Interdisciplinary and/or Inter-Institutional master's degree programs

• Studying the Middle East

  0593aA1.1

  Learning objectives:

  Students are aware of the complexity of the Near and Middle East as a field of research, region, and area of cultural production regarding its diversity in terms of languages, religions, and cultures. They gain insights into the fields of study and expertise represented by the disciplines involved in the master’s program Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East with attention to the complex nature of history, societies, cultures of text and cultures of knowledge, languages, and literature. They are familiar with the diversity and interrelatedness of scholarly approaches within Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East, which in turn allows them to assess the corresponding secondary literature critically. They are conscious of intercultural and epistemological challenges involved in dealing with the history, society, culture, literature, and language of the Near and Middle East. This awareness lets them answer complex questions and present the results of their research and analyses coherently and comprehensibly either in writing or orally.

  Content:

  The module offers in-depth, interdisciplinary insights into the Near and Middle East as a field of research, as a region and as a space of cultural production. A variety of phenomena including language, cultural history, religion, and traditions of knowledge are up for discussion, especially regarding paradigms with historical implications, such as identity, gender, cultures of memory, nationalism, modernization, exile; this includes research trends as well as the possibility to focus on historical periods or geographical regions. Students get practice conducting academic work as they encounter varying issues, research debates, and research literature, as well as by using tools specific to the study of the Near and Middle East. Using methods from the humanities and cultural studies, they work on an interdisciplinary topic with a focus on one or more selected regions in the Near and Middle East. This work includes several written assignments designed to help them compose an academic paper.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Lecture / 2 SWS / yes

  Methodology course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Written assignment (approx. 5000 words); the module assessment is graded on a pass/fail basis only.

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One semester / Every winter semester
  Module with no course offerings

• Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Middle East

  0593aA1.2

  Learning objectives:

  Students gain advanced skills need to conduct independent research in Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East from a global perspective. They can position themselves and situate complex issues from the fields of cultures, literatures, languages, history, and societies of the Near and Middle East in current debates, especially regarding the comparative analysis of processes and problems that cut across different regions. They are skilled to apply interdisciplinary methods to answer complex questions of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East in writing and orally. They have broad, detailed, and up-to-date knowledge as well as a critical understanding of one or more subject areas in the transregional field of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East.

  Content:

  The module provides students with sound specialist knowledge of central topics in Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East from a global perspective. The module focuses on the comparative analysis of historical, social, and cultural formations regarding issues that have global relevance, such as gender, human rights, imperialism, nationalism, identity, language, and literature. Students are instructed to compare the effects of such processes in a differentiated manner regarding the Near and Middle East. They practice analyzing problems on their own from a cross-disciplinary and transregional perspective and apply interdisciplinary theories and methods.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Advanced seminar / 2 SWS / yes

  Methodology course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Term paper (approx. 5000 words)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14143 Advanced seminar
    Digital Humanities and Data Sustainability: A hands-on practical approach (Christian Dane Casey)
    Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 2.2063 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    English

    Comments

    In this course, we will learn about the available techniques for collecting and disseminating digital data for humanistic projects, with a special emphasis on sustainability. A common problem when working on academic projects is that funding provides only for the collection or creation of data, not their longterm preservation. But there are ways of designing around this problem and creating online resources that remain permanently free and accessible. In order to learn these techniques, we will build an online resource from the ground up and then make it available forever. Students will receive course credit for regular attendance in class and an academic citation for their work on the project.

    Suggested reading

    Casey, C. (2023) “Building Digital Projects to Outlive Their Funding”, Avar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Life and Society in the Ancient Near East . London, UK, 2(2), pp. 355–378. doi: 10.33182/aijls.v2i2.2835.

  • 14404 Methods Tutorial
    Oral History Methods (Nayera Soliman)
    Schedule: Fr 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 2.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    This course explores the intersection of memory studies and oral history in the Middle East, contrasting its development with Western academic traditions. We will learn the key theories of memory studies, examining how the socio-political context of the Middle East has shaped the field and influenced oral history practices. We will trace the evolution of oral history theories and methodologies. We will engage with seminal texts, particularly those by feminist scholars, to understand the reciprocal relationship between oral history and the feminist movement in the Middle East. Through an examination of various oral history projects across the region, we will learn about important historical events from the perspectives of those who witnessed them. This will allow us to understand how personal memories contribute to collective narratives and shape our understanding of the past. Furthermore, we will analyze the influence of subaltern studies and social history on contemporary Middle Eastern historians. The course includes an important empirical part. Students will collaborate on a research project throughout the semester, conducting interviews, analyzing data, and producing written work based on their findings.

  • 14405 Methods Tutorial Cancelled
    Feminist Epistemologies (Dina Wahba)
    Schedule: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 2.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 31601a Seminar
    Comparative Economic Systems (Theocharis Grigoriadis)
    Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-14)
    Location: 315 Besprechungsraum (Garystr. 21)
    

    Comments

    Comparative Economic Systems offer students a comprehensive overview of the new and vibrant field of comparative economic development that has emerged from transition economics, economics of central planning. Before the economics of transition, comparative economics was devoted mostly to the comparison of capitalism and socialism, and in practice mostly to the study of socialist economic systems (central planning, Yugoslav self-management, market socialism). The transition experience and the economics of transition have shown the importance of the institutions underlying the capitalist system. Comparative economics is now turning to the comparative analysis of institutions of existing capitalist systems and to the historical evolution of those institutions. Political Economics focuses on transitions from social choice theory to political economics, the role of median voter models and their applicability to general interest politics, probabilistic models of voting, and agency models of politics. Moreover, it concentrates on special interest politics, partisan politicians, political regimes, and democratization. Economics/Public Economics students must take both parts of this module to fulfill the School of Business and Economics requirements, while East European/Political Science/IR students may take them separately according to their learning and schedule preferences within the School of Political and Social Sciences.

