Turkish

Readings in translation and discussion of texts of Middle Eastern and Indian origin. Readings may include the Quran, Islamic philosophy, Sufi poetry, the Upanishads, Buddhist sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, Indian epics and drama, and Gandhis Autobiography.

This seminar is an exploration of some "great books" from the Middle East and South Asia. We will read books, plays, stories, and poems in English translation that were originally written in Arabic, Persian, Bangla, Sanskrit. From the Thousand and One Nights to an Arabic epic about a warrior princess to the Bhagavad Gita, we will examine themes of storytelling, gender, politics, and the nature of divinity. With the exception of one Sudanese novel, we will be focusing on texts from the premodern period, and our focus will be on how to interpret texts, develop arguments about those texts, and learning about cultures of reading and writing in the past.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

This course explores the core classical literature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Humanities. The main objective of the course is to discover the meanings that these literature offer, not just for the original audience or for the respective cultures, but for us. As such, it is not a survey or a lecture-based course. Rather than being taught what meanings are to be derived from the texts, we explore meanings together, informed by in-depth reading and thorough ongoing discussion.

Introduction to Indian civilization with attention to both its unity and its diversity across the Indian subcontinent. Consideration of its origins, formative development, fundamental social institutions, religious thought and practice (Vedic, Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh), literary and artistic achievements, and modern challenges.

Students must register for a section of ASCM UN2358.

This course covers the epistemologies and main theological and philosophical standpoints of a wide range of Islamic intellectual traditions. It will explore how different groups of scholars accumulated knowledge of God and the universe in the Classical Islamic world, a period which in many ways can be considered formative for contemporary Islam. We focus on various bodies of knowledge as these were developed from the 7th-c. 13th centuries AD. Each week covers a separate theological, philosophical, or scientific tradition, after which the class will explore the tensions and syntheses between various competing worldviews.

This course introduces the Islamic world from the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) to 1500 CE. The Islamic world stretches across a remarkable geographical expanse from modern Spain and Senegal in the west to the north of modern India in the east. Telling one cohesive story out of many histories is therefore challenging, even if we had a full lifetime to devote to it. We cannot include everything and, as with every complicated story worth knowing, what we choose to exclude is important. This semester, we bypass some of the traditional narratives of political and military history, which privilege the rise and fall of dynasties, the rule of great men, and the clashes of armies. We will still organize along political lines, but the focus of our conversations will be the incredible diversity of the various communities in the Islamic world. We approach these histories through primary sources— poems, coins, buildings, etc.—that we will read together in every class meeting. Our goal will be to situate each source in the political, cultural, and religious contexts of its production. This approach will allow us to appreciate premodern Islamic worlds through the centuries.

Through the assignments and conversations in class and section, students will

• Explore the diversity of premodern Islam;
• Analyze primary sources produced in the Islamic world before 1500, both individually and as a class;
• Engage with modern scholarship about Islam in India and Central Asia; the Middle East; North, West, and East Africa; and Southern Europe;
• Construct a source-based argument about the Islamic world before 1500.

Discussion section to accompany the course, MDES UN1003 Premodern Islamic Worlds.

Discussion section to accompany the course, MDES UN1003 Premodern Islamic Worlds.

Discussion section to accompany the course, MDES UN1003 Premodern Islamic Worlds.

Discussion section to accompany the course, MDES UN1003 Premodern Islamic Worlds.

This undergraduate course offered in the context of the Global Core component of the Core Curriculum is an examination of the globally popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” as a prototype for a comparative understanding of the larger question of epics and empires.  In this course we expand the domains of our interests and inquiries far wider and divide our syllabus into four parts: (1) Westeros: The Mythic Empire; (2) Persia:  The First Empire, (3) America: The Last Empire; and (4) On Epics and Empires.  Our objective will be to examine the main themes and overall arch of “Game of Thrones” into wider mythic, heroic, and transhistorical dimensions of our contemporary history.  

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

Discussion section to accompany the course, "Game of Thrones": On Epics and Empires.

This course surveys the history of Ancient Israel and Judah from the ancestral stories through the end of the Persian period. It offers an introduction to both the biblical narrative and the archaeological research. The focus is on history – what is known, how it is known, and who writes it – and is intended for anyone who wants an introduction to the Bible or the place of Israel and Judah in the context of the Ancient Near East. Through an examination of the epigraphical, archaeological, and biblical sources, students will become familiar with the materials that scholars use to investigate history, but more importantly, they will be encouraged to evaluate these narratives about the past for themselves.
The course consists of a lecture and a recitation. All students must be registered for and attend both. The lectures will contextualize the required readings and primary sources, and students will participate in discussions about them in recitation.

