General provisions

The course belongs to the minor field Assyriology.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Learning outcomes

The course intends to give an introduction to Ancient Near Eastern history, archaeology and cultural history.

For the grade of Pass, on completion of the course students should be able to

• place well-known archaeological sites, historical personalities, periods and states in time and space
• give a basic summary of the state of evidence concerning important historical personalities, object categories and events
• distinguish between and explain principles of archaeological and historical dating systems
• distinguish between and explain basic features of written languages and writing systems and relate these to language families and historical cultures
• conduct coherent arguments around cultural expressions and the occurrence and dispersion of ideas and technologies in the Ancient Near East.

Content

Orientation in the history, archaeology, art and religion of the Ancient Near East. Chronological overview of the prehistory of the area since the emergence of agriculture, its historical geography and shifting mosaic of state formations and important features of these. Thematic overviews of archaeological and historical sources through which cultures in this important region can be studied, with a special focus on Mesopotamia's literature, science and religion.

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures, exercises and assessment components. The students' own learning activities are crucial during the course. Participation in all teaching sessions is recommended.

Assessment

Assessment takes place in the form of continuous written assignments and a take-home examination. Pass with distinction requires this grade in at least one of the components as well as a result in the other component that, after overall assessment of knowledge and presentations in both the components, is deemed to correspond to a higher grade.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Other directives

The course may not be included towards a degree together with Assyriology A (5AS101) or Hebrew A (5HE111).