Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
314 Hall of Graduate Studies, 432.2944
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Chair
John Darnell
Director of Graduate Studies
Benjamin Foster (315 HGS, 432.6715, benjamin.foster@yale.edu)
Professors
John Darnell, Benjamin Foster, Beatrice Gruendler, Dimitri Gutas, Bentley Layton, Harvey Weiss
Assistant Professors
Eckart Frahm, Colleen Manassa, Hala Kh. Nassar
Lecturers
Adel Allouche, Karen Foster, Kathryn Slanski
Senior Lectors
Fereshteh Amanat-Kowssar, Ayala Dvoretzky, Nihan Ketrez
Lectors
Muhammad Aziz, Shiri Goren, Robert Hawley, Ghassan Husseinali, Nihan Ketrez, Boutheina Khaldi, Yechiel Schur
Fields of Study
Fields include Arabic and Islamic studies (also with interdisciplinary minor), Greco-Arabic studies, Assyriology, and Egyptology.
Special Admissions Requirements
Applicants should state their specific field of study and intended specialization. Evidence of a reading knowledge of both French and German is required of all students. Proficiency in one of these languages is normally prerequisite for admission and deficiency in the second language must be rectified before admission to a second year of study. Proficiency will be certified by passing a departmental examination upon registration at Yale. Students admitted with only one of the two required languages or who fail the departmental examination are expected to enroll in an appropriate full-year course given by the French or German department at Yale. Completion of such a course with a grade of A or B will be accepted as fulfilling the proficiency requirement in either language; exceptions, e.g., for native speakers of French or German, may be made by the department upon recommendation of the director of graduate studies.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
Course Work: The department normally requires three full years of course work, four year courses or eight term courses per year being considered a full load. This may be reduced to two years in cases of exceptional background in Near Eastern languages. Normal progress in course work is considered to be consistent achievement of grades of High Pass or better, and at least four term courses or two year courses with Honors per year.
Special Language and Course Requirements: Course work should be planned to meet two departmental general standards: core languages for the primary fields of study, and minimum competence in a secondary field. The core languages in each of the major fields of study are as follows: Arabic and Islamic Studies: Arabic, Persian (Farsi) or Syriac or Greek; Assyriology: Sumerian and Akkadian; Egyptology: Egyptian and at least four terms of Demotic or Coptic. Minimum competence in a secondary field of study is defined as follows: at least two terms of a Near Eastern language to be evaluated either by examination or with a course grade of High Pass or better, or at least two terms of nonlanguage courses outside the area of specialization. A minimum grade of High Pass in these courses will be considered successful fulfillment of this requirement.
In Arabic and Islamic Studies, the minimum competence can be extended to an interdisciplinary course of study in a minor field. Minors may include six to eight term courses in the following departments and programs: Anthropology, Comparative Literature, French, German Studies, Greek and Classics, History, History of Medicine and Science, Judaic Studies, Italian, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Political Science and Sociology, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, or others, by permission of the director of graduate studies. Students in all programs of the department will be expected to declare their choice of a secondary language or area, or a minor field, by their third term of study.
Examinations and the Dissertation: The comprehensive examination is normally taken at the end of the third year of study or, where advanced standing has been granted, at the end of the second year, but in no case later than September of the academic year following the last year of the student’s required course work. The scope of the examination will be determined by the director of graduate studies in consultation with the student and department member(s) in whose area the student’s studies are concentrated. The examination will consist of written and oral portions and will cover no fewer than five and no more than six areas. In the case of the program in Arabic and Islamic Studies with an interdisciplinary minor, the written portion will consist of two language examinations and one subject in the minor field, and the oral of two subjects in Arabic studies and one in the minor field. The written examinations will be set by the individual faculty members responsible for particular areas of study, but the oral portion will be conducted by the full staff of the department. The dissertation proposal is normally submitted one month following the completion of the qualifying examination. Successful completion of the comprehensive examination and submission of an acceptable prospectus will qualify the student for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. After completion of the dissertation, the candidate may receive a final examination concerned primarily with the defense of the thesis.
