reasons for which certain cultures started to use writing for bureaucratic and economic reasons, whereas others started to use it for more symbolic realms of life; the relation between writing, national identity, and script reforms in different areas (such as the Slavic-speaking countries and modern Turkey); relations between orality and literacy, etc.

341 Islam in the United States U 5
An examination of the main elements of Islamic belief as well as particular characteristics of each major Islamic group in the United States.

SP Qtr. 2 2-hr CL GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

The main objectives of this course are to contrast and compare major Islamic groups in the United States and to provide basic descriptive information for the academic study of Islam. It will explore some of the important social, cultural, and economic trends which caused the divisions in American Islam. By the end of the course, students will have a basic knowledge of the main elements of Islamic belief as well as particular characteristics of each major Islamic group in the United States.

344 The Middle East in the Media U 5
Examination of contemporary Middle Eastern cultures through critical evaluation of the media which inform our understanding of international politics.

Wi Qtr. 2 2-hr CL Prereq: English 110 or 111. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

With deep historical roots, intricate ties with Europe, Asia, and Africa, and a dynamic contemporary environment, the cultures of the Middle East are suffused with numerous political issues. Not only does the complexity of these issues often make the cultures of the Middle East difficult to understand, reporting on these issues often tends itself to subtle journalistic bias. By focusing on several ongoing situations of modern Middle Eastern history, this course offers student insights into contemporary Middle Eastern cultures while fostering the ability to critically evaluate the media which inform our understanding of international politics.

351 Introduction to Islam U 5
Examination of Islam as a world religion, enabling an understanding of its major tenets and beliefs as they are envisioned by insiders and outsiders.

WI Qtr. 2 2-hr CL Prereq: English 110 or 111. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

This course intends to provide an introductory survey of some of the central premises of Islamic beliefs and practices. It aims to delineate not only the development of Islam as a religion and as a system of belief, but also its growth into a multi-faceted and rich culture and civilization that contributed significantly to the currents of world civilization. This would entail a look at the growth of the major intellectual and spiritual traditions within the Islamic civilization as well as the relation of these to the milieu of their production. The course is broad in scope and introductory in level.

360 Sheherazade and Company: Sex, Gender and Power in Middle Eastern Storytelling U 5
Oral storytelling by adults in recent practice; its depiction in Middle Eastern literature from medieval to modern; how storytellers, male and female, treat gender relations.

Prereq: English 110. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

Oral storytelling predates written literature, by all the evidence we have, in every part of the world. Vigorous traditions of storytelling coexist with many literary traditions of long standing and with very modern literary cultures as well. While stories may be told for children, oral performance is not by any means primarily intended for children in these settings, but may seek to engage an adult audience with a full range of human concerns, including vigorous and often humorous treatments of what we in the West call adult themes. This course will explore adults oral storytelling in recent practice and its depiction in literature from the medieval and modern Middle East. The course will furthermore focus on the ways storytellers, male and female, treat gender relations and the respective social norms and stereotypes of gender from their different points of view. The archetypal Middle Eastern master storyteller known to the West is an endangered female, Sheherazade of the Thousand and One Nights, performing selections from her immense repertoire of stories in order to save her life and the lives of other young women preyed upon by an abusive king. Other storytellers, male and female, are portrayed in other famous medieval literary tale collections (Kalila and Dimna;, the Book of the Parrot) as tellers with equally definite and urgent reasons for telling their stories so as to influence a particular audience in a particular time and place. The recorded and analyzed storytelling of some living storytellers, as investigated by OSU faculty members Sabra Webber (in Tunisia) and Margaret Mills (in Afghanistan) will be discussed and compared to these literary portrayals. Finally, Fatima Mernissis and Azar Nafisis highly readable personal memoirs of women engaged with traditional oral and modern literary narratives in their respective home historical and political environments will come in for our attention. They each tell moving and revealing contemporary stories about stories and their tellers (and listeners).

