This seminar style class will focus on two canonical periods of Mesopotamian history from 2100-1600 BCE. It is structured to examine fundamental institutions of kingship, religion, economy, law and literature. Practices well established in Sumer by the end of the third millennium evolved during the first half of the second millennium BCE when Amorite speaking peoples assume central roles in Mesopotamian institutions. The class will be structured around case studies engaging key monuments of art, architecture and literature. It will be team-taught by Prof. Pittman, focusing on material remains and visual arts and by Prof. Steve Tinney who brings expertise to the rich cuneiform textual traditions.

Weekly lectures (some of which will be illustrated) and a field trip to the University Museum's Egyptian Section. The multifaceted approach to the subject matter covers such topics as funerary literature and religion, cults, magic religious art and architecture, and the religion of daily life.

Historical, literary, comparative, and ethnographic methods contribute to study of prose narratives which were told in oral societies in antiquity and in modern times and were documented in literary societies for different purposes. Oral storytellers, both professional and amateurs, performed them in private and public spaces. Their recording from antiquity to modern times became an integral element of modern life in general and in education and arts in particular. The storytellers, their performances in oral and literary cultures, their genres, and their symbolic meanings are the subjects of the course, together with the analytical methods that help mapping their distribution worldwide.

An introduction to the major themes and ideas of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), with attention to the contributions of archaeology and modern Biblical scholarship, including Biblical criticism and the response to it in Judaism and Christianity. All readings are in English.

This course is designed to give in-depth exposure to some of the finest works of classical and modern Urdu prose and poetry along with the historical and socio-political trends they represent. Figures covered range from Ghalib (b.1797) to Faiz, Fehmida Riaz, and post 9/11 Urdu prose and poetry. The course is open to both undergraduates and graduate students, subject to having intermediate level proficiency. The course is repeatable, and hte content changes every semester. Multi-media content such as music, videos, blogs etc. will be actively incorporated. Every effort will be made to accommidate individual interests. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor with any questions, or if they are unsure about eligibility.

This is a systematic introduction to Urdu language and culture for beginners. The course aims at developing listening and comprehension and a real life interactive speaking ability in a variety of everyday topics. The Urdu script is introduced from the beginning. The target language is presented in its total socio cultural context for achieving a meaningful and operational control of languages. Students acquire basic rules for structural and socio - cultural appropriateness. Students are expected to learn a vocabulary of about 1200 words during the semester. The final evaluation will be based on class participation, performance in quizzes and tests and completed assignments.

Digital methodologies are now an integral part of archaeological practice and archaeologists are now expected to possess basic computing skills and be familiar with a range of data collection, analysis and visualization techniques. This course will use case studies and applied learning opportunities centered on a course project to explore a broad array of digital approaches in archaeology. The technological underpinnings, professional procedures, and influences on archaeological practice and theory will be discussed for each method covered in the course. Applied learning opportunities in digital data collection methods will include aerial and satellite image analysis, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) survey, 3D scanning methods, close-range photogrammetry, and near-surface geophysical prospection. Students will also have opportunities for practical experience in digital database design and management, geographic information science (GIS) and 3D visualization. Students will communicate the results of the course project in a digital story that will be presented at the end of the term. Prior archaeological classwork and/or experience preferred.

Heritage is always political. Such a statement might refer to the everyday politics of local stakeholder interests on one end of the spectrum, or the volatile politics of destruction and erasure of heritage during conflict, on the other. If heritage is always political then one might expect that the workings of World Heritage might be especially fraught given the international dimension. In particular, the intergovernmental system of UNESCO World Heritage must navigate the inherent tension between state sovereignty and nationalist interests and the wider concerns of a universal regime. The World Heritage List has almost 1200 properties has many such contentious examples, including sites in Iraq, Mali, Syria, Crimea, Palestine, Armenia and Cambodia. As an organization UNESCO was born of war with an explicit mission to end global conflict and help the world rebuild materially and morally yet has found its own history increasingly entwined with that of international politics and violence.

In this course, we will study the history of the Hellenistic and Roman period a from a Near Eastern perspective. From the conquests of Alexander the Great to the end of Roman rule in late antiquity, this region was the scene of conflicts, but also of peaceful and fruitful interactions between Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Jews, Syrians, Arabs and many other societies. What was the impact of Greek and Roman rule and how did the inhabitants of the region react to these fundamental changes? On the other hand, how did they influence the culture and worldview of their conquerors? We will use historical texts, documents and archaeological evidence to discuss the political, cultural and religious encounters that made the Near East a key region of Greco-Roman history. All texts will be discussed in translation. No prerequisites, although it would be useful to have taken ANCH 026 and/or ANCH 027.

This seminar offers an introduction to Muslim political thought. Chrnologically the course ranges from the medieval period to the present. Particular attention will be given in the later part of the coruse to the renaissance of Muslim potical thought in recent years and to the development of politicial Islam, including the work of such thinkers as Said Qutb and Hasan Turabi. We will also study the roots of this renaissance in classical philosophy of the medieval period (Al Farabi, Al Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Tufayl) and the liberal age.