Master’s Degrees
M.Phil. See Degree Requirements. Additionally, students in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations are eligible to pursue a supplemental M.Phil. degree in Medieval Studies. For further details, see Medieval Studies. In addition to the Graduate School requirements, the dissertation prospectus must have been accepted.
M.A. Applicants who do not enroll in the Ph.D. program may pursue a Master of Arts degree. Students enrolled in the M.A. program should complete a minimum of twelve term courses with at least two term grades of Honors and an average of High Pass in the remaining courses, and will be required to submit a master’s thesis no later than April 1 of the fourth term of study. No financial aid is available. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program are also eligible for this degree by meeting the same requirements. Because of the thesis requirement, the Graduate School procedure of automatic petitions for the M.A. degree is not available to students in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Program materials are available upon request from the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University, PO Box 208236, New Haven CT 06520-8236.
Courses
AKKD 501u, Elementary Akkadian. Staff.
MWF 11.3512.25
[AKKD 502u, Intermediate Akkadian. Benjamin Foster.]
AKKD 503, Advanced Akkadian. Benjamin Foster.
M 2.304.20
AKKD 504b, Second-Millennium Legal and Archival Texts. Kathryn Slanski.
Th 24
[AKKD 505a, Historical and Archival Texts from Assyria.]
[AKKD 506b, Selected Mesopotamian Texts: Bilingual.]
[AKKD 545b, Neo-Babylonian.]
ARBC 501u, Elementary Modern Standard Arabic. Muhammad Aziz [501-1,2], Ghassan Husseinali [501-3].
501-1: MTWThF 1.302.20
501-2: MTWThF 12.301.20
501-3: MTWThF 3.304.45
Develops a basic knowledge of modern standard Arabic. Emphasis on grammatical analysis, vocabulary acquisition, and the development of reading and writing skills.
ARBC 502u, Spoken Modern Standard Arabic. Muhammad Aziz [502-1,2], Ghassan Husseinali [502-3].
502-1: TTh 2.303.45
502-2: WF 2.303.45
502-3: MF 4-5.15
A supplement to the elementary course in modern standard Arabic, emphasizing oral skills. Prerequisite: ARBC 501u.
ARBC 503u, Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic. Boutheina Khaldi.
503-1: MTWThF 1.302.20
503-2: MTWThF 12.301.20
Intensive review of grammar; readings from contemporary and classical Arab authors with emphasis on serial reading of unvoweled Arabic texts, prose composition, and formal conversation. Prerequisite: ARBC 501.
ARBC 504u, Advanced Modern Standard Arabic. Ghassan Husseinali.
TTh 12.15
Focus on improving the listening, writing, and speaking skills of students who already have a substantial background in the study of modern standard Arabic. Prerequisite: ARBC 503 or permission of the instructor.
ARBC 505au or bu,Arabic Seminar. Beatrice Gruendler [F], Dimitri Gutas [Sp].
T 3.305.20
Study and interpretation of classical Arabic texts for advanced students. Prerequisite: ARBC 504 or permission of the instructor.
ARBC 507u, Advanced Media Arabic. Ghassan Husseinali.
ARBC 513bu,Layla and Majnun. Beatrice Gruendler.
Th 3.305.20
Readings of the classical love story from its earliest versions (Ibn Qutayba and al-Isbahani) to a late medieval manuscript. Discussion of parallel narratives, the story’s reception in world literature, and relevant critical writings. Prerequisite: ARBC 504 or permission of the instructor.
[ARBC 514u, Introduction to Judeo-Arabic.]
[ARBC 552bu,Gender and Nationalism in Arab Women’s Literature.]
[ARBC 564b, Poetic Motif and Literary Theft.]
[ARBC 572bu,Greek into Arabic into Latin: Foundations of Western Culture.]
[ARBC 573b, Introduction to Medieval Arabic Literary Criticism.]
ARBC 849a or b, Directed Readings: Arabic. Staff.
EGYP 501u, Introduction to Classical Hieroglyphic Egyptian. Colleen Manassa.
TTh 910.15
An introduction to the language of ancient pharaonic Egypt (Middle Egyptian) and its hieroglyphic writing system, with short historical, literary, and religious texts. Grammatical analysis with exercises in reading, translation, and composition.