• Communicating Research in Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East

  0593aA1.3

  Learning objectives:

  Students can plan and carry out research endeavors independently and present them comprehensibly. They are enabled to reflect on their research question and substantiate their approach, selection of methods and, if applicable, their choice of sources in the setting of scholarly discussions. They learn how to present the benefits of their theoretical and methodological approaches convincingly by contrasting them with other relevant approaches and explaining the advantages in relation to their thesis project.

  Content:

  Both before and during the master’s thesis, students participate in a colloquium, where they discuss their concepts and open questions with fellow students and instructors. They present their topics, theoretical and methodological approaches to their thesis and initial results.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Colloquium/ 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Poster presentation (approx. 10 minutes); the module assessment is graded on a pass/fail basis only.

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  150 hours (5 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14407 Colloquium
    From Interest to Research: MA Thesis Planning Workshops" (For students in early stages) (Victoria Mummelthei)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-22)
    Location: 2.2058 Seminarraum; online: https://fu-berlin.webex.com/meet/victoria.mummelthei
    

    Information for students

    The course is open for students from other programs/departments, too.

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Follow the course here: https://nodiscipline.hypotheses.org/ (NOT in blackboard).

    Comments

    Thinking about your MA thesis but not sure where to start? This workshop helps you transform your academic interests into viable research projects. Through structured exercises, peer discussion, and practical planning sessions, you'll move from vague ideas to concrete research designs.

    We'll focus on the crucial early stages:

    • Identifying research interests
    • Narrowing down topics
    • Developing research questions
    • Finding appropriate methods
    • Creating realistic timelines
    • Understanding the thesis requirements
    • Building your research toolkit

    By the end of the semester, you'll have a solid thesis proposal, practical research plan, and clear next steps. Join us to lay the groundwork for a successful thesis journey!

  • 14408 Colloquium
    Thesis Writing Group: From Draft to Submission (For active thesis writers) (Victoria Mummelthei)
    Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-22)
    Location: 2.2058 Seminarraum; online: https://fu-berlin.webex.com/meet/victoria.mummelthei
    

    Information for students

    The course is open for students from other programs/departments, too.

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Follow the course here: https://nodiscipline.hypotheses.org/ (NOT in blackboard).

    Comments

    Ready to write your MA thesis? This writing group provides structure, support, and accountability through the writing process. Rather than lectures, we offer facilitated peer support, regular check-ins, and dedicated writing time.

    Our sessions combine:

    • Protected writing blocks
    • Progress check-ins
    • Troubleshooting workshops
    • Peer feedback rounds
    • Individual writing consultations
    • Goal-setting and timeline reviews

    This isn't just a course - it's a community of writers supporting each other through the challenges of thesis completion. Whether you're struggling with writer's block, methodology questions, or time management, you'll find the support you need to keep moving forward.

• Reading the Middle East

  0593aA2.1

  Learning objectives:

  Students understand the significance of global key concepts and central terms and how they relate to thinking about the Near and Middle East and ascriptions of identity. They are familiar with the scholarly significance of texts and debates that shape the discourse of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East and learn how to classify them in historical terms as well as from today’s perspective, considering their origins and the changing contexts in which they are used. They have in-depth knowledge of texts that constitute the Near and Middle East from a transregional perspective. They are thereby enabled to classify transdisciplinary methodological and theoretical approaches, especially in comparative cultural studies, and to apply them to their research against the background of current research debates and present the results appropriately, both in writing and orally.

  Content:

  The module discusses key texts, central concepts and fields of researching the Near and Middle East (e.g. Orientalism, world/global literatures, Islam in Europe, postcolonialism, nationalism) in their historical development and from a transregional and cross-disciplinary perspective. Besides, the module explores the historical and transdisciplinary dynamics of terms and concepts, how they circulate, and how their meaning transforms in changing contexts.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Presentation with follow-up discussion (approx. 20 minutes)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14229-ISME Practice seminar
    Diversity and diversity representation – productive tensions (Schirin Amir-Moazami)
    Schedule: Do 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    Today, cultural and religious diversity in immigrant societies across Europe is considered an irreversible fact, even though voices are raised cyclically raised calling for unity and purity. Yet, the actual representation of diversity in socially and politically relevant institutions, especially in Germany, still lags behind this reality. This gap has triggered a series of measures over the last decade that are intended to do justice to the growing diversification. Diversity is now often anchored in political programs as well as in educational institutions. But how exactly is diversity conceptualised? How does the management of diversity operate in politically relevant institutions in Western European contexts? Who decides whose diversity is worthy of representation, and under what conditions? How can marginalised and racialized groups participate in society without repeating the pitfalls of authoritative spokespersons? To what extent do approaches to diversity address structural inequalities and institutional racism? The seminar explores these questions by inquiring into the relevant academic scholarship and by investigating legal rulings on diversity and its institutional translations through selected cases. Specific, yet not exclusive emphasis will be placed on questions of diversity in relation to the research field of Islam in Europe. In addition, we will converse with invited guest speakers on their experiences as scholars or practitioners of diversity.

  • 14228-ISME Seminar
    Diversity and diversity representation – productive tensions (Schirin Amir-Moazami)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    Today, cultural and religious diversity in immigrant societies across Europe is considered an irreversible fact, even though voices are raised cyclically raised calling for unity and purity. Yet, the actual representation of diversity in socially and politically relevant institutions, especially in Germany, still lags behind this reality. This gap has triggered a series of measures over the last decade that are intended to do justice to the growing diversification. Diversity is now often anchored in political programs as well as in educational institutions. But how exactly is diversity conceptualised? How does the management of diversity operate in politically relevant institutions in Western European contexts? Who decides whose diversity is worthy of representation, and under what conditions? How can marginalised and racialized groups participate in society without repeating the pitfalls of authoritative spokespersons? To what extent do approaches to diversity address structural inequalities and institutional racism? The seminar explores these questions by inquiring into the relevant academic scholarship and by investigating legal rulings on diversity and its institutional translations through selected cases. Specific, yet not exclusive emphasis will be placed on questions of diversity in relation to the research field of Islam in Europe. In addition, we will converse with invited guest speakers on their experiences as scholars or practitioners of diversity.