An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Prerequisites: First Year Arabic I or instructor permission. An introduction to the language of classical and modern Arabic literature. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

In Elementary Armenian I, students learn the Armenian script and the basic grammar that will enable them to communicate about topics relating to themselves and their immediate surroundings: family, school, daily occupations, describing people, expressing likes and dislikes, requesting and giving information about themselves and others, proper forms of greetings, etc. They also begin to read signs, advertisements, and develop the skills to read texts like short stories and Armenian fables. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

This is an introductory course for which no prior knowledge is required. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or paragraph writing. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

This is an introductory course for which no prior knowledge is required. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or paragraph writing. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Prerequisites: a knowledge of basic vocabulary and limited speaking and listening skills in Urdu. This is an accelerated course for students of South Asian origin who already possess a knowledge of basic vocabulary and limited speaking and listening skills in Urdu. They are not expected to know how to read and write in Urdu but are able to converse on familiar topics such as self, family, likes, dislikes and immediate surroundings. This course will focus on developing knowledge of the basic grammar of Urdu and vocabulary enrichment by exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics related to aspects of daily life; and formal and informal registers. Students will be able to read and discuss simple Urdu texts and write about a variety of everyday topics by the end of the semester. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Prerequisites: MDES W1210-W1211 or the equivalent. A continuation of the study of the language of contemporary writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Prerequisites: MDES W1210-W1211 or the equivalent. A continuation of the study of the language of contemporary writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Prerequisites: MDES W1210-W1211 or the equivalent. A continuation of the study of the language of contemporary writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Prerequisites: MDES W1210-W1211 or the equivalent. A continuation of the study of the language of contemporary writing. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

This course focuses on Modern Hebrew grammar, and verb conjugation in particular. It is designed for students with substantial knowledge of Modern Hebrew. Over the semester, students will systematically review the grammatical patterns of regular verbs (shlemim), and learn the grammatical patterns of the irregular verbs (gzarot), as well as several other grammatical topics. After successful completion of this course, the foreign language requirement will be fulfilled (for students of Columbia College and other academic units that require a 4th-semester proficiency). Successful completion of this course also allows students to register in third-year Modern Hebrew.

This course will prepare you for effective and meaningful communication in all modes. It will consolidate your already acquired listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills and help you acquire higher proficiency in Hindi. You will continue learning common Urdu words in Hindi in the Devanagari Script. The Urdu Script is not taught in this course.
Students will expand their knowledge base of the society and culture of the target languages in this course. They will be introduced to new grammatical structures and will be taught a broad range of vocabulary. They will also be exposed to a variety of authentic materials, including Hindi literature, newspapers, folk tales, films, songs, and other kinds of written and audio-visual materials. This material will be related to language functions in daily personal and social life situations. At the completion of this course, students will be well-equipped to initiate and sustain general conversations. They will successfully handle most of the uncomplicated communications in personal and social situations. Students will also be able to write letters and compositions. The course is based on national standards and proficiency guidelines as set by the American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Prerequisites: Elementary Persian II or the equivalent. This course involves reading, writing, translating, conversation and grammatical foundations for Persian Language (PL). The materials are selected from two books: Āmuzesh-e Fārsi: Intermediate Level (required) and English-Persian Dictionary, plus verb system and charts (recommended). These books are assigned and have to be available to every student. There are also handouts, which will be provided throughout the course. This course serves as intermediate and makes students able to read and compose proper Persian language as well as the colloquial one. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

Required of all majors. Introduces theories of culture particularly related to the Middle East, South Asia. and Africa. Theoretical debates on the nature and function of culture as a symbolic reading of human collectivities. Examines critical cultural studies of the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Enables students to articulate their emerging knowledge of Middle East, South Asian, and African cultures in a theoretically informed language.