EGYP 502au,Intermediate Egyptian I: Literary Texts. Colleen Manassa.
Th 2.304.20
Close reading of Middle Egyptian literary texts, and introduction to hieratic (cursive) Egyptian script. Readings include the Middle Kingdom stories of Sinuhe and The Eloquent Peasant and excerpts from wisdom literature. Prerequisite: EGYP 501.
[EGYP 502bu,Introduction to Gnostic Texts in Coptic.]
EGYP 503au,Intermediate Egyptian II: Historical Texts. Colleen Manassa.
EGYP 510u, Biblical Coptic: Elementary Course. Kevin Wilkinson.
TTh 11.3012.45
The native Egyptian language in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Thorough grounding in grammar and vocabulary of the Sahidic dialect as a basis for reading biblical, monastic, and Gnostic texts.
EGYP 512a, Egyptian Monastic Literature in Coptic. Bentley Layton.
MW 2.303.20
Readings in the early Egyptian classics of Christian asceticism in Sahidic Coptic, including the desert Fathers and Shenoute. Prerequisite: CPTC 501 or equivalent.
EGYP 566a, Late Period Historical Texts: Napatan Historical Inscriptions.
Th 2.304.20
Close reading of Middle Egyptian historical texts in original hieroglyphic script. Initial survey of ancient Egyptian historiography and grammatical forms peculiar to this genre of texts. Prerequisite: EGYP 501.
[EGYP 567b, Temple Inscriptions: Medinet Habu.]
[EGYP 577a, Egyptian Rock Inscriptions.]
[EGYP 578a, The Egyptian Netherworld Books.]
EGYP 590b, Coffin Texts. John Darnell.
Readings of religious texts found on the inner surfaces of Middle Kingdom coffins. The course focuses on creation accounts, the Shu texts, spells of transformation, the Book of the Two Ways, etc. Readings in both normalized hieroglyphic transcription and original cursive hieroglyphic writing.
EGYP 591b, Ancient Egyptian Love Poetry. John Darnell.
M 3.305.20
Egyptian love poetry, concentrating on the major documents. Most readings in hieratic, with discussions of the grammar of literary Late Egyptian, its relationship to non-literary Late Egyptian and late Middle Egyptian. Readings in comparative texts and investigation of iconographic parallels.
HEBR 501u, Elementary Modern Hebrew. Ayala Dvoretzky [501-1], Yechiel Schur [501-2].
501-1: MTWThF 9.3010.20
501-2: MTWThF 3.304.20
Introduction to the language of contemporary Israel, both spoken and written. Fundamentals of grammar; extensive practice in speaking, reading, and writing under the guidance of a native speaker.
HEBR 502u, Intermediate Modern Hebrew. Ayala Dvoretzky [502-1], Shiri Goren [502-2].
502-1: MW 11.3512.50, 1 HTBA
502-2: TTh 2.303.45, 1 HTBA
Continuation of modern Hebrew, with literary readings selected from contemporary prose and verse. Review and continuation of grammatical study leading to a deeper comprehension of style and usage, under the guidance of a native speaker. Prerequisite: HEBR 501u or equivalent.
HEBR 503a, Advanced Modern Hebrew: Israeli Society. Shiri Goren.
MW 45.15
An examination of themes in Israeli society. The course aims to develop independence in approaching unfamiliar oral and written texts, as well as improving speaking skills. Materials include Israeli cultural production such as: newspaper articles, TV shows, online resources, films, music, and commercials. Advanced grammatical structures are introduced and practiced. Prerequisite: HEBR 502u or permission of the instructor.
HEBR 504bu,Introduction to Modern Israeli Literature. Ayala Dvoretzky.
MW 12.15
Reading, discussion, and analysis of short stories, poetry, and magazine articles representative of contemporary Israeli culture, with attention to different styles. Conducted in Hebrew. Prerequisite: HEBR 502u or equivalent.
[HEBR 505a, Contemporary Israeli Society in Film.]
HEBR 506au,Dynamics of Israeli Culture (in Hebrew). Shiri Goren.
