New English Master Degree Program starts in the winter term 2024/25 "Science, Technology and Medicine in the Ancient World (STMAW)"

 Image Credit: Christian Casey

Teaching in the winter semester 2024/25

Divination in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13990 Lecture: J. Cale Johnson, Joost Hazenbos
Tuesday, 14:00-16:00 h c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 15.10.2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

Divination played an especially important role in the history of Mesopotamia and Anatolia and the bulk of the course focuses on the different forms of divination in ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Anatolia and neighboring societies in the Eastern Mediterranean (e.g., Greece), but the course will also pay attention to divination in China, America and Central Asia. We will look specifically at the ways in which divinatory practice was valued, as a form of knowledge, whether or not it represents a scientific practice, its role in statecraft and religion, and, in particular, how different forms of divination moved from Mesopotamia into neighboring regions and vice versa. There is a companion reading seminar: "Reading divinatory texts in translation". This course will be taught in English.

 

Reading Divinatory Texts in Translation (2 SWS per week)

13991 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson, Joost Hazenbos
Thursday 14:00-16:00 h c.t.
First session: Thursday, 17.10.2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This is the companion seminar for the lecture "Divination in the Ancient World" (LV 13990), in which we will read texts concerned with divination. The texts will be read in translation. This course will be taught in English.

 

Knowledge and its Resources: Concepts, Methods, Historiographies (2 SWS per week)

13993 Seminar: Etienne Benson, J. Cale Johnson, Dagmar Schäfer
Wednesday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 16.10.2024
Venue: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Boltzmannstr. 22, room 265

The thriving field of history of knowledge has developed multiple strands across many historical disciplines in recent decades, but has yet to be underpinned by a rigorous methodological training. The Seminar’s program addresses this critical gap. Through the notion of “resources,” it offers a framework to bring the divergent historiographies of knowledge into structured dialogue, thus opening up new avenues of understanding and

research. At the intersection of media studies, STS, history of science and technology, regional studies and art history, and history of the humanities, this course addresses the core concepts, methodologies, and historiographies necessary to disentangle the complex relationships between knowledge and its resources in a long-term and global perspective. Key to the agenda is a “historical-political epistemology.” This approach highlights the ways in which all kinds of knowledge are shaped historically and views critically their material and environmental effects to understand how political systems, technological infrastructures, and social interaction shape the resource economics of knowledge cultures

The course is part of the International Max-Planck-Research School (IMPRS) curriculum and invites Master’s students from all three Berlin universities. It will be taught in English. If you are not enrolled in the MA Program “Science, Technology and Medicine in the Ancient World, please apply with a short motivational email to Megan Briers mrbriers@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de by October 4, 2024.

 

Introduction to History of Ancient Science - Methods and Topics (2 SWS per week)

13994 Method course: Mathieu Ossendrijver 
Tuesday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 15.10.2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This course offers an introduction to methods, sources, and topics in the history and the historiography of ancient science. Addressed topics include past and present approaches to the study of ancient science (e.g Kuhn's paradigms, sociology of knowledge), philological, archival, and epistemological approaches); knowledge transfer; divination, mathematics, astral science, scholarly circles

For students who are enrolled in the MA program "Science, Technology and Medicine in the Ancient World", this is a companion course to "Knowledge and its Resources (LV 13993)

 

Mythology from the Sumerians to the Presocratics II (2 SWS per week)

13995 Method course: J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 16.10.2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This seminar looks at the broad history of written myth, ranging from southern Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC, through the Hurro-Hittite and Ugaritic myths, to their earliest manifestation in Greek myth. This course focuses in particular on how myths are transformed and reinterpreted as they pass from one culture or written tradition into the next, on the origins of commentary traditions in text and image, and on whether or to what extent modern theories of mythology can contribute to our understanding. Each seminar meeting will combine lecture, discussion and reading of ancient mythical sources in English translation. The course will be taught chronologically over two semesters, so students are strongly encouraged to take course both courses as part of a single module. This course will be taught in English.

 

Agriculture in Ancient China and Mesopotamia: Theories and Practices (2 SWS per week)

13992 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson, Dagmar Schäfer
Friday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Friday, 18.10.2024
Venue: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Boltzmannstr. 22, room 265

In this seminar, students are invited to explore the role of agriculture in China and Mesopotamia. Both China and Mesopotamia have served in different ways as canvases for historians, past and present, to develop their ideas about the historical formation of society, economy and knowledge making. Engaging with this secondary literature we have another look at primary sources and new theory building in the field of history. The comparative perspective is chosen to enhance critical thinking about the nature of historical sources.