• Reading the Middle East through Its Languages

  0593aA2.2

  Learning objectives:

  Students have a thorough understanding of basic questions about the relationship between text and knowledge; they can analyze the significance of original language texts within the context of the Near and Middle East as a pluricultural, multifaith, and multilingual region. They are confident to reflect on theories and models critically and build a conceptual toolkit to decipher the rhetoric of different texts and genres. Students have the skills they need to reach conclusions about the heuristics of different texts and genres on their own and by using controlled methods; they can present their findings orally and in writing appropriately.

  Content:

  The module develops interdisciplinary terms and concepts from the fields of cultural studies and humanities by means of various forms of original language sources (oral and written) from Arabic, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic, Jewish, Islamic, or Christian culture and literature. Building on this, students examine and discuss methods of text and source analysis used to organize, contextualize, and interpret primary sources; they then apply those methods to selected examples (works by different authors and from different literary genres, periods, movements, etc.).

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Presentation with follow-up discussion (approx. 20 minutes)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14181 Reading Course
    Oral Traditions in the Iranian Speaking World (Khanna Usoyan)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-24)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This seminar will focus on the ways in which knowledge is remembered and transmitted in oral traditions in the Iranian-speaking world, with a particular emphasis on three major forms of knowledge transfer: epics, history, and religion. During the course, a range of topics will be systematically discussed, including the following: the distinction between oral and written literature, the interaction between orality and literacy, the concept of 'text', the comparison of oral and written/'factual' history, and cultural memory. The seminar will draw upon a range of texts to explore the applicability of Parry and Lord's 'oral-formulaic theory' to oral traditions beyond epics. The course is offered in English and is available as part of the Master of Iranian Studies programme. Due to the limited capacity of the course, enrolment is restricted; students from other universities must obtain permission from the instructor. While prior knowledge of any Iranian language is very welcome, it is not a prerequisite for enrolment. The course will necessitate extensive reading of secondary literature in English.

    Suggested reading

    Allison, Christine and Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (eds.), Remembering the Past in Iranian Societies, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2013. Assmann, Jan, Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen, 6th edition, München, 2007. Cantera, Alberto (ed.), Transmission of the Avesta, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2012. Finnegan, Ruth, Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: a Guide to Research Practices, London and New York, 3rd edition, 2001, 1st edition 1992. Goody, Jack (ed.), ‘Canonization in oral and literate cultures,’ in A. van der Kooij and K. van der Toorn (eds.), Canonization and Decanonization, papers presented to the interna¬tional conference of the Leiden institute for the study of religions (LISOR), held at Leiden 9–10 January 1997. With an annotated bibliography compiled by J. A. Snoek, Leiden-Boston-Köln, 1998, pp. 3–16. Kreyenbroek, Philip and Marzolph, Ulrich (eds.), Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Ta¬jik, companion volume II: A History of Persian Literature, I.B. London and New York, 2010. Omarkhali, Khanna and Kreyenbroek, Philip (eds.), Oral Tradition among Religious Communities in the Iranian-Speaking World, Volume 35, Number 2, Harvard, Cambridge, 2022. Omarkhali, Khanna, The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written. Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts, Series: Studies in Oriental Religions, vol. 72, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2017. Ong, W. J., Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, Methuen, London and New York, 1982. Rubanovich, Julia (ed.), Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World. Patterns of Interaction Across the Centuries, Brill, 2015.

  • 14221-ISME Reading Course
    Nineteenth-Century Book Culture through Arabic Sources (Ingrid Austveg Evans)
    Schedule: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 2.2063 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Active and regular attendance

    Comments

    In this course, we will read primary sources in Arabic on the topics of book circulation and production. We will study the associated debates on cultural heritage as they were conducted both by well-known intellectual figures of the time and by lesser-known actors of the book trade. In addition to reading excerpts from edited sources, including early print editions, students will have the chance to work with manuscripts relating to book culture in the long nineteenth century.

  • 14323 Seminar
    (S) Core Topics in Ottoman History (Zeynep Türkyilmaz)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: K 25/11 weitere Hinweise zur Austattung unter: www.raum.geschkult.fu-berlin.de
    
  • 14361 Reading Course
    (Lk) Northwest Semitic Inscriptions (Grace Jeongyeon Park)
    Schedule: Mo 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-14)
    Location: 1.2002 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14364 Methods Tutorial
    (MÜ) The Christian Orient: Past and Present (Shabo Talay)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14366 Reading Course
    (Lk) North African (Magrebi) Arabic (Maciej Klimiuk)
    Schedule: Di 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 2.2059 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14133 Language Course
    Abbasid Literature: Love, Wine, Mysticism and Wisdom. (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mo 10:00-12:00, Mi 10:00-12:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-23)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    In this course, participants will read, translate, and analyze a selection of texts from various authors and genres of classical Arabic literature. The study of these texts aims to provide an introductory insight into the richness and diversity of classical Arabic literary tradition.

  • 14139 Methods Tutorial
    Parables in Qur'an and Tafsir (Beatrice Gründler)
    Schedule: Mi 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Arabic, English

    Comments

    The Qur’an contains a large number of parables (amthal, sing. mathal) on various subjects as well as explaining in a self-reflective way how these should be understood. Therefore the parable also plays a prominent role in Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir). Readings will include parables and their discussion within the Qur’an as well as exegetical works touching upon the aspect.