Students will thus be introduced to the general qualities of story literature, including some of the special qualities of important medieval Middle Eastern collections, and will also learn about contemporary ethnographic field research on oral storytelling: methods, concepts and analytical approaches to living oral narrative forms and performances, including theories of gender and performance as developed by folklorists. Additionally, students will examine the experience and analytic approaches of two prominent Middle Eastern women theorists, of literature and social organization respectively, on the use of narrative in contemporary everyday life.

370 Mythology of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia U 5
An introductory comparative survey of the mythology of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

SP Qtr. 2 2-hr CL Prereq: English 110 or 111 or equiv. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

This course is designed to provide students with a comparative overview of the mythologies of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Its focus is the stories that were recounted as successful integrators of perceived reality in the context of these two major ancient cultures. As such, it will identify and explain basic theoretical issues involved in the analysis of myth; examine the central narratives that have been preserved from those cultures; and investigate the varied perspectives that characterize the world-views and life-concerns expressed in these texts. By reading representative selections of both primary and secondary sources, students will be exposed to both the ancient texts themselves as well as relevant contemporary scholarship.

371 Songs of Kings and Lovers: Literature of the Ancient Near East U 5
Examination of ancient Near Eastern literature and tools for appreciating it; focus on non- mythical Mesopotamian and Egyptian genres such as love poetry and wisdom literature.

2 2-hr CL Prereq: English 110 or 111. GEC arts and hums lit course.

This course is designed to provide the student with both a basic knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern literature and the tools to appreciate it. The focus will be on the literary compositions from Ancient Mesopotamia, but some attention will also be given to Ancient Egyptian literature, especially when dealing with genres such as love poetry and wisdom literature. The emphasis will be put on the non-mythical material. A fourth of the classes will be devoted to the epic genre, taking Gilgamesh as the best example because it is attested in different periods and in both Mesopotamian languages, Sumerian and Akkadian. The study of the compositions on this king, half mythical half historical, will lead to the study of legends and epics about kings whose historicity is well established (Sargon, Naram-Sin, etc.) Furthermore, the works related to both official cult and popular religion (hymns, prayers, incantations, prophecies) will be read in their political, social, and religious context. In the limits between sacred and profane, the courses approach to love poetry will address some issues of ritual, gender, and sexuality. More strictly mundane genres (wisdom literature and humor) will show that some basic human concerns have remained unchanged. Finally, the relation between Ancient Near Eastern and Greek literatures will be explored.

372 Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World U 5
A survey of the Islamic world by way of literature and culture.

2 2-hr CL Prereq: English 110 or 111 or equiv. GEC arts and hum lit course.

Religion is one element of culture, and this course will concentrate on the religious element in those societies whose populations have been primarily Muslim. Religion is at once a world-view, a collection of abstract prescriptions, and a collection of concrete, lived experiencesall of which have histories. Understandings and practices of Islam have differed from era to era and place to place, so that while ongoing codifications of its prescriptions may have a degree of universal validity among Muslims, Islam has been practiced differently in diverse regions. It will not be possible cover all the manifestations of such a diverse phenomenon, and so the course will focus on the Sunni Islamic world-view as it is presented in Murata and Chitlicks The Vision of Islam, partly because students have found this book accessible and enjoyable. The other major Islamic world-view, the Shii, will be discussed in lectures. Another focus of the course is Sufism, Islamic mysticism, as propounded in three classic texts. With Attars Conference of the Birds, the major genre of Islamic literature, narrative allegory of the spiritual path, will be considered; and with Rumis Longing, the lyric. In Shabistaris The Secret Garden students will see an example of a philosophical Sufi teaching text. The conventions of Sufi literature permeate the secular poetry of Muslims as well, and students will study the relationship between mystical and secular poetry with Borrowed Ware, a collection of medieval Persian epigrams translated by Professor Dick Davis. The course will also consider the political history of Muslim states, of European discovery of the Muslim world, and Western---and Orientalist---views of Islam, as well as Muslim responses to European domination of the regions where Muslims lived.

374 The Novel in the Middle East U 5
The emergence of the novel in the Middle East and development of its major themes and forms.