 

Thinking Across the Divide: Mathematics, History, and Society (2 SWS per week)

13996 Lecture: Anuj Misra
Wednesday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 16.10.2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

COURSE OVERVIEW

This course discusses developments in mathematics within their historical, sociocultural, and philosophical contexts. In this course, students will learn about mathematical encounters between different cultures by reading historical documents from various sources.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this course are to train learners in (a) recognising diversity in mathematical thinking; (b) becoming aware of the interconnectedness between mathematical activities, sociocultural practices, geopolitical movements, and philosophical positions; and (c) analysing the past to engage with the present. In addition, the course is designed to help students develop transferable skills in historical analyses, critical thinking, verbal and written communication, and collaborative research.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course introduces the history of mathematical practices in different cultures. Through a series of lectures, we will examine select contributions from classical antiquity, post-classical history, and the modern period. Our emphasis will be on understanding the diversity in the mathematical thinking of different cultures. The lectures will include material from historical books, research articles, monographs, and textbooks. In addition, we will also include articles from ethnographic and anthropological studies to understand non-traditional forms of mathematical practice: for instance, the study of South Indian kolam (decorative patterns) design or the Mäori art of mahi kete whakairo (weaving of flax kits). Towards the end of the first half of this course, we will select (parts of) a historical mathematical text to discuss it in greater detail. This selection will be chosen in consultation with all participating students. For example, our selection could come from Euclid’s Elements, Brahmagupta’s Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta, al-Khwārizmī’s Al-kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr waʾl-muqābala, Qín Jiǔsháo’s Shùshū Jiǔzhāng, Regiomontanus’ De Triangulis Omnimodis, Descartes’ Le Discours de la méthode, or Whitehead and Russell’s Principia Mathematica (to name just a few).

 

Mathematics, Society, and the Mind: A Seminar Series  (2 SWS per week)

13997 Seminar: Anuj Misra, with special sessions by visiting scholars
Thursday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 17.10.2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This is a companion seminar series for the lecture course on “Thinking Across the Divide: Mathematics, History, and Society” (LV 13996). Through a curated selection of research articles and primary texts (in translation), as well as topical seminars by visiting scholars, we will discuss the influence of language, culture, and identity on the mathematical thinking of different societies. The aim of the discussions will be to motivate students to reflect upon the philosophy of mathematics seen through the lenses of onto-epistemic pluralities. 

 

Fields, Food and Festivals

13998 Block seminar (8 sessions): J. Cale Johnson  
Monday, 14.10.2024, 13:00-17:00; Thursday, 17.10.2024, 16:00-20.00; Friday, 18.10.2024, 13:00-17:00; Saturday, 19.10.2024, 13:00-17:00; Monday, 21.10.2024, 13:00-17:00; Thursday, 24.10.2024, 16:00-20:00; Friday, 25.10.2024, 13:00-17:00; Saturday, 26.10.2024, 13:00-17:00, c.t.  
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This block seminar, in the first two weeks of the semester, will take a deep dive into the administrative history of agricultural fields, the production of staple crops and the role of these staples in food products produced for major feasts. Although the block seminar will focus on proto-cuneiform texts from several different cities in southern Mesopotamia, it will also look at related bookkeeping practices from other cuneiform sources in the third millennium BCE. Basic knowledge of cuneiform is required for participation, although specific familiarity with proto-cuneiform is not required.

 

Summer Term  2024

Medicine in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13950 Basic course: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 18. April 2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

The course will survey the development of medicine in Mesopotamia, draw important parallels with contemporary Egyptian medical practice, and also look at the spread of originally Mesopotamian traditions into several Aramaic dialects. These materials and traditions represent the most important examples of disciplinary medicine prior to the advent of Greco-Roman medicine and we will also look at any possible links between these traditions and the Greco-Roman world. We will focus in particular on the emergence of technical literature in Mesopotamia, how technical compendia anchored specific disciplines and indoctrinated its would-be practitioners, and the specific pathways through which these materials were transmitted to other medical traditions. There is a companion reading seminar for those interested in reading some texts in the original cuneiform. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Additional information for students:

For this course, please enrol via Campus Management. If this is not possible, enrol via the form "Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung" when you decide to take the course. You can find the form on the website of the Studienbüro Geschkult. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 90 hours, exam preparation and exam 120 hours. For a term paper you need to write 5000 words. By attending also the companion course “13951 - Ancient Medicine in Translation” the workload equals 450 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program." Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

 

Ancient Medicine in Translation (2 SWS per week)

13951 Reading class: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 18. April 2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This course serves as both a discussion section for the lectures and secondary literature readings in “Medicine in the Ancient World” as well as the primary context in which we will read and discuss ancient texts in translation. Although these primary documents in translation will be in a number of different ancient genres, including diagnostic texts and therapeutics prescriptions, we will also look at letters, law codes and mythological texts that are relevant to ancient medicine. No knowledge of ancient languages or writing systems is required. All texts will be read in English translation. Students are strongly encouraged to take this course in combination with “Medicine in the Ancient World” as a single module. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Additional information for students:

For this course, please enrol via Campus Management. If this is not possible, enrol via the form "Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung" when you decide to take the course. You can find the form on the website of the Studienbüro Geschkult. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 180 hours, exam preparation and exam 120 hours. For a term paper you need to write 5000 words. By attending also the companion course “13950 - Ancient Medicine in Translation” the workload equals 450 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program." Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

 

The Origin of Writing in Eurasia: Anthropological Perspectives (2 SWS per week)

13952 Introductory course: J. Cale Johnson
Tuesday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 16. April 2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 006

This lecture combines an introduction to the history of de novo writing in the ancient world (Mesopotamia, Egypt and China) with elements of discourse analysis and semiotics. We will look at how notation has structured human consciousness and thought over time, as well as how interactions between notation and cognition have led to new levels and types of metapragmatic awareness. One of the main goals will be to build bridges between students focusing on ancient writing systems and others with an interest in semiotics and anthropological theories. The first part of the course will focus on the origins of writing systems, while the second part will look at models of textuality and poetics and how large-scale textual structures (such as ring epics, compendia, or encyclopedias) are organized. No knowledge of any ancient languages or writing systems is required, but there will be substantial reading of secondary literature from several disciplines. This course will be taught in English.

Additional information for students:

For this course, please enrol via Campus Management. If this is not possible, enrol via the form "Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung" when you decide to take the course. You can find the form on the website of the Studienbüro Geschkult. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 90 hours, exam preparation and exam 120 hours. For a term paper you need to write 5000 words. By attending also the companion course “13953 – Late Uruk Notational Practices” the workload equals 450 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program." Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

Late Uruk Notational Practices (2 SWS per week)

13953 Method course: J. Cale Johnson
Tuesday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 16. April 2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This course is an introduction to Late Uruk notational practices, including sealing practices, bullae and tablet formation, and writing techniques, including both proto-cuneiform and proto-Elamite. No previous knowledge of any ancient language or writing system is presupposed or required. This course also serves as the lab or Methodenübung for “Notation and Metapragmatic Awareness,” and we strongly encourage students to enrol in both courses as a single module. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Additional information for students:

For this course, please enrol via Campus Management. If this is not possible, enrol via the form "Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung" when you decide to take the course. You can find the form on the website of the Studienbüro Geschkult. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 180 hours, exam preparation and exam 120 hours. For a term paper you need to write 5000 words. By attending also the companion course “13952 – Notation and Metapragmatic Awareness” the workload equals 450 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program." Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

Mythology from the Sumerians to the Presocratics I (2 SWS per week)

13954 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 17. April 2024
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This seminar looks at the broad history of written myth, ranging from southern Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC, through the Hurro-Hittite and Ugaritic myths, to their earliest manifestation in Greek myth. This course focuses in particular on how myths are transformed and reinterpreted as they pass from one culture or written tradition into the next, on the origins of commentary traditions in text and image, and on whether or to what extent modern theories of mythology can contribute to our understanding. Each seminar meeting will combine lecture, discussion and reading of ancient mythical sources in English translation. The course will be taught chronologically over two semesters, so students are strongly encouraged to take course both courses as part of a single module. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Additional information for students:

For this course, please enrol via Campus Management. If this is not possible, enrol via the form "Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung" when you decide to take the course. You can find the form on the website of the Studienbüro Geschkult. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 90 hours, exam preparation and exam 120 hours. For a term paper you need to write 5000 words. By attending also the companion course in the next semester the workload equals 450 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program." Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

 

Introduction to Ancient Astral Sciences (2 SWS per week)

13956 Lecture: Mathieu Ossendrijver
Tuesday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 30. April 2024 !!!
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

The lecture introduces central topics from the astral sciences (astronomy, celestial divination, astrology, cosmology) of the ancient world with a focus on Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Greco-Roman world. Topics to be covered are methodological aspects of research on ancient astral science; the reconstruction of ancient practices and theories based on original sources.