    Suggested reading

    "Jane Mc. Auliffe, Hg. Encyclopedia of the Qur'an (Leiden 2001-2006), article 'Parables' Stefan Wild, Self-Referentiality in the Qur‘an (Wiesbaden 2006) Helmut Gätje and Alford T. Welch, The Qur‘an and Its Exegesis: Selected Texts with Classical and Modern Muslim Interpretations (Oxford 1969)"

  • 14140 Language Course
    Modern Arabic Poetry: Where Words Meet Music (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mo 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    Throughout the history of Arabic literature, poetry and music have always gone hand in hand, maintaining a close and meaningful connection to this day. In this course, students will read and analyze poems by outstanding poets in detail. The selected poems have been set to music by renowned artists from the Arab world, making them widely popular. After reading the texts, students will also listen to their musical renditions and engage in various related exercises. Music serves as an effective tool for learning vocabulary, grammatical structures, and linguistic nuances. This course aims to enhance both the reading and listening comprehension skills of the participants.

  • 14141 Language Course
    The Art of Speaking (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-23)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Language skills (Arabic)

    Comments

    This course offers Master’s students in Arabic language an opportunity to enhance their oral communication skills. Throughout the course, guest speakers will be invited to discuss their areas of expertise. Students, working in groups, will prepare targeted questions and conduct interviews with the guests. The course aims to improve listening comprehension and verbal expression in Arabic while exploring cultural and professional topics in depth.

  • 14180 Reading Course
    The Bagam Nask: exegesis of the Old Avestan prayers in the Antiquity and Late Antiquity (Alberto Cantera Glera)
    Schedule: Do 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 2.2059 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Information for students

    Die Sitzung am 26.06.2025 findet abweichend in Raum 1.2058 statt.

  • 14182 Practice seminar
    The Parthians: A Dark Age in Iranian History? (Stefan Härtel)
    Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14227-ISME Practice seminar
    From the Hanbali School of Law to the Salafiyya (Birgit Krawietz)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    The reading exercise offers specific texts in Arabic, which will be read, translated and discussed together.

  • 14324 Reading Course
    (S) Core Topics in Ottoman History (Ugur Caliskan)
    Schedule: Fr 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

• Histories and Societies of the Middle East

  0593aB1.1

  Learning objectives:

  Students have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the historical and social formations of the Near and Middle East from late antiquity to the present as well as the historical conditions since antiquity. They are familiar with important current theoretical and methodological debates in social history research that are relevant to the study of the Near and Middle East. Students can recognize, classify, and articulate the circumstances and problems surrounding socialhistorical descriptions of the Near and Middle East; they also know how to consult, evaluate, and interpret source material independently and to apply the tools of history and social sciences when dealing with questions they have developed themselves. They are aware of the central categories of analysis used to examine historical and social processes and know how to discuss and present the results of their scholarly analyses orally and in writing.

  Content:

  In this module, students engage intensively with complex topics such as periodization, dimensions of space (power centers vs. peripheral regions, transregional connections), governance, statehood and social groups as well as identity, mobility, communication, and ethnic and religious minorities. The module teaches them to reflect on topics from the fields of Arab-Islamic, Arab-Christian and Syrian-Christian, Byzantine, Persian, Jewish or Turkish history as well as from historical source studies considering theories and methods specific to historical and social science and by critically evaluating scholarly debates in these fields.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Written assignment (approx. 5000 words)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14181 Reading Course
    Oral Traditions in the Iranian Speaking World (Khanna Usoyan)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-24)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This seminar will focus on the ways in which knowledge is remembered and transmitted in oral traditions in the Iranian-speaking world, with a particular emphasis on three major forms of knowledge transfer: epics, history, and religion. During the course, a range of topics will be systematically discussed, including the following: the distinction between oral and written literature, the interaction between orality and literacy, the concept of 'text', the comparison of oral and written/'factual' history, and cultural memory. The seminar will draw upon a range of texts to explore the applicability of Parry and Lord's 'oral-formulaic theory' to oral traditions beyond epics. The course is offered in English and is available as part of the Master of Iranian Studies programme. Due to the limited capacity of the course, enrolment is restricted; students from other universities must obtain permission from the instructor. While prior knowledge of any Iranian language is very welcome, it is not a prerequisite for enrolment. The course will necessitate extensive reading of secondary literature in English.

    Suggested reading

    Allison, Christine and Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (eds.), Remembering the Past in Iranian Societies, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2013. Assmann, Jan, Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen, 6th edition, München, 2007. Cantera, Alberto (ed.), Transmission of the Avesta, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2012. Finnegan, Ruth, Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: a Guide to Research Practices, London and New York, 3rd edition, 2001, 1st edition 1992. Goody, Jack (ed.), ‘Canonization in oral and literate cultures,’ in A. van der Kooij and K. van der Toorn (eds.), Canonization and Decanonization, papers presented to the interna¬tional conference of the Leiden institute for the study of religions (LISOR), held at Leiden 9–10 January 1997. With an annotated bibliography compiled by J. A. Snoek, Leiden-Boston-Köln, 1998, pp. 3–16. Kreyenbroek, Philip and Marzolph, Ulrich (eds.), Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Ta¬jik, companion volume II: A History of Persian Literature, I.B. London and New York, 2010. Omarkhali, Khanna and Kreyenbroek, Philip (eds.), Oral Tradition among Religious Communities in the Iranian-Speaking World, Volume 35, Number 2, Harvard, Cambridge, 2022. Omarkhali, Khanna, The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written. Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts, Series: Studies in Oriental Religions, vol. 72, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2017. Ong, W. J., Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, Methuen, London and New York, 1982. Rubanovich, Julia (ed.), Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World. Patterns of Interaction Across the Centuries, Brill, 2015.

  • 14220-ISME Introductory Course
    Book Circulation and Arab Cultural Heritage in the Long Nineteenth Century (Ingrid Austveg Evans)
    Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    What were the political and cultural repercussions of the spread of print culture in Egypt and Greater Syria in the thirteenth/nineteenth century? How did manuscripts and printed books circulate between the Ottoman Arab provinces, Istanbul, and Europe? In this course, we will examine the link between the circulation of books and developing ideas about Arab cultural heritage. We will consider the writings and practices of leading Arab authors, publishers, and editors as well as those of lesser-known book collectors and traders, with a focus on the inherently transregional and diachronic nature of the shift from a manuscript to a print culture. Additionally, we will examine the wider socio-political context of nineteenth-century book culture, including perceptions of that pivotal time in contemporary postcolonial debates and in the latest research into manuscript provenance.