TTh 11.3512.50 The course explores contemporary controversies of Israeli society by examining recent cultural production, such as novelistic writing, films, poetry, newspaper articles, Internet Web sites, art, advertisement, and television shows. Discussions include migration and the construction of the Sabra character; ethnicity and race: the emergence of Mizrachi voice; women in Israeli society; private and collective memory; minority discourse: Druze, Russian Jews; Israeli masculinity and queer culture. Conducted in Hebrew. Midterms and final papers may be written in English or Hebrew. Prerequisite: HEB 502u or permission of the instructor.
[HEBR 507b, Medieval Commentaries on the Pentateuch.]
HEBR 508a, Reading Medieval Hebrew Texts. Yechiel Schur.
TTh 11.3512.50
Readings from medieval Hebrew texts in a variety of genres such as prose, poetry, tomb inscriptions, legal texts, Hebrew translations, and philosophical treatises.
[HEBR 509b, Reading Academic Texts in Modern Hebrew.]
HEBR 514b, Commentaries on the Song of Songs. Yechiel Schur.
TTh 11.3512.50
Close reading in the original language of medieval Hebrew commentaries from France, Spain, and Italy on the Song of Songs. The course discusses the tension between literal versus allegorical meanings of the text, and the metaphysical assumptions and hermeneutics of the commentators. Conducted in Hebrew. Prerequisite: HEBR 503 or permission of the instructor.
[MESO 531, Beginning Sumerian.]
[MESO 532b, Intermediate Sumerian.]
MESO 533a or b, Advanced Sumerian. Benjamin Foster.
MW 24
[MESO 539a or b, Directed Readings: Sumerian.]
[MESO 543a, Neo-Assyrian History.]
MESO 544b, Mesopotamian Scholarly Texts.
Th 46
MESO 559a or b, Directed Readings: Assyriology.
[MESO 571a or b, Tales from before Homer: An Introduction to Sumerian and Babylonian Literature.]
MESO 572a or b, Prophecy in Mesopotamia. Eckart Frahm.
T 46
[MESO 573a or b, Neo-Babylonian and Late-Babylonian Texts.]
NELC 501a, Mesopotamian History of the Late Period. Benjamin Foster.
W 24
Histrocial survey of Mesopotamia. Content varies from year to year, and the course may be repeated for credit.
NELC 502a, Mesopotamian History and Culture of the Sumerians. Benjamin Foster.
NELC 502b, Worlds of Homer. Karen Foster.
MW 2.303.45
NELC 503a, Mesopotamian History of Third Millennium B.C.E. Benjamin Foster.
NELC 504au,Art of the Ancient Near East and Aegean. Karen Foster.
MW 2.303.45
Introduction to the art and architecture of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Aegean, with attention to cultural and historical contexts.
[NELC 504b, Mesopotamian History of the Old Babylonian Period.]
NELC 505, Mesopotamian History of the Middle Babylonian Period. Benjamin Foster.
NELC 506, History of Assyria. Benjamin Foster.
NELC 508a, Ancient Painting and Mosaics. Karen Foster.
MW 2.303.45
[NELC 509bu,The Age of Akhenaton.]
[NELC 510au,Conflicts that Shaped Pharaonic Egypt.]
[NELC 511bu,Ancient Egypt from the Ramesside to the Ptolemaic Periods.]
[NELC 512bu,Egyptian Religion through the Ages.]
[NELC 513, Readings in Egyptian History.]
[NELC 515b, The Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Setting.]
NELC 516bu,Mythology of the Ancient Near East. Eckart Frahm.
TTh 2.303.45
NELC 517b, Ancient Polytheisms. Kathryn Slanski, Corinne Pache.
T 3.305.20
Seminar examines religious practices and beliefs in the ancient Near East and Greece. Focus is on gods and heroes and exploring the links between mythic narratives and institutions as well as between Near Eastern and Greek literature cultures. Prerequisite: Akkadian or Greek.
NELC 518b, Museology and Egyptian Art History. Dorothea Arnold.
F 13
Examination of approaches to Egyptian art history and thorough investigation of challenges in museology as it relates to ancient Egypt. Course includes visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
NELC 519au,Religion and Politics in the Ancient Near East. Eckart Frahm.
