Course Descriptions

FALL 2009

Globalization of Knowledge in the Multilingual and Multi-ethnic Milieu of the Ancient Near East
Beate Pongratz-Leisten
Tuesdays, 2:00-4:00pm

Cuneiform culture, originally invented in Sumer, dominated the entire region of the ancient Near East despite local, political, and cultural differences and despite the fact that in many cultures Sumerian or Akkadian did not represent the spoken language. Throughout three thousand years of history, the body of educational and scholarly texts remained more or less uniform. The professionalism reflected in the textual corpora speaks in favor of a virtual community of intellectuals. Scribes and scholars viewed themselves as an established community of users of a shared traditional knowledge which was acquired by means of a common curriculum. Owing to their control of information and knowledge these scholars played an essential role among the elites of society. The same is true for craftsmen who, in antiquity, showed great mobility, and who, because of their skills, were among the first to be deported during times of war.

The seminar will explore the nature of knowledge as transmitted in the cuneiform tradition, the relationship between science and religion, the carriers of knowledge, i.e. the communities of scholars and scribes; libraries and the findspots of the scholarly material and what these tell us about scribal practices, training, and competences in regions that were distant from Mesopotamia. These investigations will serve to detect the human agency behind the texts and material culture and the relationship between texts, objects and persons. The goal is to obtain a better grasp of the cultural mechanisms and strategies of the spread of knowledge in antiquity.

The Exact Sciences in Antiquity
Alexander Jones
Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00pm

Topic: Greco-Roman astrology
The seminar will be devoted to several aspects of the history of Greco-Roman astrology, including: (1) the evidence for its date and place of origin, (2) the practice of astrology from the Hellenistic period to late antiquity as reflected in papyri, artifacts, and medievally transmitted texts, and (3) Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (or Apotelesmatika) and the ancient tradition of commentaries on that work.

Society, Economy, and Culture in Late Antiquity
Roger Bagnall
Thursdays, 10:00am-12:00pm

Presentation of current research in the society, economy, and culture of the Late Antique world, including the entire Roman world and the Near and Middle East.

SPRING 2010

Archaeology and Documents in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia
Roger Bagnall and Holly Pittman
Thursdays 10:00am-12:00pm

The Exact Sciences in Antiquity
Alexander Jones
Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00pm

Topic: Mathematics and Astronomy in Mesopotamia
We will examine the reading, interpretation, and contextualization of mathematical cuneiform texts, especially of the Late Babylonian and Seleucid periods, and astronomical texts of the first millennium B.C., with particular emphasis on recently published texts and research.

Globalization of Knowledge in the Multilingual and Multi-ethnic Milieu of the Ancient Near East
Beate Pongratz-Leisten
Tuesdays, 2:00-4:00pm

Archaeology, Anthropology, and Aesthetics
Jennifer Chi
Mondays, 5:00-7:00pm