  • 14221-ISME Reading Course
    Nineteenth-Century Book Culture through Arabic Sources (Ingrid Austveg Evans)
    Schedule: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 2.2063 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Active and regular attendance

    Comments

    In this course, we will read primary sources in Arabic on the topics of book circulation and production. We will study the associated debates on cultural heritage as they were conducted both by well-known intellectual figures of the time and by lesser-known actors of the book trade. In addition to reading excerpts from edited sources, including early print editions, students will have the chance to work with manuscripts relating to book culture in the long nineteenth century.

  • 14227-ISME Practice seminar
    From the Hanbali School of Law to the Salafiyya (Birgit Krawietz)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    The reading exercise offers specific texts in Arabic, which will be read, translated and discussed together.

  • 14228-ISME Seminar
    Diversity and diversity representation – productive tensions (Schirin Amir-Moazami)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    Today, cultural and religious diversity in immigrant societies across Europe is considered an irreversible fact, even though voices are raised cyclically raised calling for unity and purity. Yet, the actual representation of diversity in socially and politically relevant institutions, especially in Germany, still lags behind this reality. This gap has triggered a series of measures over the last decade that are intended to do justice to the growing diversification. Diversity is now often anchored in political programs as well as in educational institutions. But how exactly is diversity conceptualised? How does the management of diversity operate in politically relevant institutions in Western European contexts? Who decides whose diversity is worthy of representation, and under what conditions? How can marginalised and racialized groups participate in society without repeating the pitfalls of authoritative spokespersons? To what extent do approaches to diversity address structural inequalities and institutional racism? The seminar explores these questions by inquiring into the relevant academic scholarship and by investigating legal rulings on diversity and its institutional translations through selected cases. Specific, yet not exclusive emphasis will be placed on questions of diversity in relation to the research field of Islam in Europe. In addition, we will converse with invited guest speakers on their experiences as scholars or practitioners of diversity.

  • 14324 Reading Course
    (S) Core Topics in Ottoman History (Ugur Caliskan)
    Schedule: Fr 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    
  • 14364 Methods Tutorial
    (MÜ) The Christian Orient: Past and Present (Shabo Talay)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14369 Basic Course
    (GK) The Christian Orient: Past and Present (Yousef Kouriyhe)
    Schedule: Fr 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 1.2001 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14404 Methods Tutorial
    Oral History Methods (Nayera Soliman)
    Schedule: Fr 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 2.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    This course explores the intersection of memory studies and oral history in the Middle East, contrasting its development with Western academic traditions. We will learn the key theories of memory studies, examining how the socio-political context of the Middle East has shaped the field and influenced oral history practices. We will trace the evolution of oral history theories and methodologies. We will engage with seminal texts, particularly those by feminist scholars, to understand the reciprocal relationship between oral history and the feminist movement in the Middle East. Through an examination of various oral history projects across the region, we will learn about important historical events from the perspectives of those who witnessed them. This will allow us to understand how personal memories contribute to collective narratives and shape our understanding of the past. Furthermore, we will analyze the influence of subaltern studies and social history on contemporary Middle Eastern historians. The course includes an important empirical part. Students will collaborate on a research project throughout the semester, conducting interviews, analyzing data, and producing written work based on their findings.

  • 14463 Advanced seminar
    Ibn Kammuna's Scientific Study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Lukas Mühlethaler)
    Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: K 23/21 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This course explores the thought of Sa?d ibn Mansur Ibn Kammuna (d. 1284), a Jewish philosopher who conducted pioneering comparative studies of the three Abrahamic faiths in medieval Baghdad following the Mongol conquest. Through English translations of selected key works, we will examine Ibn Kammuna's contributions across three main areas: (1) Comparative Religion and Jewish Thought: In his "Examination of the Three Faiths", Ibn Kammuna employs an innovative method that blends philosophical reasoning with religious inquiry; in his analysis of Rabbanite and Karaite Judaism he demonstrates awareness of internal Jewish debates. (2) Ethics and Spiritual Practice: We will study Ibn Kammuna’s reflections on ethics and piety, as expressed in "Subtle Insights Concerning Knowledge and Practice" and "Establishing the First Principle". These works illuminate his theories of moral and spiritual development, building on this theory of the soul. (3) Theory of the Soul: Ibn Kammuna’s elaborate theory of the soul emerges in his treatises on the soul’s eternity, his philosophical commentaries on Avicenna and Suhrawardi, and his comprehensive philosophical summa. Neither knowledge of Arabic or Hebrew, nor prior familiarity with Arabic philosophy, are required to participate in the course.

  • 14182 Practice seminar
    The Parthians: A Dark Age in Iranian History? (Stefan Härtel)
    Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14226-ISME Seminar
    From the Hanbali School of Law to the Salafiyya (Birgit Krawietz)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    This MA seminar problematizes the expression “Salafiyya” that nowadays often serves as an umbrella term for various phenomena of modern Islam. Constructing an idealized Islamic history evolving around the pristine community of early Muslims (al-salaf al-salih) is not a phenomenon that did not develop until the 19th century. Historical spotlights will elucidate various aspects of the development of this framing. A wider historical perspective counterbalances the widespread focus if not fixation on the threat of political Salafism. The strong connection of Salafi topics and methods to the Hanbali School of law deserves particular attention but so do the (post)modern conditions of media society. Students have to take part in a final written test.