Additional information for students:

For this course, please enrol via Campus Management. If this is not possible, enrol via the form "Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung" when you decide to take the course. You can find the form on the website of the Studienbüro Geschkult. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 90 hours, exam preparation and exam 120 hours. For a term paper you need to write 5000 words. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program."Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

 

Winter term 2023/24

Divination in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13950 Vorlesung: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 19.10.2023
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010
Please register via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

Divination played an especially important role in the history of Mesopotamia and the bulk of the course focuses on the different forms of divination in ancient Mesopotamia and neighboring societies in the Eastern Mediterranean. We will look specifically at the ways in which divinatory practice was valued, as a form of knowledge, whether or not it represents a scientific practice, its role in statecraft and religion, and, in particular, how different forms of divination moved from Mesopotamia into neighboring regions and vice versa. There is a companion reading seminar: "Reading divinatory texts in translation". The course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

 

Reading Divinatory Texts in Translation (2 SWS per week)

13951 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday 12:00-14:00 h c.t.
First session: Thursday, 19.10.2023
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010
Please register via email. wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

This is the companion seminar for the lecture "Divination in the Ancient World" (LV 13950-W23), in which we will read texts concerned with divination. The texts will be read in translation. This course will be taught in English.

 

Introduction to Numeracy and Mathematics in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13955 Lecture: Mathieu Ossendrijver 
Tuesday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 17. October 2023
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

Counting, measuring, accounting, computing, and modeling are essential techniques for the organization of societies, both in our modern era and in the ancient world. This lecture introduces central topics from the history of numeracy and mathematics in the ancient world, with an emphasis on Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Greco-Roman world. The focus is on reconstructing and interpreting ancient practices based on translated original sources and on the methodological aspects of research on numeracy and mathematics in the ancient world. The topics covered by the lecture include ancient accounting and the origins of writing; algorithms, arithmetics, geometry in Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman mathematics; cultures of proof 

 

An Applied Introduction to Data Analysis with R

13957 Blockseminar: Néhémie Strupler
Friday, 09:00-17:00 h c.t.
Sessions: 03.11.2023, 10.11.2023, 17.11.2023, 24.11.2023
Venue: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
Please register via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

A proficient understanding of and skill in managing digital data are crucial in the era of Digital Humanities. R, a widely utilized tool, serves this purpose effectively. This block seminar offers students a comprehensive introduction to the functions and capabilities of the statistical software and programming language R. The primary objective is to empower students to independently conduct scientific data analyses. Upon completion, participants shall be able to apply the acquired knowledge to their own research (Hausarbeiten and Bachelor/Master theses). Key topics covered in the course include data import, object creation, object indexing, creating graphics, performing statistical evaluations, and programming in R.

Requirements:

Students must bring their own laptop computer with RStudio installed. RStudio is free to download at the following website: https://posit.co/products/open-source/rstudio/#Desktop

Additional information for students:

For this course it is not possible to enrol via Campus Management. Please enrol via the form “Modul-, Lehrveranstaltungs- und Prüfungsanmeldung” when you decided to take the course. Please submit this document to the Studienbüro within the same time frame you would have to enrol in your courses via Campus Management. The workload of the course equals 150 hours: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 60 hours, exam 60 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program.” Please register also via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

For graded participation in this course, the Hausarbeit will need to be completed between the last session of the course and December 31, 2023. No extensions will be granted.

 

Knowledge and Its Resources: Concepts, Methods, Historiographies (Seminar, 2 SWS per week)

13956 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson, Dagmar Schäfer and Christine von Oertzen
Wednesday, 16-18:00 h c.t.
First session: 18.10.2023
Venue: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, room 265, Boltzmannstraße 22

The thriving field of history of knowledge has developed multiple strands across many historical disciplines in recent decades, but has yet to be underpinned by a rigorous methodological training. The Seminar’s program addresses this critical gap. Through the notion of “resources,” it offers a framework to bring the divergent historiographies of knowledge into structured dialogue, thus opening up new avenues of understanding and research. At the intersection of media studies, STS, history of science and technology, regional studies and art history, and history of the humanities, this course addresses the core concepts, methodologies, and historiographies necessary to disentangling the complex relationships between knowledge and its resources in a long-term and global perspective. Key to the agenda is a “historical-political epistemology,” an approach highlighting the ways in which knowledge is shaped historically and in which political systems, technological infrastructures, and social interaction shape the resource economics of knowledge cultures.

Requirements:

Please note that the reading load will be very high; we expect MA-students to apply with a short description of their motivation for this Seminar; there will be a strict maximum number of students. Potential students need instructor permission. Deadline for the application: October 10, 2023. Write to: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

 

Summer term 2023

Beyond Image & Text: Multimodal Artefact Analysis in Ancient Studies (2 SWS per week)

13915 Seminar: Elisa Roßberger and J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 19. April 2023
Venue: Holzlaube, 0.2052

