13950

WiSe 23/24: Divination in the Ancient World

Cale Johnson

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 in Campus Management, namely within the first two or three weeks of the course. The workload of the course equals 180 hours: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 90 hours, presentation and Hausarbeit 60 hours. (Together with the companion course 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 close

Additional information / Pre-requisites

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. close