Here on awilum.com I am putting together a curated collection of open-access resources to supplement my course on Ancient Near Eastern Culture that I am teaching as part of the Master of Liberal Arts program at Houston Baptist University in the Spring of 2013. Here is a description of the course:
This course will survey the history and culture of the civilizations that inhabited the areas from Iran to Egypt from the Neolithic period (ca. 10,000 BCE) to Alexander the Great (ca. 323 BCE). Topics of study include art, literature, religion, law, politics, geo-political effects of climate change, health care, economics and commerce, war and peace, and women. Special attention will be given to exploring the significance of the study of the ancient world for contemporary society as well as for biblical interpretation.
Starting in January, each week I will post a list of resources that pertain to one of eleven selected topics: art, literature, religion, law, scribal culture, geo-political effects of climate change, health care, economics and commerce, war and peace, and women. The lists will contain links to open-access resources such as interviews, lectures, essays, pictures, and online exhibits. For instance, here is the list for the first topic, art:
- Read: “The Manufacture of Metal Statuary: ‘Seeing the Workshops of the Temple’” by Deborah Schorsch, pages 189-199, in Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples.
- Watch: Charlie Rose interview of Dorothea Arnold and Phillipe de Montebello of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the art of ancient Egypt.
- Read: “Popular Art at Susa” by Agnes Spycket, pages 183-196, and “Susa in the Achaemenid Period,” pages 215-252, in The Royal City of Susa: Treasures in the Louvre.
I am historian and teach on the Faculty of Himanities and Social Sciences of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Hungary. My topics: history of ancient Israel, Old Testament Studies, hebrew epigraphic.
Dear Charles, I am one of your reader from far-away (Italy in my case)… I never had the luck of meeting you, anyway I find your initiative great!
I also think using Wengrow’s OUP book as a textbook is a fantastic idea. I wish I could reset all my (modes) ANE knowledge to re-learn everything starting with your course!
Best,
Daniele
Thanks so much Daniele, hopefully someday we can meet in person.
Charles, are you going to post this here on Awilum, on an HBU webpage, or both?
Hi Angie, I will post it right here and plan to leave it up indefinitely.
I am excited to follow this blog and learn about the ANE!!! I am an avid ancient history buff and am currently trying to learn as much as I can….I would love to begin learning some languages, are there any you would recommend or any books that would help someone trying to learn on their own?
Thank you so much!!
Glad you are excited! Which languages are you interested in? Hoffner and Melchert have a very nice Hittite Grammar; John Heuhnergard has very good Alkadian and Ugaritic grammars (Pardee also has a very good Ugaritic grammar) and there are many for Hebrew and Aramaic. Lastly, the Oriental Institute of Chicago has offered distance courses in various Egyptian languages.
Hi,
Thank you so much for doing this .
I will have free time over the summer, and I was wondering if you will be leaving all of the links and information up through the summer so I can take advantage of this wonderful resource at that point.
Thank you!
Hi Yael,
Yes, I will leave this up indefinitely.
Very interesting way to introduce students to this material. Where will you get these videos?