Autumn

This three-quarter sequence enables the students to reach an Intermediate level of proficiency in the Armenian language. The course covers a rich vocabulary and complex grammatical structures in modern formal and colloquial Armenian. Reading assignments include a selection of original Armenian literature and excerpts from mass media. A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies and related area studies or to pursue work in Armenia.

This three-quarter sequence utilizes the most advanced computer technology and audio-visual aids enabling the students to master a core vocabulary, the alphabet and basic grammatical structures and to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency in modern formal and spoken Armenian (one of the oldest Indo-European languages). A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies and related area studies or to pursue work in Armenia.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the grammar of the Aramaic portions of the Hebrew Bible during the first few weeks. The remainder of the course is spent reading texts from the books of Daniel and Ezra.

This course immerses the student in Arabic through the genre of film, specifically, Egyptian film, a potent and pervasive medium since Arabs started making films in the 1920s, but more pervasive with the advent of television in the early 1960s. Proceeding chronologically, we examine the Egyptian film through distinct stages, from the early musicals and romantic comedies of the forties and fifties, to the slew of post-1952 films offering new notions of the nation, of citizens, of womanhood, to the films of the 1970s with their commentary on the new capitalist society Sadat espoused, to the nuanced realism and focus on individual angst of the 1980s and 90s, to the gritty realism of the pre and post Arab Spring period.

Based on selected readings from major Ottoman chronicles from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, the course provides an introduction to the use of primary narrative materials and an overview of the development and range of Ottoman historical writing. Knowledge of modern and Ottoman Turkish required.

This is the first in a three-quarter sequence that covers the basic grammar and cuneiform writing system of the Hittite language. It also familiarizes the student with the field's tools (i.e., dictionaries, lexica, sign list). Readings come from all periods of Hittite history (1650 to 1180 B.C.).

This course is specifically aimed at students having completed the first year of Elementary Akkadian (AKKD 10101–10103), but can be taken by more advanced students as well. Building on the knowledge acquired in the Elementary sequence, this course will further explore the Standard Babylonian dialect and Neo-Assyrian Cuneiform scripts, through a detailed analysis of the Annals of king Sennacherib (704–681 BCE) as they are represented in the ‘Chicago Prism' acquired by J. H. Breasted in 1920 and currently on display in the Assyrian gallery of the Oriental Institute Museum. These include, among other military and building exploits of the king, his campaign to the Levant against Ezekiah, king of Judah — an episode also recounted in the Hebrew Bible (books of Second Kings, Isaiah and Chronicles) and Josephus' Judean Antiquities.

This class provides an introduction to the Babylonian language (Akkadian), a Semitic language spoken and written in Mesopotamia from 2250-50 BCE. The participants will be introduced to grammar of the Old Babylonian period (ca. 19th to 16th BCE) and learn how to read cuneiform script. The reference grammar used for this course is John Huehnergard's A Grammar of Akkadian (third edition).

This sequence concentrates on the acquisition of speaking, reading, and aural skills in modern formal Arabic.

This sequence concentrates on speaking, reading, and aural skills at the intermediate level of modern formal Arabic.