  • 14229-ISME Practice seminar
    Diversity and diversity representation – productive tensions (Schirin Amir-Moazami)
    Schedule: Do 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    Today, cultural and religious diversity in immigrant societies across Europe is considered an irreversible fact, even though voices are raised cyclically raised calling for unity and purity. Yet, the actual representation of diversity in socially and politically relevant institutions, especially in Germany, still lags behind this reality. This gap has triggered a series of measures over the last decade that are intended to do justice to the growing diversification. Diversity is now often anchored in political programs as well as in educational institutions. But how exactly is diversity conceptualised? How does the management of diversity operate in politically relevant institutions in Western European contexts? Who decides whose diversity is worthy of representation, and under what conditions? How can marginalised and racialized groups participate in society without repeating the pitfalls of authoritative spokespersons? To what extent do approaches to diversity address structural inequalities and institutional racism? The seminar explores these questions by inquiring into the relevant academic scholarship and by investigating legal rulings on diversity and its institutional translations through selected cases. Specific, yet not exclusive emphasis will be placed on questions of diversity in relation to the research field of Islam in Europe. In addition, we will converse with invited guest speakers on their experiences as scholars or practitioners of diversity.

  • 14323 Seminar
    (S) Core Topics in Ottoman History (Zeynep Türkyilmaz)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: K 25/11 weitere Hinweise zur Austattung unter: www.raum.geschkult.fu-berlin.de
    
  • 14462 Lecture
    Jews in the Islamicate World (Lukas Mühlethaler)
    Schedule: Mo 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: K 23/21 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This lecture course examines the social, cultural, and religious history of Jews in Islamicate societies, using specific in-depth examples to explore central themes and questions. It also looks at how past discussions and debates have influenced current understandings of the relationship between Judaism and Islam.

  • 31601a Seminar
    Comparative Economic Systems (Theocharis Grigoriadis)
    Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-14)
    Location: 315 Besprechungsraum (Garystr. 21)
    

    Comments

    Comparative Economic Systems offer students a comprehensive overview of the new and vibrant field of comparative economic development that has emerged from transition economics, economics of central planning. Before the economics of transition, comparative economics was devoted mostly to the comparison of capitalism and socialism, and in practice mostly to the study of socialist economic systems (central planning, Yugoslav self-management, market socialism). The transition experience and the economics of transition have shown the importance of the institutions underlying the capitalist system. Comparative economics is now turning to the comparative analysis of institutions of existing capitalist systems and to the historical evolution of those institutions. Political Economics focuses on transitions from social choice theory to political economics, the role of median voter models and their applicability to general interest politics, probabilistic models of voting, and agency models of politics. Moreover, it concentrates on special interest politics, partisan politicians, political regimes, and democratization. Economics/Public Economics students must take both parts of this module to fulfill the School of Business and Economics requirements, while East European/Political Science/IR students may take them separately according to their learning and schedule preferences within the School of Political and Social Sciences.

• Traditions of Texts and Knowledge in the Middle East

  0593aB1.2

  Learning objectives:

  Students have a thorough understanding of the emergence and systematization of various traditions of knowledge and texts in the Near and Middle East, including their presentation and mediality, as well as the people involved in those traditions and the authority associated with them regarding religious, social and epistemological structures, especially from the beginnings of Islam to the present. They are aware of the historical and contemporary processes of collective formation and positioning of identity in cultures of knowledge and texts in the Near and Middle East; they have a conceptual toolkit of established theories and methods from the history of knowledge, cultural studies, and philology, which allows them to reflect on sources from different knowledge and text cultures and to present the results of their analyses orally and in writing appropriately.

  Content:

  The module deals with the history and current significance of textual cultures and knowledge cultures from the Near and Middle East, especially from the beginnings of Islam to the present day. This includes, on the one hand, the reception and further development of antiquity’s legacy in natural sciences and humanities (in philosophy, logic, mysticism, etc.) as well as scientific literature in the broadest sense through the centuries and, on the other hand, normative traditions, such as the exegesis of sacred texts as well as the study of traditions, norms, dogmatics, hagiography, religious ethics, or rituals. One focus is on the cultural and intellectual history of the Arabic-speaking world, Jewish history of knowledge and the relationship between Judaism and Islam as well as facets of the Christian Orient and Iranian religions in the past and present.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Written assignment (approx. 5000 words)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 13748-ISME Advanced seminar
    (Hs) Ancient Language Processing (Eliese-Sophia Lincke, Hubert Mara)
    Schedule: Mi 10:00-13:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-09)
    Location: -1.2057 Seminarraum (UG) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Information for students

    This course cannot be registered via the campus management directly; in case you are interested in this course, please contact the instructor via email.

  • 13749-ISME Methods Tutorial
    (Mü) Building Datasets for Digital Palaeography and Handwritten Text Recognition (Eliese-Sophia Lincke; Hubert Mara)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-22)
    Location: -1.2002 PC-Raum (UG) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 13992 Seminar
    Text Assemblage Lab (Cale Johnson)
    Schedule: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    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, and portfolio 120 hours. Together with the companion course LV 13995, the workload equals 300 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program."

    Comments

    This course takes a step-by-step practical approach to assembling textual materials into a useful format or working environment. At the same time, the course will deal with thematic issues such as archives, filing systems, textual criticism, media studies and conceptual metaphor theory, based on weekly readings from different secondary literatures. The ideas from these materials will be dealt with informally in the active work of the lab, but the secondary literature will also be discussed separately in the Text Assemblage Colloquium, which will meet separately. We presuppose that each participant needs to have at least one year of an ancient semitic language before beginning the lab. Please contact the conductor of the course via wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de. Ideally, participants in the course will develop their own dataset of open linked data that can, in turn, be used as the raw material for future work in digital humanities or programmatic approaches to philological data. Each term we will, depending on the participants, focus on a single type of textual artifact from a single time and place, so the course can be repeated.

  • 13993 Lecture
    Introduction to Astronomy and Astrology in the Ancient World (Antonius Ossendrijver)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
    

    Information for students

    If it is not possible to enrol for this course 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 240 hours: attendance 30 hours, preparation and wrap-up 90 hours, presentation and Hausarbeit (5000 words) 120 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program.