2 2-hr CL Prereq: English 110 or 111. GEC arts and hums lit course.

The novel emerged in part as a self-conscious response to the challenges of modernity in the Middle East. In some cases it played a significant role in a program of cultural revolution. The conflict between east and west, old and new, city and countryside; the experiences of European colonialism, resistance and diaspora, industrialization, urbanization, nationalism and national independence have been common themes. Questions of language and style have often been addressed in terms of traditionalism and modernity, localism and universalism, orientalism and occidentalism. The role of women in society has been contested everywhere in modern times and is a primary concern of the novel in the Middle East as well. We will examine how selected authors have employed novelistic forms in dealing with these concerns.

Arabic (Back to top)

101 Elementary Modern Standard Arabic I
Developing the ability to use Arabic functionally and communicatively in context; intensive oral interaction with instructor and fellow students; the basics of the writing system.

Su, Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit or to students with 3 or more years of study in this language in high school, except by permission of dept. GEC for lang courses. FL Admis Cond courses.

101.01 Classroom Track U 5 5 cl.
Students must register for and complete 5 cr hrs during the qtr.

This course is available for EM credit.

101.51 Individualized Track U 1-5
Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs. Students register for and complete from 1 to 5 cr hrs during the qtr. Students who complete 5 hrs before the end of the qtr may proceed to 102.51. Progress is sequential from one cr hr to the next, with proficiency at the level of 80% required for advancement.

102 Elementary Modern Standard Arabic II
Developing further language ability through learning how to perform certain functions orally and using them with fellow students; reading and writing passages reflecting their abilities. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit. GEC for lang courses. FL Admis Cond courses.

102.01 Classroom Track U 5

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. Prereq: 101.01 or 5 cr hrs of 101.51. Students must register for and complete 5 cr hrs during the qtr. This course is available for EM credit.

102.51 Individualized Track U 1-5

Su, Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. Prereq: Grade of B- or above in 101.01, or 5 cr hrs of 101.51, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs. Students may register for 101.51 or 102.51 concurrently with permission of instructor. Students register for and complete from 1 to 5 cr hrs during the qtr. Students who complete 5 hrs before the end of the qtr may proceed to 103.51. Progress is sequential from one cr hr to the next, with proficiency at the level of 80% required for advancement.

103 Elementary Modern Standard Arabic III
Further language functions requiring the use of more complex structures; intensive oral interaction with instructor and fellow students; reading practice in and out of class. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit. GEC for lang courses.

103.01 Classroom Track U 5

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. Prereq: 102.01, or 5 cr hrs of 102.51, or 110.

Students must register for and complete 5 cr hrs during the qtr. This course is available for EM credit.

103.51 Individualized Track U 1-5

Su, Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. Prereq: Grade of B- or above in 102.01, or 5 cr hrs in 102.51, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs. Students register for and complete from 1 to 5 cr hrs during the qtr. Progress is sequential from one cr hr to the next, with proficiency at the level of 80% required for advancement.

104 Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic I
Building on previously acquired functional abilities; using Arabic to express opinion and feelings; oral interaction in the classroom; reading authentic texts of various genres. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit. GEC for lang courses.

104.01 Classroom Track U 5

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. Prereq: 103 or 112. Not open to students with credit for 602. This course is available for EM credit.

104.51 Individualized Track U 1-5

Su, Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. Prereq: Grade of B- or above in 103.01, or 5 cr hrs in 103.51, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs. Students complete from 1 to 5 cr hrs during the qtr. Progress is sequential from one cr hr to the next, with 80% proficiency required for advancement. 151 Basic Colloquial Arabic I Introduction to phonology and grammar of the spoken language of educated urbanites of the Eastern Arab world. Not open to students with credit for 106 or 151 or 201. Does not satisfy ASC foreign language requirement.

241 Culture of the Contemporary Arab World U 5
A general survey and examination of the socio-cultural structure of the modern Arab world.

