This graduate seminar investigates the intersection of crafting and cultural interaction among the regions of the Aegean, eastern Mediterranean and Near East from 3000-500 BCE (Bronze and Iron Ages).

• Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Anderson, Emily S.K.; Feldman, Marian
• Room: Gilman 177
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/12
• PosTag(s): HART-ANC

A three-year history cycle required of all graduate students and forming the core of our graduate program. One year each will be devoted to Egyptian history, Mesopotamian history, and Syro-Palestinian history.

• Days/Times: T 9:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 13/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

Topic varies but can include the archaeology of Mesopotamia, Syria, or Palestine, or thematic discussions (e.g., on ideology, state collapse, etc.). In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: W 10:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lauinger, Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bryan, Betsy Morrell
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Feldman, Marian
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bryan, Betsy Morrell
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lauinger, Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Feldman, Marian
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this course, students will continue to learn the fundamental aspects of Sumerian grammar and lexicography needed to read Sumerian texts. To review and develop the basics of the languages that were learned in the first semester of this course, intermediate texts like the Cylinders of Gudea and Inana's Descent to the Netherworld will be studied. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:00PM
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this course a selection of Sumerian texts from different periods and genres will be read and discussed from a linguistic, philological, historical, and literary perspective. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: M 10:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Research and discussion on topics of current interest.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul; Harrower, Michael James; Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 18/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this course we read a variety of Middle Egyptian hieroglyphic compositions and documents. Knowledge of Middle Egyptian Required.

• Days/Times: Th 9:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Continuation of the study of Demotic as introduced in AS.133.646. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: F 10:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this class we will read Coptic texts of various genres.

• Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:00PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 11/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course offers an introduction to the history of the Hebrew language , with a focus on its linguistic development and also its changing sociolinguistic contexts.

• Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:00PM
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

A continuation of AS.134.720 with emphasis on the mythological and ritual texts from Ugarit. A digital epigraphy lab will also form part of the course. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: Th 3:00PM - 5:00PM
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course introduces basic computational techniques in the context of empirical humanistic scholarship. Topics covered include the command-line, basic Python programming, and experimental design. While illustrative examples are drawn from humanistic domains, the primary focus is on methods: those with specific domains in mind should be aware that such applied research is welcome and exciting, but will largely be their responsibility beyond the confines of the course. Students will come away with tangible understanding of how to cast simple humanistic questions as empirical hypotheses, ground and test these hypotheses computationally, and justify the choices made while doing so. No previous programming experience is required.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Lippincott, Tom; Sirin Ryan, Hale
• Room: Gilman 55
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 19/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course introduces substantial machine learning methods of particular relevance to humanistic scholarship. Areas covered include standard models for classification, regression, and topic modeling, before turning to the array of open-source pretrained deep neural models, and the common mechanisms for employing them. Students are expected to have a level of programming experience equivalent to that gained from AS.360.304, Gateway Computing, AS.250.205, or Harvard’s CS50 for Python. Students will come away with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different machine learning models, the ability to discuss them in relation to human intelligence and to make informed decisions of when and how to employ them, and an array of related technical knowledge.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Backer, Samuel Ehrlich; Messner, Craig A
• Room: Gilman 195
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Topic varies but can include the archaeology of Mesopotamia, Syria, or Palestine, or thematic discussions (e.g., on ideology, state collapse, etc.). In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: W 10:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Climate change, population growth, war - what questions do archaeologists ask about the ancient past, how do they collect relevant evidence, and how do they arrive at satisfying answers to their questions? This course will review major theoretical currents in archaeology including evolutionary, cultural-historical, processual and post-processual approaches and discuss the future of archaeology as a scientific and humanistic discipline. Basic techniques for analyzing major categories of artifacts such as lithics, ceramics, archaeobotanical, and zooarchaeological materials will also be introduced.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lauinger, Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bryan, Betsy Morrell
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Feldman, Marian
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Arnette, Marie-Lys
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bryan, Betsy Morrell
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lauinger, Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Feldman, Marian
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction to the paleography, grammar and lexicon of the Akkadian language, and the reading of simpler texts in that language.

• Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
• Instructor: Qi, Grace
• Room: MSE Library D1
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/6
• PosTag(s): n/a

Students read texts in the original Akkadian cuneiform with attention to their philological, archaeological, historical, and literary features. The seminar topic varies from semester to semester but usually consists either of texts of various genres from a single period (e.g., Neo-Assyrian) or texts of various period from a single genre (e.g., letters). In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: F 12:00PM - 2:00PM
• Instructor: Lauinger, Jacob
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

We will read Letter Collection B and related materials in the original cuneiform. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: F 10:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Russell, Ishbel Sophie
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/7
• PosTag(s): n/a

Research and discussion on topics of current interest.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James; Lauinger, Jacob; Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 20/20
• PosTag(s): n/a

Introduction to the grammar and writing system of the classical language of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (ca. 2135-2000 B.C.). In the second semester, literary texts and royal inscriptions will be read.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Wilkinson, Alison Michelle
• Room: MSE Library Eisenberg
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/4
• PosTag(s): n/a

In this course we read a variety of Middle Egyptian hieroglyphic compositions and documents. Knowledge of Middle Egyptian Required.

• Days/Times: Th 9:00AM - 12:00PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course is devoted to the Art and material culture of ancient Egypt, from the 5th millennium BCE to the Roman period. It is designed as a three-year cycle, with one semester per year. The aim of the course is to provide students with a solid knowledge base in Egyptian visual and material culture, effective methods of description and analysis, and a command of bibliography and research tools. This year, the course will focus on the origins of Art. First, we will look at the materials that are the source of all human production; then, the course will be devoted to the periods of formation of Egyptian Art, from the Predynastic Period to the end of the Old Kingdom. Each week will consist of two complementary sessions: first, a lecture given by the professor or a visiting scholar; second, class dedicated to discussion and exchanges based on one or more articles related to the previous class.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Arnette, Marie-Lys
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction to the stage of Ancient Egyptian language associated with the New Kingdom (ca. 1569-1081 BCE). In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 3:30PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

An introduction both to the stage of Ancient Egyptian language from ca. 750 BCE-400 CE and the cursive script associated with this stage. In addition to seminar times, students are expected to complete online discussions, supplemental readings and assignments, and attend several guest lecture events.

• Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:00PM
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This class will introduce students to “The Deuteronomistic History,” which comprises the biblical books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. The narrative arc of this “history” spans the giving of the law to Moses to the rise and fall of the monarchies of Israel and Judah, respectively in the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. During this course we will examine the reasons why biblical scholars have argued in varying ways that this body of text represents the work of a group of ideologically driven scribes, the Deuteronomists; we will also investigate the primary texts themselves for evidence for divergent views about the need for a king in Israel and the role and fate of the royal house of David. We will also explore the relationship between the books of the former prophets (Joshua>2 Kings) and Deuteronomy, which is a book that concludes the Pentateuch. This course requires students to engage with the biblical text in the original Hebrew language at an advanced level. We will also engage with biblical scholarship regarding the scope, purpose, and nature of a cohesive Deuteronomistic History, as well as with dissenting voices that probe the unity of these biblical books.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

A survey of the history of Ancient Syria and Canaan, including Ancient Israel.

• Days/Times: F 2:00PM - 4:30PM
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room: Gilman 130G
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 12/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bryan, Betsy Morrell
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lewis, Ted
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Mandell, Alice H
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Feldman, Marian
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Jasnow, Richard
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Lauinger, Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Harrower, Michael James
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Delnero, Paul
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Independent summer research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Schwartz, Glenn M
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a