    Comments

    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.

  • 13994 Seminar
    Mythology from the Sumerians to the Presocratics I (Cale Johnson)
    Schedule: Do 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    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."

    Comments

    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.

  • 14138-ISME Seminar
    Introduction to Quranic Studies (Christian Mauder)
    Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    How did the Quranic text come into being? Are all words in the Quran originally Arabic? How did the discipline of Quranic exegesis develop? What does the Quran say about relations between Muslims and non-Muslims? This seminar explores these and other questions and thereby provides an introduction to current topics of Quranic Studies in Western academia. It moreover sheds light on the Quran as a religious text and as the most important foundation of Islamic religious thought and practice since the time of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day.

  • 14181 Reading Course
    Oral Traditions in the Iranian Speaking World (Khanna Usoyan)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-24)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This seminar will focus on the ways in which knowledge is remembered and transmitted in oral traditions in the Iranian-speaking world, with a particular emphasis on three major forms of knowledge transfer: epics, history, and religion. During the course, a range of topics will be systematically discussed, including the following: the distinction between oral and written literature, the interaction between orality and literacy, the concept of 'text', the comparison of oral and written/'factual' history, and cultural memory. The seminar will draw upon a range of texts to explore the applicability of Parry and Lord's 'oral-formulaic theory' to oral traditions beyond epics. The course is offered in English and is available as part of the Master of Iranian Studies programme. Due to the limited capacity of the course, enrolment is restricted; students from other universities must obtain permission from the instructor. While prior knowledge of any Iranian language is very welcome, it is not a prerequisite for enrolment. The course will necessitate extensive reading of secondary literature in English.

    Suggested reading

    Allison, Christine and Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (eds.), Remembering the Past in Iranian Societies, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2013. Assmann, Jan, Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen, 6th edition, München, 2007. Cantera, Alberto (ed.), Transmission of the Avesta, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2012. Finnegan, Ruth, Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: a Guide to Research Practices, London and New York, 3rd edition, 2001, 1st edition 1992. Goody, Jack (ed.), ‘Canonization in oral and literate cultures,’ in A. van der Kooij and K. van der Toorn (eds.), Canonization and Decanonization, papers presented to the interna¬tional conference of the Leiden institute for the study of religions (LISOR), held at Leiden 9–10 January 1997. With an annotated bibliography compiled by J. A. Snoek, Leiden-Boston-Köln, 1998, pp. 3–16. Kreyenbroek, Philip and Marzolph, Ulrich (eds.), Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Ta¬jik, companion volume II: A History of Persian Literature, I.B. London and New York, 2010. Omarkhali, Khanna and Kreyenbroek, Philip (eds.), Oral Tradition among Religious Communities in the Iranian-Speaking World, Volume 35, Number 2, Harvard, Cambridge, 2022. Omarkhali, Khanna, The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written. Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts, Series: Studies in Oriental Religions, vol. 72, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2017. Ong, W. J., Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, Methuen, London and New York, 1982. Rubanovich, Julia (ed.), Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World. Patterns of Interaction Across the Centuries, Brill, 2015.

  • 14221-ISME Reading Course
    Nineteenth-Century Book Culture through Arabic Sources (Ingrid Austveg Evans)
    Schedule: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 2.2063 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Active and regular attendance

    Comments

    In this course, we will read primary sources in Arabic on the topics of book circulation and production. We will study the associated debates on cultural heritage as they were conducted both by well-known intellectual figures of the time and by lesser-known actors of the book trade. In addition to reading excerpts from edited sources, including early print editions, students will have the chance to work with manuscripts relating to book culture in the long nineteenth century.

  • 14227-ISME Practice seminar
    From the Hanbali School of Law to the Salafiyya (Birgit Krawietz)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    The reading exercise offers specific texts in Arabic, which will be read, translated and discussed together.

  • 14323 Seminar
    (S) Core Topics in Ottoman History (Zeynep Türkyilmaz)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: K 25/11 weitere Hinweise zur Austattung unter: www.raum.geschkult.fu-berlin.de
    
  • 14324 Reading Course
    (S) Core Topics in Ottoman History (Ugur Caliskan)
    Schedule: Fr 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    
  • 14369 Basic Course
    (GK) The Christian Orient: Past and Present (Yousef Kouriyhe)
    Schedule: Fr 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 1.2001 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14462 Lecture
    Jews in the Islamicate World (Lukas Mühlethaler)
    Schedule: Mo 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: K 23/21 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This lecture course examines the social, cultural, and religious history of Jews in Islamicate societies, using specific in-depth examples to explore central themes and questions. It also looks at how past discussions and debates have influenced current understandings of the relationship between Judaism and Islam.

  • 14463 Advanced seminar
    Ibn Kammuna's Scientific Study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Lukas Mühlethaler)
    Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: K 23/21 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This course explores the thought of Sa?d ibn Mansur Ibn Kammuna (d. 1284), a Jewish philosopher who conducted pioneering comparative studies of the three Abrahamic faiths in medieval Baghdad following the Mongol conquest. Through English translations of selected key works, we will examine Ibn Kammuna's contributions across three main areas: (1) Comparative Religion and Jewish Thought: In his "Examination of the Three Faiths", Ibn Kammuna employs an innovative method that blends philosophical reasoning with religious inquiry; in his analysis of Rabbanite and Karaite Judaism he demonstrates awareness of internal Jewish debates. (2) Ethics and Spiritual Practice: We will study Ibn Kammuna’s reflections on ethics and piety, as expressed in "Subtle Insights Concerning Knowledge and Practice" and "Establishing the First Principle". These works illuminate his theories of moral and spiritual development, building on this theory of the soul. (3) Theory of the Soul: Ibn Kammuna’s elaborate theory of the soul emerges in his treatises on the soul’s eternity, his philosophical commentaries on Avicenna and Suhrawardi, and his comprehensive philosophical summa. Neither knowledge of Arabic or Hebrew, nor prior familiarity with Arabic philosophy, are required to participate in the course.