Communication with and through artefacts is and always has been multimodal (Kress 2010). Understanding an artefact’s message requires the spectator/user to consider its material, visual, textual, aural and/or spatial qualities and to apply multiple forms of literacy and sensory perception. Since the early days of writing in the late fourth millennium BCE, people of ancient Mesopotamia created inscribed and figuratively rendered objects (clay tablets, statues, reliefs, vessels, weapons, cylinder seals etc.) that could act for/to a person or a divine being and/or invite certain actions. These structural, often playful and artistic artefact-text-image combinations necessitate an interdisciplinary approach which centers on the semiotic codes, sensory modalities and cognitive processes activated by these objects. The seminar introduces students to fundamental principles and ongoing discussions in social semiotics and multimodality studies (communication sciences). We will combine close readings of selected scholarly contributions from these fields with discussions of their applicability to the study of antiquity in general and the ancient Near East in particular. Knowledge of cuneiform and ancient Near Eastern languages (Sumerian, Akkadian), or the history and culture of the ancient Near East are useful but not compulsory (transliterations and translations will be provided for texts; equally, introductions to the cultural background of the objects where needed).

 

Understanding and Describing Image-Text-Objects from Ancient Western Asia (2 SWS per week)

13916 Colloquium: Elisa Roßberger and J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 19. April 2023
Venue: Holzlaube, room 0.2052

In this course, selected image-text objects (e.g. statues, reliefs, but also vessels, weapons etc. with inscriptions and figurative representations) from Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia from the 4th to the 1st millennium will be presented and discussed. The description and discussion of the material and visual aspects of an object take up just as much space as its textual components and the context of its discovery and use. For a better understanding of the social function and cultural significance of the objects, cuneiform sources (in translation) are consulted. The course provides basic skills for the precise description and cultural-historical classification of objects and trains an interdisciplinary (archaeological/philological) understanding of the material culture of ancient West Asia. Knowledge of the cuneiform languages is desirable but not a requirement.

 

Settlements & Urbanism in Archaeology. Theory and Digital Methods for Landscape Analysis (2 SWS per week)

13954 Seminar: Néhémie Strupler
Friday, 09:00-12:00 h. c.t.
First session: Friday, 28. April 2023
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010
Please register via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

This course will introduce the ways in which archaeologists attempt to understand settlements and urbanism in ancient landscapes. We will focus on various strategies and techniques of fieldwork and data interpretation, both theoretical and applied. We will become familiar with archaeological survey and spatial analysis of archaeological evidence across landscapes and how archaeologists collect data to interpret regional settlement systems, land use and communication. The main topic of discussion will be how landscapes came to be and how we can try to understand them using the full variety of data and analysis methods available to us. Although Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will be part of the course, this course will not focus on the use of GIS in archaeology. The case studies include regional works about Western Asia and the Mediterranean Basin.

 

Astrology in Greco-Roman scholarship (2 SWS per week)

13953 Seminar: Mathieu Ossendrijver 
Tuesday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 25. April 2023
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010
Please register via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.d

In this seminar we explore Greco-Roman scholarly works about astrology. On the one hand there are astrological handbooks such as the Tetrabiblos of Claudius Ptolemny, the Astronomica of Manilius, and the Anthology of Vettius Valens; on the other hand scholarly works that criticize astrology such as Cicero's On Divination. The handbooks contain both explanations of the technical aspects of astrology and theoretical discourse in which astrology is interpreted and justified with philosophical arguments. Secondly we will explore several works such as On Divination by Cicero that are critical of astrology and look at the arguments against astrology that were current in some circles of Greco-Roman scholarship. After an introductory session in week 1, the remaining sessions are structured as follows: short presentation by one participant (ca. 20-25 min) about reading material + discussion of reading material and presentation.

 

Exploring ancient Near Eastern culture through poetry and metaphor (2 SWS per week)

14415 Seminar: Grace Jeongyeon Park and J. Cale Johnson  
Tuesday, 16:00-18:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 18. April 2023
Venue of the first session: KL 23/140

Rather than emphasizing rhyme or meter, as in well-known Western poetries, the poetic texts in the ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Ugarit, Phoenicia and ancient Israel) emphasize parallelism, word pairs and metaphor. In this class, we’ll look at these special features of the earlier Near Eastern poetry as well as later Semitic language traditions, primarily in Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic and Hebrew. Alongside translations of the primary sources, we will also look at different ways of analyzing poetry, including the long history of parallelism as well as some readings on Conceptual Metaphor Theory. No knowledge of ancient languages is required and all materials will be studied in translation. The course will be taught in English.

Winter Term 2022/23

Divination in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13950 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Tuesday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Tuesday, 18.10.2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

Divination played an especially important role in the history of Mesopotamia and the bulk of the course focuses on the different forms of divination in ancient Mesopotamia and neighboring societies in the Eastern Mediterranean. We will look specifically at the ways in which divinatory practice was valued, as a form of knowledge, whether or not it represents a scientific practice, its role in statecraft and religion, and, in particular, how different forms of divination moved from Mesopotamia into neighboring regions and vice versa. There is a companion reading seminar for those interested in reading some texts in the original cuneiform. This course will be taught in English.