In this course, we will approach Fanon’s question through our understanding of violence as it was
invented and deployed from the heart of empire into the colonies. What is fascism and how was it
linked to colonialism, if at all? In what ways were they dependent on each other to conceive a
certain world order, particularly between World War I and II? In other words, how did fascist
visions and colonial practices from the imperial core import repressive structures of violence into
the colonies, and then export those methods of control back into the metropole as a perpetual
renewable source of power?
This course examines the Mediterranean as a site of violence and a theater of “fire and blood,” in
which the inextricable and dialogical bond between colonialism and fascism are tied through
mythologies, discourses, institutions, and of course, revolution. In so doing, we interrogate
Tunisian writer Albert Memmi’s critical intervention of “colonial fascism” that shapes the
confrontations between metropole and colony as an intricate network shaping the contours of the
Mediterranean and renewing itself through violence. It also focuses on the rhetoric undergirding
colonial and fascist discourses, and the counterinsurgent and resistance strategies that, in turn,
challenge these hegemonies. By situating this particular Mediterranean narrative within the
broader colonial discourse, the course encourages critical reflection on the enduring legacies of
imperial power that informs the region’s historical trajectories

Historians frequently situate Armenia between two powers: between Rome and Persia, then Byzantium and Islam. This class will shake up the usual “between-two-worlds” paradigm, which places Armenia and Armenians in the crosshairs of world powers. Instead, we will study Armenians as active participants in world dramas, at the center of global developments. Our main goal will be to draw upon a variety of sources to tell the story of Armenia and Armenians: histories, poems, art, coins, buildings, etc.  

Goals

• Critically assess what it means to study history. [Why are we learning this?]
• Analyze primary sources, whether written or material. [How can we study this?]
• Engage with modern scholarship on Armenian experiences. [How have other people studied this?]

This course examines how societies grapple with the legacy of mass violence through an exploration of historical texts, memoirs, novels, films, textbooks, litigation, and media reports and debates. Focusing on case studies of the Herero Genocide, the Armenian genocide during WWI, and the Holocaust and “Comfort Women” during WWII, students will investigate the crime and its sequelae. We will explore how societies deal with skeletons in their closets (from engaging in a conspiracy of silence, trivialization, rationalization, and denial to acknowledgment and reparations); analyze texts of official apologies and non-apologies; survey responses of survivors and their descendants (with particular attention to post-memory, multidirectional memory, forgiveness, anger and resentment, and the pursuit of redress); and dissect public debates on modern day issues that recall past atrocities. 

This seminar, designed for seniors, aims to acquaint students with the notion and theoretical understanding of culture and to introduce them to a critical method by which they can study and appreciate contemporary culture in the Arab World. The seminar will survey examples of written and cinematic culture (fiction and autobiography), as well as music, dance, and literary criticism in the contemporary Arab world. Students will be reading novels, autobioghraphies and literary criticism, as well as watch films and listen to music as part of the syllabus. All material will be in translation. Films will be subtitled. Songs will be in Arabic.

Prerequisites: minimum GPA of 3.5 in MESAAS courses. The MESAAS honors seminar offers students the opportunity to undertake a sustained research project under close faculty supervision. The DUS advises on general issues of project design, format, approach, general research methodologies, and timetable. In addition, students work with an individual advisor who has expertise in the area of the thesis and can advise on the specifics of method and content. The thesis will be jointly evaluated by the adviser, the DUS, and the honors thesis TA. The DUS will lead students through a variety of exercises that are directly geared to facilitating the thesis. Students build their research, interpretive, and writing skills; discuss methodological approaches; write an annotated bibliography; learn to give constructive feedback to peers and respond to feedback effectively. The final product is a polished research paper in the range of 40-60 pages. Please note: This is a one-year course that begins in the fall semester (1 point) and continues through the spring semester (3 points). Only students who have completed both semesters will receive the full 4 points of credit.

Advanced instruction in the Armenian dialect. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

While helping students advance their levels of oral and written expression, this course focuses on literature of the modern and medieval periods, with particular emphasis on the development of the modern novella and traditional and new forms of poetry. In addition to literature, students are introduced to a wide variety of genres from political and cultural essays and blogs to newspaper translations of the early 20th century. They will be further exposed to ta´rof in reference to a wide variety of socio-cultural contexts and be expected to use ta´rof in class conversations. Students will be exposed to popular artists and their works and satirical websites for insight into contemporary Iranian culture and politics. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

This course constitutes the first half of a year-long advanced reading course in Classical Sanskrit. In 2021-2022, the focus of Advanced Sanskrit will be the genres of literary theory (alaṅkāraśāstra) and belles-lettres (kāvya). Lending equal attention to literary theory and literary practice, this course will introduce students to iconic works of Sanskrit literature along with the interpretive frameworks whereby they were analyzed, relished, and appraised. Literary excerpts may be drawn from an array of subgenres, including courtly epic (mahākāvya), epic drama (nāṭaka), literary prose (gadya), and individual verses (muktaka). Rigorous analysis of primary texts will be supplemented by occasional discussions about what implications the disciplined reading of kāvya may hold for practices such as translation, comparative literature, and transdisciplinarity. Prerequisites: Intermediate Sanskrit II or instructor’s permission. 