Su, Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. H241 (honors) may be available to students enrolled in an honors program or by permission of department or instructor. Taught in English. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

The course consists of an analytical study of the cultural traits and patterns of contemporary Arab society based on scholarly research, recent field work, and personal experiences and observations in the Arab world. It examines the development of its language and dialects, beliefs, customs, and traditions within the framework of: a dynamically changing society; major ecological structures; the family and its value system; representative social, political and religious institutions; reform and challenges of modernization; trends in literature (with emphasis on the emotional and psychological dimensions of cultural traits and change), education, communications media, arts, and music. The course provides a rich and meaningful educational experience for the expansion of analytic skills, cultivation of aesthetic judgment, and development of insights into another culture, as well as a cultural context for the study of modern colloquial and/or Modern Standard Arabic.

367 Issues in Arab-American Society, Culture, and Literature U 5
Discussion, analysis, and writing about issues relating to Arab-American culture, society, and literature within the context of social diversity in the United States. Au Qtr. 2 2-hr cl. Prereq: English 110 or 111 or equiv, and soph standing or above. GEC second writing and social diversity course. The first aim of this course is to introduce students to the history and structure of the Arab-American community in the United States, providing in this way a diachronic and synchronic cross-cultural approach to the development of American society. Reading materials derived largely from critical, anthropological, sociological, and literary texts will be discussed from the perspective of important social issues such as gender, class, race, marginality, identity, ethnicity, discrimination, assimilation, acculturation, representation, alienation, and otherness. Through close reading, discussion, and writing assignments, students will think critically about social issues in the United States from the perspective provided by the Arab-American response to the American vision and experience. An overall objective of the course, therefore, is to encourage students to reflect on the social diversity of experience, to think beyond the language and codes of their own culture, and to appreciate and articulate other points of world-view.

371 Classical and Medieval Arabic Literature in Translation U 5
Reading and analysis of major works of Arabic literature from the 5th to the 17th centuries including classical poetry, the Qur'an, and the Arabian Nights.

Wi Qtr. 5 cl. Not open to students with credit for 271 and 272. GEC arts and hums lit course.

This course introduces students, through a series of texts in English translation, to important works representative of pre-modern Arabic literature -- the longest continuous literary tradition in the Western world. These works (including pre- and early Islamic poetry, the Qur'an, cAbbasid court and urban literature, Hispano-Arabic poetry and the Arabian Nights) are set in their cultural and historical context through reading assignments and classroom lectures, and they are discussed in some depth with full student participation. Students not only become acquainted with a number of masterpieces of a major and highly influential world literature, while considerably expanding their cultural horizons, but also encounter basic approaches of dealing with translations of those texts. Serious attention will be devoted to the nature of literary evidence and its utilization in support of aesthetic and critical judgments.

372 Modern Arabic Literature in Translation U 5
Reading and analysis of representative works of the 19th and 20th centuries; discussion of development of major movements and genres in modern Arabic literature.

Au Qtr. 5 cl. H372 (honors) may be available to students enrolled in an honors program or by permission of department or instructor. Prereq: English 110 or 111 or equiv. Not open to students with credit for 273 or Wom Stds 372. Cross-listed in Women's Studies. GEC arts and hums lit course.

This course provides an informative and perceptive account of the literary developments in the Arab world from the beginnings of the literary Renaissance to the rise and development of the major genres of poetry and prose of the 19th and 20th centuries. Poetic selections, short stories, novels, and plays of wide-ranging orientation (romantic, mystical, socio-political, religious, and philosophical) are read and discussed. The course will focus on a number of important modern Arab writers , with particular attention to women writers. Students also develop insights into the nature of literary evidence and its utilization in support of aesthetic and critical judgments.

377 Contemporary Folklore in the Arab World U 5
Study of comparative folklore in the Arab world, including verbal art, material culture, visual self- presentation, and performance.