 

Reading Mesopotamian Divinatory Texts (2 SWS per week)

13951 Reading Class: J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday 12:00-14:00 h c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 19.10.2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This is a companion course for Divination in the Ancient World, in which we will read texts concerned with divination in the original cuneiform. Participants are expected to have at least one year of Akkadian or instructor permission before beginning the course. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Notation, Writing Systems and Metapragmatic Awareness (2 SWS per week)

13952 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 16:00-18:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 20.10.2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This lecture combines an introduction to the history of de novo writing in the ancient world (Mesopotamia, Egypt and China) with elements of discourse analysis and semiotics. We will look at how notation has structured human consciousness and thought over time, as well as how interactions between notation and cognition have led to new levels and types of metapragmatic awareness. One of the main goals will be to build bridges between students whose interests focus on ancient writing systems and others with an interest in semiotics and anthropological theories. The first part of the course will focus on the origins of writing systems, while the second part will look at models of textuality and poetics and how large-scale textual structures (such as ring epics, compendia, or encyclopedias) are organized. No knowledge of any ancient languages or writing systems is required, but there will be substantial reading of secondary literature from several disciplines. This course will be taught in English.

Agriculture, Slavery and the State in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13953 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 20.10.22
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

The development of cereal-based agriculture is now often seen as a central factor in the emegence of early states and the domestication of human labor, including different forms of slavery, and the emergence of bookkeeping in the ancient world. This course will look at how agriculture, slavery and bookkeeping interact in the earliest ancient world societies that make use of writing. In Mesopotamia, for example, the administration of human labor was one of the most important arenas in early written culture and conceptualization. It was in this area, which today can be described as “dependent labor” or “slavery" that the most important advances in administrative and legal history took place in the first millennium of cuneiform writing. The course is an ideal introduction to early writing systems and their interactions with social history for students of archaeology or ethnology as well as comparative, global, or legal history. This course will be taught in English.

Knowledge and Its Resources: Concepts, Methods, Historiographies (2 SWS per week)

13954 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson, Anke Te Heesen, Christina von Oertzen
Wednesday, 16:00-18:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 19.10.2022
Venue: Raum 215, MPIWG (Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte), Boltzmannstraße 22

The thriving field of history of knowledge has developed multiple strands across many historical disciplines in recent decades, but has yet to be underpinned by a rigorous methodological training. The Seminar’s program addresses this critical gap. Through the notion of “resources,” it offers a framework to bring the divergent historiographies of knowledge into structured dialogue, thus opening up new avenues of understanding and research. Key to the Seminar is a “historical-political epistemology,” an approach highlighting the ways in which knowledge is shaped historically and in which political systems, technological infrastructures, and social interaction shape the resource economics of knowledge cultures.

Introduction to the Ancient Astral Sciences (2 SWS per week)

13956 Lecture: M. Ossendrijver
Wednesday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 19.10.2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

The lecture introduces central topics from the astral sciences (astronomy, celestial divination, astrology, cosmology) of the ancient world with an emphasis on the Greco-Roman world, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The focus is on reconstructing and interpreting ancient practices and theories based on original sources and on the methodological aspects of research on ancient astral science. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Digital Data Workflows in Archaeology (2 SWS per week)

13957 Seminar: Néhémie Strupler
Friday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Friday, 21.10.2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

Digital data play an increasingly important role in how we understand the present and the past. Understanding and using digital data are as intellectually demanding as any other archaeological research endeavour.

This course focuses on understanding the workflows in digital data to make the most of the digital data that archaeologists produce as well as data available on the internet. In this course we you will strengthen your data literacy, learn to manage, assess, reuse and communicate the data our discipline creates and refers to. An important aspect of this course will be to explore the infrastructure of long term archives available online, what we can learn from the data online and how these can be leveraged for further research projects.

Requirement:

Students must bring their own computer (laptop) to each class with an up-to-date version of the free and open-source softwares R, R-studio and QGIS.

Summer term 2022

Medicine in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13991 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 20. April 2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

The course will survey the development of medicine in Mesopotamia, draw important parallels with contemporary Egyptian medical practice, and also look at the spread of originally Mesopotamian traditions into several Aramaic dialects. These materials and traditions represent the most important examples of disciplinary medicine prior to the advent of Greco-Roman medicine and we will also look at any possible links between these traditions and the Greco-Roman world. We will focus in particular on the emergence of technical literature in Mesopotamia, how technical compendia anchored specific disciplines and indoctrinated its would-be practitioners, and the specific pathways through which these materials were transmitted to other medical traditions. There is a companion reading seminar for those interested in reading some texts in the original cuneiform. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Reading Babylonian Medicine (2 SWS per week)

13992 Reading Class: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 21. April 2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010
Please reegister via email: wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de

This is a companion course for Babylonian Medicine (Lecture), in which we will read Babylonian medical texts from the cuneiform. Participants are expected to have at least one year of Akkadian or instructor permission before beginning the course. This course will be taught in English.