Th 2.304.20
[NELC 520a or b, Parallel Worlds: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.]
NELC 524bu,Egyptian Literature through the Ages. Beatrice Gruendler, Colleen Manassa.
W 3.305.20
A survey of historical, fictional, autobiographical, poetic, and popular texts from Ancient Egypt to Modernity. Salient themes are juxtaposed in their ancient Egyptian and medieval and modern Arabic treatments, with attention to their loss, revival, discontinuity, and reinterpretation.
[NELC 527u, Structure of Modern Turkish.]
NELC 534au,Seminar: The Making of Monasticism. Bentley Layton.
W 2.304.20
The history of Christian monasteries, hermits, ascetics, and monastic institutions and values in late antiquity, with special attention to the eastern Mediterranean world. Also HIST 531au,RLST 659au.
[NELC 551au,East Meets West: Drama and Theater in the Arab World.]
NELC 553bu,Themes in Palestinian Literature. Hala Nassar.
T 2.304.30
NELC 554bu,Israeli Identity and Culture: 1948 to the Present. Shiri Goren.
TTh 11.3512.50
Introduction to contemporary culture and representations of Israeli society. Themes of national and personal identity formation, gender, Zionism and post-Zionism, the writings of women, Israeli-Palestinian relations, Russian immigrants, and Jews of North African origin.
NELC 555a, Classical Arabic Literature in Translation. Beatrice Gruendler.
Th 2.304.20
Exploration of premodern Arabic literature from the sixth to the fifteenth century, including genres of poetry (ode, love lyric, lament, wine song, and mystical poem) and prose (Koran, oral account, exegetical tale, epic, epistle, mirror for princes, essay, biographical dictionary, and travelogue). Special attention to agendas authors pursued and the characters they created, viewed from both fictional and historical perspectives.
[NELC 563b, From Pictograph to Pixel: Changing Ways of Human Communication.]
NELC 587bu,Environmental History of the Near East. Harvey Weiss.
Th 9.2511.15
Natural and anthropogenic climate and environmental changes of the Holocene studied in the lake, marine, and terrestrial records of West Asia. Periodic adaptations to these changes through the modern period within regional habitat-tracking, agricultural innovation and pastoralism, political expansion and disintegration, and ideological reformulation.
NELC 588bu,Civilizations and Collapse. Harvey Weiss.
Th 2.304.20
Collapse documented in the archaeological and early historical records of the Old and New Worlds, including Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Europe. Analysis of politico-economic vulnerabilities, resiliencies, and adaptations in the face of abrupt climate change, anthropogenic environmental degradation, resource depletion, “barbarian” incursions, or class conflict. Also ANTH 773bu,ARCG 773bu.
NELC 590bu,Identity in Modern Turkey. Nihan Ketrez.
W 3.305.20
[NELC 726au,History of Christianity in the Ancient World: Jesus to Augustine.]
[NELC 735bu,Gnostic Religion and Literature.]
[NELC 736b, The Manichaean World Religion.]
NELC 746b, Research Seminar on the Monastic Federation of Shenoute. Bentley Layton.
T 45.50
Exploration of literary and archaeological data from the monastic federation of Shenoute. A reading knowledge of Coptic is presupposed. Also RLST 660b.
[NELC 829a, History of the Arabic Language.]
NELC 830a, From Medina to Constantinople: The Middle East from 600 to 1517. Adel Allouche.
T 1.303.20
This seminar discusses the religious and political events that shaped the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. It encompasses Arab lands, Iran, and Turkey. Also HIST 829a.
[NELC 844b, Arabic Paleography.]
NELC 846a, Seminar in the Philosophy of Avicenna: Theory of the Soul, Prophecy, Mysticism. Dimitri Gutas.
M 3.305.20
NELC 849a or b, Directed Readings: Arabic. Dimitri Gutas [F], Beatrice Gruendler [Sp].
NELC 850a, Introduction to Arabic and Islamic Studies. Dimitri Gutas.
