THEMATIC SEMINAR (NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST)

The thematic seminar, offered as part of the master's degree program, aims to explore a specific theme by analyzing it from different perspectives of the languages and cultures of the Near and Middle East. During the academic year 2024-25, the course will focus on linguistic traditions and language ideology in the Near and Middle East during Late Antiquity, with a focus on some case studies, including the Arabic and Syriac traditions.

The expected learning outcomes relate to the analysis of linguistic literatures. Course participants will approach the topic of language description and canonization, also accounting for its historical and cultural components. Students will critically analyze the different language (re)presentations of the Near and Middle East from the perspectives of the authors of the respective linguistic traditions. Furthermore, they will familiarize themselves with theories, approaches, and methods in the fields of linguistics, metalinguistics, and philosophy of language.

General knowledge of the historical and cultural background of North Africa, and the Near and Middle East. Knowledge of English and the language of your study program.

An interdisciplinary approach is built into the program’s structure, utilizing methods from historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and philosophy of language. Students will be introduced to the study of language description and canonization by investigating historical aspects, source description and use, as well as studies from the linguistic traditions. The approach to the investigation will be primarily metalinguistic.

Main reference:
Auroux, Sylvain, E.F.K. Koerner, Hans-Josef Niederehe, and Kees Versteegh, eds. History of the Language Sciences / Geschichte Der Sprachwissenschaften / Histoire Des Sciences Du Langage. 1. Teilband. Vol. 1. History of the Language Sciences. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2000, pp. 215-344.
Further references and materials will be provided at a later stage.

All course participants are required to read all the reference texts that will be provided and to actively engage in discussing them in class.
The assessment will be based on: 50% presentation on a topic agreed upon with the lecturer; 50% oral examination on the course topics.

Lectures, group discussions, presentations.

Italian

The exam consists of writing a paper on a topic covered in the course and an oral exam.

written and oral