Introduction to Open and Reproducible Research in Archaeology Using R and Related Tools (Blockseminar)

13993 Seminar: Néhémie Strupler
Blog Semimnar, Thursday and Friday, 14.7.-15.7.2022 and 21.7.-22.7.2022, 09:00-17:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday 14. Juli 2022
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

In the age of digital archaeology, proper management of data and their manipulation (collecting, storing, analysing, sharing and archiving) is a key skill. Too often, we are not sure how we used data to find answers. What about the results you obtained a year ago or those that you used when you collaborated with other persons?

The replication of scientific findings is a standard by which scientific claims are evaluated. In the fields of science that cannot be replicated, there is a need for minimum standards to assert the conformity between data and results. In the realm of digital data, one candidate for this minimum standard is “reproducible research”, which requires that data sets and computer code be made available to others for verifying published results and conducting alternative analyses.

In this course you will learn the ideas of reproducible research. Topics covered include managing data and literate programming for data analyses. You will learn to write dynamic documents using R and related tools, to publish documents to the web and to collaborate with others to produce data analysis. We make use of a wide range Free Source software (R, Git, pandoc) and the course is taught using a combination of lectures, practical sessions and tutorials realised on your own laptop.

Requirement: No programming experience is necessary, but it will be expected to work in small teams to complete programming assignments. Students must bring their own computer (laptop) to each class.

Winter semester 2021/22

Divination in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13993 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 27.10.2021
Venue: -1.2057 Holzlaube

Divination played an especially important role in the history of Mesopotamia and the bulk of the course focuses on the different forms of divination in ancient Mesopotamia and neighboring societies in the Eastern Mediterranean. We will look specifically at the ways in which divinatory practice was valued, as a form of knowledge, whether or not it represents a scientific practice, its role in statecraft and religion, and, in particular, how different forms of divination moved from Mesopotamia into neighboring regions and vice versa. There is a companion reading seminar for those interested in reading some texts in the original cuneiform. This course will be taught in English.

 

Reading Mesopotamian Divinatory Texts (2 SWS per week)

13994 Reading class: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 14:00-16:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 28.10.2021
Venue: Arnimallee 10, room 010

This is a companion course for Divination in the Ancient World, in which we will read texts concerned with divination in the original cuneiform. Participants are expected to have at least one year of Akkadian or instructor permission before beginning the course. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Summer semester 2021

Medicine in the Ancient World (2 SWS per week)

13991 Lecture: J. Cale Johnson
Wednesday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 14. April 2021
Venue: online (WebEx)

The course will survey the development of medicine in Mesopotamia, draw important parallels with contemporary Egyptian medical practice, and also look at the spread of originally Mesopotamian traditions into several Aramaic dialects. These materials and traditions represent the most important examples of disciplinary medicine prior to the advent of Greco-Roman medicine and we will also look at any possible links between these traditions and the Greco-Roman world. We will focus in particular on the emergence of technical literature in Mesopotamia, how technical compendia anchored specific disciplines and indoctrinated its would-be practitioners, and the specific pathways through which these materials were transmitted to other medical traditions. There is a companion reading seminar for those interested in reading some texts in the original cuneiform. This course will be taught in English, 2 hours per week.

Reading Babylonian Medicine (2 SWS per week)

13992 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Thursday, 12:00-14:00 h. c.t.
First session: Thursday, 15. April 2021
Venue: online (WebEx)

This is a companion course for Babylonian Medicine (Lecture), in which we will read Babylonian medical texts from the cuneiform. Participants are expected to have at least one year of Akkadian or instructor permission before beginning the course. This course will be taught in English.

 

Winter semester 2020/21

Perspectives on the Inner Body in the Ancient Near East

(joint seminar with Marburg and Leiden, 2 SWS per week between February 3rd and May 19^th, 2021)

Seminar: J. Russell (Leiden), T. Pommerening (Marburg), and J. C. Johnson (Berlin)
Wednesday, 11:00-13:00 h. c.t.
First session: Wednesday, 3. Februar 2021

