HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST II

The class of "History of the Ancient Near East II" is framed into both the History, and the Humanities curricula ("Corso di Laurea Triennale in Storia" and "Corso di Laurea Triennale in Lettere"). Its main goal is to provide an in-depth analysis of a monographic subject of study concerning institutions and ecomic, social, and cultural aspects of Ancient Near Eastern civilizations.

At the end of the course, students will have acquired a basic knowledge of the historical sources pertaining to the Ancient Near East, along with an up-to-date methodology for addressing a specific subject in this field of study. They will also be informed about historiography, bibliography and available digital resources.
During the course, students are also expected to:
a) participate with their colleagues in open discussions about historical issues in order to consolidate their critical capacities;
b) learn to collect, analyse and organize the documentation in view of a specific research project;
c) raise questions regarding the nature and reliability of the sources;
d) acquire the ability to write a short essay or exercise on an agreed subject and to present their results to their colleagues.

No specific prerequisit is required; a basic knowledge of the History of the Ancient Near East is necessary and can be acquired through a few readings that will be suggested at the beginning of classes.

The title of this course is "The invention of Writing in the Ancient Near East". The lectures will focus on the historical, political, and social context of one of the greatest intellectual achievements of humankind. More in detail, we shall inquire in comparative interdisciplinary perspective the earliest written sources from the fourth millennium BCE, stemming from both southern Mesopotamia and Iran. In addition, we shall compare them with later written sources, in order to achieve a better understanding of how the writing technique got structured in ancient Near Eastern cultures. Key questions in this avenue of research are: what is the function of writing in the ancient world? How is writing related to pee-existing accountable systems? In what context was writing exploited? What impact did writing have on the process of cultural evolution?

Liverani, M. 2007: Uruk, the first City. London / Oakville: Equinox.
Woods, C. et alii 2015: Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond. OIMP 32. Chicago: The Oriental Institute. (pdf: https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oimp32.pdf )

Oral exam on topics discussed in class. For those students who cannot attend classes, alternative readings will be assigned upon request.

Public lectures; sources and materials will be made available to the students. Analysis and discussion in class of selected sources. Exploration of on-line resources.

Italian

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development