This course examines current theoretical and methodological trends in the anthropological study of the Middle East. The readings will offer students ethnographic insight into the region, introduce …
Ancient Mesopotamia II: Assyrians and Babylonians
This course traces the political development and cultural history of Mesopotamia, from the territorial states of the Late Bronze Age to the world’s first empires in the 1st millennium BC, those of …
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Near Eastern Ceramics
An introduction to the basic corpus of Near Eastern ceramics, from the invention of pottery production in the Neolithic until the Persian period, utilizing existing collections at the University and …
Orientalism & Occidentalism
This course probes the contemporaneous formation of modern Oriental Studies in Europe and the emergence of discourses on Europe (Ifranj/Farang) in the Middle East from the eighteenth century to the …
The Archaeology of Stuff at the ROM
Hands-on analysis of actual materials from the Middle and Near East, including Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Students learn the techniques by which archaeologists understand objects from the …
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Warfare: The Archaeology of Conflict in the Ancient Near East
When did humans start fighting each other, and how far back can we trace the history of warfare? This course investigates the origin, nature, and manifestation of military conflicts in the ancient …
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