How did the societies of the ancient Near East conceptualise the internal structures of the human body, the illnesses understood to arise therein, and the various media selected to remedy such problems? This seminar will focus on exploring cultural perspectives of such phenomena recorded in ancient source material from the region. The objective is to introduce students to methodologies for researching technical literature such as those documents classified as ‘medical’ or ‘magical’ from their chosen culture, and how to identify concepts therein which could be considered ‘specific’ to a given culture, ‘borrowed’ from another, or ‘universal’ to human cognition through intercultural comparative analysis. To further discussion of ‘universals’, students will be introduced to similar material from beyond the ancient Near East (namely from the Classical Mediterranean and ancient China) through the course of the seminar. They will explore both ‘explicit’ and ‘implicit’ paradigms of knowledge coded within such literature. Assigned readings encourage interdisciplinary research. The course is a joint collaboration between the University of Leiden, the Philipps-Universität Marburg, and the Freie Universität Berlin. The module will be led by J. Russell (Leiden), Prof. T. Pommerening (Marburg), and Prof. J. C. Johnson (Berlin), as well as a selected program of academically active specialists invited from European institutions. Because of the different semester schedule in Leiden, Berlin students can register the course as 1 SWS per week over two semesters. (Wednesdays, 11-13 Uhr, c.t., February 3rd through May 19th, this course will be taught in English)

 

Notation und Bewusstsein

13766 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Zeit: Donnerstag, 8:00-10:00 h. c.t.
Erster Termin: 05.11.2020
Ort: online (WebEx)

Diese Vorlesung verbindet eine Einführung in die Geschichte des Schreibens de-novo in der Alten Welt (Mesopotamien, Ägypten und China) mit Elementen der Diskursanalyse und Semiotik. Es soll ein Überblick darüber gegeben werden, wie die Notation das menschliche Bewusstsein und Denken im Lauf der Zeit binnen-strukturiert bzw. zu einer solchen Strukturierung überhaupt erst beiträgt.

Eines der Hauptziele wird sein, Brücken zu schlagen zwischen Student*innen, deren Interessenschwerpunkt auf alten Schriftsystemen liegt, und anderen mit einem Interesse für Semiotik und anthropologische Theorien. Der erste Teil des Kurses konzentriert sich auf den Ursprung von Schriftsystemen, während der zweite Teil sich mit Modellen zu Textualität und Poetik befasst und der Fragestellung nachgeht, wie großformatige Textstrukturen (etwa Ring-Epen, Kompendien oder Enzyklopädien) organisiert sind.

Mythos von den Sumerern bis zu den Vorsokratikern (2 SWS per week)

13767a Lecure: J. Cale Johnson
Zeit: Dienstag 10:00-12:00 h. c.t.
Erster Termin: 03.11.2020
13767b Seminar/Übung: J. Cale Johnson
Zeit: Freitag 10:15-11:45
Erster Termin: 06.11.2020
Ort: online (WebEx)

Dieses Seminar nimmt die breite Geschichte des schriftlichen Mythos in den Blick, die vom südlichen Mesopotamien im dritten Jahrtausend v. Chr. über die hurro-hethitischen und ugaritischen Mythen bis zu ihrer Manifestation im griechischen Mythos reicht. Dies zielt insbesondere darauf ab, wie Mythen transformiert und neu interpretiert werden, wenn sie von einer Kultur oder schriftlichen Tradition zur nächsten übergehen, auf den Ursprung der Kommentartraditionen in Text und Bild und darauf, ob bzw. inwieweit moderne Theorien der Mythologie zu unserem Verständnis beitragen können. Dieses Seminar ist ebenfalls als erste Einführung in eine Vielzahl philologischer Traditionen geeignet und wird Studierende des Fachgebietes ermutigen, ähnliche Materialien auch in benachbarten Fachgebieten zu erkunden.

Verwaltungs- und Rechtsgattungen im 1. Jt. der Sklaverei (2 SWS per week)

13768 Seminar: J. Cale Johnson
Zeit: Dienstag, 16:00-18:00 h. c.t.
Erster Termin: 03.11.2020
Ort: online (WebEx)

Die Verwaltung der menschlichen Arbeit war einer der wichtigsten „technischen“ Bereiche in der frühen mesopotamischen Schriftkultur und Konzeptualisierung. In diesem Bereich, der heute als „abhängige Arbeit“ und „Sklaverei“ beschrieben werden kann, fanden die wichtigsten Fortschritte in der Verwaltungs- und Rechtsgeschichte im ersten Jahrtausend der Keilschrift statt. Obwohl wir mit den Verwaltungsunterlagen beginnen, konzentriert sich die zweite Hälfte des Kurses zunehmend auf Rechtsquellen bis zur Ur III-Zeit ca. 2000 BCE. Da das Zeichenrepertoire sehr klein ist und in den früheren Phasen dieses Materials kaum sprachliche Formen verwendet werden, ist der Kurs ideal als Einführung in die frühe Keilschrift für Studierende der Archäologie oder Ethnologie sowie den Studiengängen Vergleichende, Globale oder Rechts-Geschichte.