This course will focus on the Indo-Islamic literary traditions in South Asia, and particularly in what is now India and Pakistan, focusing on Urdu literature from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The course will emphasize the rhetorical and performative history of poetic forms in the subcontinent (including the forms of the Ghazal and Nauha, among others) and will consider how classical poetic tropes continue to inform contemporary mass culture in India and Pakistan—particularly in the song lyrics of Hindi/Bollywood cinema. The course will also consider more contemporary prose genres of Urdu-language writing (in English translation), including the literature of the Partition and the works of contemporary authors such as Naiyer Masud and Saima Iram.

Through a comparative study of texts in different genres and at different moments in history, students will consider questions such as: What aspects of contemporary literary culture in India and Pakistan can be traced to early establishment of Islamic culture in the region? How have the poetic conventions of Indo-Islamic poetry continued to resonate? How did the interaction of Hindu and Muslim literary, musical, visual, and religious cultures in the Mughal era help to generate the rich profusion of literature and music and cultural tolerance in this period?

Most of our readings in this course will Urdu literature in English translation. We will also, however, read some secondary sources in order to help us better understand the primary sources.

This seminar is based entirely on the primary sources of Ṣūfism, including the writings of Qushayrī, Nūrī, Muḥāsibī, Sarrāj, Ghazālī, Hujwīrī, Ibn ʿArabī, Suhrawardī, Shaʿrānī, and al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī. We will explore how the leading Ṣūfīs saw themselves and the ways in which they articulated their identity. This is also articulated in the ways they organized their works and constructed the biographies of their ethical exemplars. We will study their major concepts and descriptions of their own experiences, and then theorize their subjective formations as “hermeneutics of the subject.” Inasmuch as this seminar is about how we study and view Ṣūfism, it is also as much about the various ways this conception of the world can inform a basis of a set of critiques of modernity and its epistemologies and practices.

This course is designed to introduce the student to key debates in the study of societies marked by the centrality of settler-native relations: We shall focus on four key debates: (a) how to conceptualize extreme violence, as criminal or political; (b) the relationship of perpetrators to beneficiaries; (c) the significance of human rights institutions, from the Nuremberg Court to the International Criminal Court to the question of decolonization: and (d) the making of a political community of survivors after catastrophe. The class will be organized around several case studies: (a) Ireland; (b) the Americas; (c) Haiti; (d) Australia; (e) the Nuremberg Court; (f) South Africa; and (g) Israel / Palestine.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This graduate seminar situates the history of photography within the history of colonial productions of tropicality, and the concomitant occupation of tropical places. Specific regimes of vision accompanied the European conquest of peoples and lands, undergirded the racialization of bodies, and colluded in epistemic binaries of centers and peripheries. At the same time, modern visual media did not possess an intrinsically “colonial gaze.” Rather, many of the same apparatuses of seeing and representation proved to be powerful tools in the assertion of minoritized selves, be it in fugitive , playful, or explicitly confrontational forms. Our focus will be on 19th -20th century lens-based image production, particularly photography. Each week we will acquaint ourselves with concepts and methods that will help us read images, situate current decolonial debates in visual studies within older foundational debates on vision and visuality, and read key texts in historiography. Weekly readings are curated as per a spatial logic, retracing the itineraries of colonial adventurism and control: from the ship to the island, the plantation, the prison, and the laboratory. This seminar is designed mainly for doctoral students; Masters students can join with instructor permission.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Familiarity with foundational debates in photography studies.

• Ability to articulate the relationship between a history of vision, the production of space, and the epistemic techniques of colonialism.

• A comparative history of colonized islands and archipelagoes construed as “tropical.”

• Methods in postcolonial, anti-colonial, and decolonial reading of texts and images.

This course aims to familiarize graduate students with the different methods and approaches that US and European scholars have used to study gender and sexuality in other societies generally, and the way they study them in the context of the Arab World specifically. The course will also explore how Arab scholars have also studied their own societies. We will survey these different approaches, both theoretical and empirical, outlining their methodological difficulties and limitations. Readings will consist of theoretical elaborations of these difficulties and the methodological and empirical critiques that the field itself has generated in order to elaborate how gender and sexuality in the Arab World have been studied, or more accurately, not studied, and how many of these methodological pitfalls can be avoided.