W 2.304.20
Comprehensive survey of the various subjects treated in Arabic and Islamic studies, with representative readings from each. Detailed investigation into the methods and techniques of scholarship in the field, with emphasis on acquiring familiarity with the bibliographical and other research tools.
NELC 851b, Introduction to Modern Middle Eastern Studies. Hala Nassar.
Th 2.304.20
Survey of debates in the modern and contemporary Arab world concerning heritage, secularism, religion, language, gender equality, modernization, and tradition. Resources in translation include a cross-section of Arab and Western writings from the late nineteenth century to the present. Focus on gender identities in relation to nationalism, Islamism, and the “West,” and how they are reflected in different genres.
PERS 501u, Elementary Persian (Farsi). Fereshteh Amanat-Kowssar.
MTWThF 9.2510.15
An introduction to modern Persian, with emphasis on grammar and syntax as well as writing and reading simple prose. Both literary and classical Persian are taught in the second term.
PERS 502u, Intermediate Persian (Farsi). Fereshteh Amanat-Kowssar.
MTWThF 10.3011.20
Detailed analysis of Persian usage and syntax through the study of modern and classical texts in prose and poetry. Readings from newspapers, textbooks, historical writings, travelogues, classical and modern literature.
[PERS 504a, Thematic Survey of Modern Persian Literature.]
PERS 589a or b, Directed Readings: Persian.
[SMTC 501b, Introduction to Comparative Semitics.]
[SMTC 511, Introduction to Ugaritic.]
[SMTC 521u, Elementary Syriac.]
SMTC 522a, Intermediate Syriac: Selected Readings. Robert Hawley.
Selected readings of texts, sampling the major genres of classical Syriac literature; training in the use of standard reference works for confronting punctual, grammatical, or lexical problems. Prerequisite: SMTC 521 or consent of the instructor.
SMTC 523b, Intermediate Syriac: Selected Readings. Robert Hawley.
Continued readings in the major genres of classical Syriac literature, with special emphasis on poetry. Prerequisite: SMTC 521 or consent of the instructor.
SMTC 524b, Intermediate Syriac: Poetic Texts. Robert Hawley.
Continued readings in the major genres of classical Syriac literature, with special emphasis on poetry. Prerequisite: SMTC 521 or permission of the instructor.
SMTC 531a, Aramaic Survey I: First Millennium B.C.E. Robert Hawley.
HTBA
An introduction to Aramaic texts from the first millennium B.C.E., including Biblical Aramaic, early monumental inscriptions on stone and legal documents on clay; the abundant papyri of the Persian period from Egypt; and the corpus of ostraca and scrolls of the Hellenistic and Roman periods from the Judean Desert. Prerequisite: some prior knowledge of Aramaic, or a related Semitic language.
SMTC 532bu,Aramaic Survey II: The Common Era. Robert Hawley.
Survey of various Aramaic texts of the Levant during the Roman period (Judean, Nabatean, Palmyrene, Hatran, and Old Syriac); exposure to the major literary dialects of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (classical Syriac, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, etc.); and brief coverage of modern Aramaic dialects. Prerequisite: some knowledge of Aramaic, or a related Semitic language.
SMTC 535b, Introduction to Phoenician. Robert Hawley.
Introduction to the study of the Phoenician language, from the oldest known inscriptions of the Phoenician cities on the Levantine coast in the early centuries of the first millennium B.C.E., through the extensive corpus of “Punic” inscriptions from the North African colonial city of Carthage in the Roman period. Since its closest known linguistic relative is Hebrew, some prior knowledge of that language or another Semitic language, or consent of the instructor, is prerequisite.
TKSH 501u, Elementary Turkish. Nihan Ketrez.
MTWThF 10.3011.20
Development of a basic knowledge of modern Turkish, with emphasis on grammatical analysis, vocabulary acquisition, and the training of reading and writing skills.
TKSH 502u, Intermediate Turkish. Nihan Ketrez.
TTh 11.3512.50
Continued study of modern Turkish, with emphasis on advanced syntax, vocabulary acquisition, and the beginnings of free oral and written expression. Prerequisite: TKSH 501 or permission of the instructor.
[TKSH 505au,Structure of Modern Turkish.]
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