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. Prereq: English 110 or 111. Cross-listed in Comparative Studies. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

This course will introduce students to a wealth of Arabic folklore, including the lore of Muslim, Christian and Jewish Arabs as well as Berbers, Kurds and other Arab world communities. For the purposes of this course folklore will be defined as traditional expressive cultureverbal art (e.g., myths, legends, folktales, riddles, jokes), material culture (e.g. the construction of local shrines, homes, boats as well as production of pottery, jewelry, embroidery, carpets), visual presentation of self (e.g., applications of henna, tattoos, dress, hairstyles), folk religion, rituals, festivals, and folk music (e.g., lullabies). Emphasis will be not on finished products but on cultural process. Students will look at what Arab world "folk" from different regions, religions and language and ethnic traditions have in common in regard to ethos, world view, practical and aesthetic needs and how they differ. By the end of the quarter it is to be hoped that students will have an enhanced respect for the power of traditional expressive culture, as a medium for understanding the affective dimension of any culture or community, and that of the Arab world in particular. Students will be given the theoretical tools to begin to be able to study other folklore forms and folk communities in which they are interested.

611 History of the Arabic Language U G 5
Survey of the evolution of the Arabic language in its cultural and historical setting.

Wi Qtr. 5 cl. Prereq: Permission of instructor. GEC third writing course.

This introductory lecture course surveys the development of the Arabic language from its origins to the present, with particular emphasis on its external history; i.e., the cultural factors that led to its evolution from a tribal dialect into a unique literary language. The emergence, growth, decline, and revival of Classical Arabic and the development of the Arabic script and its relationship to other writing systems are traced. The structure of Classical and dialectal Arabic, their affinities to Afro-Asiatic languages, and their interrelationships with other indigenous languages are outlined. The course treats the rise of communal dialects (Middle Arabic: Islamic, Judaic, and Christian); sociolinguistic variation (urban, rural, and Bedouin); diglossia; cultural phenomena; lexical and stylistic developments; and language reform.

Hebrew (Back to top)

Su, Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit, or to students with 3 or more years of study in this language in high school, except by permission of dept.This course is available for EM credit. GEC for lang course. FL Admis Cond course.

102 Elementary Hebrew II U 5
Reading of modified passages from modern Hebrew literature supplemented with additional study of grammar.

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. Prereq: 101. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit.This course is available for EM credit. GEC for lang course. FL Admis Cond course.

103 Intermediate Hebrew I U 5
Reading of passages from various periods of Hebrew literature; review of salient points of elementary grammar and introduction to elements of classical Hebrew.

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. Prereq: 102. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit.This course is available for EM credit. GEC for lang course.

104 Intermediate Hebrew II U 5
Reading of modern Hebrew short stories, poems, and essays; special emphasis on oral practice and Hebrew idioms.

Au, Wi, Sp Qtrs. 5 cl. Prereq: 103. Not open to native speakers of this language through regular course enrollment or EM credit. This course is available for EM credit. GEC for lang course.

216 The Medieval Jewish Experience U 5
A survey of ten centuries of medieval Jewish culture from the rise of Islam to the death of Shabbetai Zvi, the false Messiah (1676).

Wi Qtr. 2 2-hr cl. Not open to students with credit for Medieval 216. Cross-listed in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.

Scattered through the lands of Christendom and Islam, medieval Jewish communities flourished from Spain to Persia, from England to the Yemen. Despite periodic persecutions, medieval Jewry proved to be enormously resilient and creative. Figures such as Saadya Gaon, Moses Maimonides, and Judah Loew of Prague provided their communities with dynamic leadership in troubled times, while bequeathing an impressive literary legacy to posterity. The rich and varied body of Hebrew classics composed during this period includes the commentaries of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Nahmanides, the poetry of Ibn Gabirol and Halevi, the Codes of Jacob B. Asher and Joseph Karo, and that treasury of Jewish mysticism, the Zohar. This course surveys ten centuries of medieval Jewish culture from the rise of Islam to the death of Shabbetai Zvi, the false Messiah (1676). Focusing on key figures and representative subjects, the lectures will seek to offer a balanced picture of the Jewish experience in both the Christian and Islamic worlds. A generous selection of primary sources (in translation) will introduce students to the social, intellectual, and spiritual worlds of medieval Jewry.

241 Culture of Contemporary Israel U 5