NELC6000 - Aleppo

The Syrian city of Aleppo is the oldest continually-inhabited settlement on the planet, situated at the intersection of routes connecting Asia, the Middle East, and the West. In the wake of the Syrian civil war, however, much of the city has been, it seems, utterly destroyed. While questions haunt us about the city's future, this seminar investigates Aleppo's past. Weekly readings and discussions will be organized as a "biography" of the city, culminating in a seminar paper on any aspect of Aleppo's history, from the Bronze Age, to the Hellenistic period, the Islamic Middle Ages, and the present day.