The Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Civilizations minor introduces students to the cultures, histories, languages, and archaeology of ancient Egypt and the ancient Middle East. Students will explore the principal civilizations of the ancient worlds studying the human experience as it unfolds in documents, monuments, and architectural marvels and to further investigate these ancient artifacts in modern times through the use of cutting edge technology. The minor requires students to take five upper-division courses, one course may overlap with the student's major course.
Declaring the Minor
Students may declare the minor as soon as they begin their course study. Please find the minor declaration form in the Near Eastern Studies Department. Students must declare the minor no later than the semester before their Expected Graduation Term (EGT). Please see the L&S minor guidelines for more information.
Other Majors and Minors offered by the Department of Near Eastern Studies
The minor in Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Civilizations requires one lower division course and five upper-division courses.
General Guidelines
All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions. To declare a minor, contact the department advisor for information on requirements, and the declaration process.
All courses taken to satisfy the minor requirement must be taken for a letter grade and be at least 3 units.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in order to declare and complete the minor.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor program.
With the prior consent of the faculty adviser, students may take courses across various disciplines to satisfy the minor requirements.
Requirements
Course List
Code
Title
Units
Lower Division
Required: One of the following lower division courses
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2019, Fall 2017
This course introduces the fundamentals of the language and hieroglyphic script of Middle Egyptian used to write stories, poems, biographies and letters, magical spells, and eye-witness accounts of historical events from thousands of years ago. The study of this ancient language enables students to read the classics of Egyptian literature and understand the emergence and development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, and the laws, customs, social structures, and religious beliefs of the ancient people of the Nile Valley. Lectures present the grammar and writing; much of the in-class time is devoted to the translating and close reading of texts, with a discussion of their cultural and historical context and meaning. Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: This course is a prerequisite for Egyptian 100B, offered in the spring semester. Both semesters of Egyptian 100 are required prerequisites for any of the other ancient Egyptian language courses
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Egyptian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2016
This course introduces the fundamentals of the language and hieroglyphic script of Middle Egyptian used to write stories and poems, biographies and letters, magical spells, and eye-witness accounts of historical events from thousands of years ago. The study of this ancient language enables students to read the classics of Egyptian literature and understand the emergence and development of one of the world’s oldest writing systems, and the laws, customs, social structures, and religious beliefs of the ancient people of the Nile Valley. Lectures present the grammar and writing; much of the in-class time is devoted to the translating and close reading of texts, with a discussion of their cultural and historical context and meaning. Introduction to Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: EGYPTIAN 100A or with the consent of the instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Egyptian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
The ancient Near East (present-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Turkey) is considered the cradle of civilization. Here in Mesopotamia and its neighboring regions, the first cities arose, writing was invented, armies forged the earliest empires, and complex religious beliefs were expressed in art and architecture. This course surveys the major archaeological sites and monuments from the earliest settlements to the conquest of the Near East by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE. Introduction to Near Eastern Art and Archaeology: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Near Eastern Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2007, Fall 2005, Spring 2003
The course will treat in depth topics in Islamic architecture and topics in Islamic art. Subjects addressed may include painting, calligraphy, and book production. Topics in Islamic Art: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Near Eastern Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2009, Spring 2005, Spring 2001
A general survey of the religious history of Iran in the Islamic period, covering the rise and development of religious institutions, the elaboration of the religious sciences, Sufism, and sectarian movements. Islam in Iran: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Near Eastern Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2004
A survey of the main themes in the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic history of Central Asia and adjacent regions, principally from the rise of Islam down to the present. The first half of the course will deal with the Iranian element in Central Asia, and particularly with the Tajiks. The second half will be devoted to the Turks, including their history and expansion, not only in Central Asia but also in Anatolia and South East Europe. Topics in the History of Central Asia and the Turks: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Near Eastern Studies/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Azza Ahmad, Assistant Adjunct Professor. Arabic Languages, CMES.
Wali Ahmadi, Associate Professor. Persian languages, Persian literature. Research Profile
Asad Ahmed, Associate Professor. Islam (social and intellectual history). Research Profile
Adam Benkato, Professor. Iranian Studies, Senior Research Scholar at CMES.
Daniel Boyarin, Professor. Talmud, rhetoric, Christianity, genealogy of, invention of Judaism. Research Profile
Simon Brelaud, Assistant Adjunct Professor. Assyrian Studies, Syriac Language.
Ahmad Diab, Assistant Professor. Modern Arabic Literature. Research Profile
Ronald Hendel, Professor. Textual criticism, Hebrew bible, ancient Near Eastern religion and mythology, Northwest Semitic linguistics. Research Profile
Chana Kronfeld, Professor. Comparative literature, modernism, Hebrew, Yiddish, modern poetry, minor literatures, politics of literary history, feminist stylistics, intertextuality, translation studies. Research Profile
Margaret Larkin, Professor. Near Eastern studies. Research Profile
Rita Lucarelli, Associate Professor. Near Eastern Studies, Egyptology. Research Profile
Nasser Meerkhan, Assistant Professor. Near Eastern Studies, and Spanish and Portuguese.
Benjamin Porter, Associate Professor. Archaeology, Near Eastern archaeology, Middle East, Arid Environments, anthropology, Heritage, tourism, and Museum Studies. Research Profile
Carol A. Redmount, Associate Professor. Egyptology. Research Profile
Francesca Rochberg, Professor. History of science, ancient near east, cuneiform studies. Research Profile
Niek Veldhuis, Professor. Digital humanities, intellectual history, Sumerian, cuneiform. Research Profile
Lecturers
Rutie Adler, Lecturer.
Hatem A. Bazian, Lecturer. Near Eastern studies. Research Profile
Elsa Elmahdy, Lecturer.
Gholam-Reza Ghahramani, Lecturer.
John L. Hayes, Lecturer.
Sanjyot Mehendale, Lecturer. Near Eastern studies, Central Asia, Central Asian studies, archaeology and art history. Research Profile
Haitham S. Mohamed, Lecturer.
Laurie Pearce, Lecturer.
Barbara Richter, Lecturer.
Jason Christopher Vivrette, Lecturer.
Emeritus Faculty
Ayla Algar, Lecturer Emeritus. Turkish language and literature, language pedagogy.
Hamid Algar, Professor Emeritus.
Robert B. Alter, Professor Emeritus. Comparative literature, Near Eastern studies, 19th-century European and American novel, modernism, literary aspects of the bible, modern and biblical Hebrew literature. Research Profile
Guitty Azarpay, Professor Emeritus. Art and archaeology of the ancient Near East and Central Asia. Research Profile
Ariel A. Bloch, Professor Emeritus.
Chava Boyarin, Professor Emeritus.
Wolfgang J. Heimpel, Professor Emeritus. Near Eastern studies. Research Profile
Anne D. Kilmer, Professor Emeritus.
David Larkin, Lecturer Emeritus. Egyptology.
James T. Monroe, Professor Emeritus.
Jaleh Pirnazar, Lecturer Emeritus. Modern Iranian history Persian language and literature, Iranian Cinema.
Martin Schwartz, Professor Emeritus. Near Eastern studies. Research Profile
Muhammad Siddiq, Professor Emeritus. Near Eastern studies. Research Profile
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