  • 13990 Basic Course
    Medicine in the Ancient World (Cale Johnson)
    Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
    

    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 “13991 - 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.

    Comments

    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 translation.

  • 13991 Reading Course
    Ancient Medicine in Translation (Cale Johnson)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
    

    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 “13990 - 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.

    Comments

    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, although we will occasionally look at selected passages in transliteration and translation. The bulk of the class will, however, focus on texts 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.

  • 14139 Methods Tutorial
    Parables in Qur'an and Tafsir (Beatrice Gründler)
    Schedule: Mi 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Arabic, English

    Comments

    The Qur’an contains a large number of parables (amthal, sing. mathal) on various subjects as well as explaining in a self-reflective way how these should be understood. Therefore the parable also plays a prominent role in Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir). Readings will include parables and their discussion within the Qur’an as well as exegetical works touching upon the aspect.

    Suggested reading

    "Jane Mc. Auliffe, Hg. Encyclopedia of the Qur'an (Leiden 2001-2006), article 'Parables' Stefan Wild, Self-Referentiality in the Qur‘an (Wiesbaden 2006) Helmut Gätje and Alford T. Welch, The Qur‘an and Its Exegesis: Selected Texts with Classical and Modern Muslim Interpretations (Oxford 1969)"

  • 14179 Seminar
    Zoroastrianism II (Alberto Cantera Glera)
    Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14220-ISME Introductory Course
    Book Circulation and Arab Cultural Heritage in the Long Nineteenth Century (Ingrid Austveg Evans)
    Schedule: Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    What were the political and cultural repercussions of the spread of print culture in Egypt and Greater Syria in the thirteenth/nineteenth century? How did manuscripts and printed books circulate between the Ottoman Arab provinces, Istanbul, and Europe? In this course, we will examine the link between the circulation of books and developing ideas about Arab cultural heritage. We will consider the writings and practices of leading Arab authors, publishers, and editors as well as those of lesser-known book collectors and traders, with a focus on the inherently transregional and diachronic nature of the shift from a manuscript to a print culture. Additionally, we will examine the wider socio-political context of nineteenth-century book culture, including perceptions of that pivotal time in contemporary postcolonial debates and in the latest research into manuscript provenance.

  • 14226-ISME Seminar
    From the Hanbali School of Law to the Salafiyya (Birgit Krawietz)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    active and regular attendance

    Comments

    This MA seminar problematizes the expression “Salafiyya” that nowadays often serves as an umbrella term for various phenomena of modern Islam. Constructing an idealized Islamic history evolving around the pristine community of early Muslims (al-salaf al-salih) is not a phenomenon that did not develop until the 19th century. Historical spotlights will elucidate various aspects of the development of this framing. A wider historical perspective counterbalances the widespread focus if not fixation on the threat of political Salafism. The strong connection of Salafi topics and methods to the Hanbali School of law deserves particular attention but so do the (post)modern conditions of media society. Students have to take part in a final written test.

  • 14364 Methods Tutorial
    (MÜ) The Christian Orient: Past and Present (Shabo Talay)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 0.3099B Seminarraum (Zugang von der L-Strasse) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

• Languages of the Middle East

  0593aB1.3

  Learning objectives:

  Students can reflect critically on linguistic developments in the Near and Middle East drawing from the most important primary and secondary sources. They know the principles of classifying languages of the region (e.g. historically, comparatively, typologically, regionally) and are confident in applying various methods from empirical linguistics to the languages of the region (e.g. language documentation, field research, dialectology, variational linguistics, sociolinguistics). They know how to make use of models and examples demonstrating the complex interrelationship between language and society in different historical contexts; they can examine oral and written sources independently regarding linguistic issues and to present their observations in oral and written form in a structured and logical way.

  Content:

  The courses provide an overview of the region’s language groups, their historical sources, and their current classification (e.g. Semitic, Iranian, Turkish); furthermore, the module surveys linguistic ecology regarding topics such as nation states, minorities, gender, regional languages, diglossia, writing systems, and linguistic ideologies.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Written assignment (approx. 5000 words)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14140 Language Course
    Modern Arabic Poetry: Where Words Meet Music (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mo 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    Throughout the history of Arabic literature, poetry and music have always gone hand in hand, maintaining a close and meaningful connection to this day. In this course, students will read and analyze poems by outstanding poets in detail. The selected poems have been set to music by renowned artists from the Arab world, making them widely popular. After reading the texts, students will also listen to their musical renditions and engage in various related exercises. Music serves as an effective tool for learning vocabulary, grammatical structures, and linguistic nuances. This course aims to enhance both the reading and listening comprehension skills of the participants.

  • 14141 Language Course
    The Art of Speaking (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-23)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Language skills (Arabic)

    Comments

    This course offers Master’s students in Arabic language an opportunity to enhance their oral communication skills. Throughout the course, guest speakers will be invited to discuss their areas of expertise. Students, working in groups, will prepare targeted questions and conduct interviews with the guests. The course aims to improve listening comprehension and verbal expression in Arabic while exploring cultural and professional topics in depth.

  • 14177 Seminar
    Avestan II (Alberto Cantera Glera)
    Schedule: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: 1.2002 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14184 Language Course
    New Persian I (Ramin Shahzadi)
    Schedule: Do 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: JK 25/208 weitere Hinweise zur Austattung unter: www.raum.geschkult.fu-berlin.de
    
  • 14187 Modul
    Khotanese II (Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst)
    Schedule: Fr 13:00-15:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14361 Reading Course
    (Lk) Northwest Semitic Inscriptions (Grace Jeongyeon Park)
    Schedule: Mo 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-14)
    Location: 1.2002 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14362 Seminar
    (S) Biblical Aramaic (Grace Jeongyeon Park)
    Schedule: Fr 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 1.2001 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14366 Reading Course
    (Lk) North African (Magrebi) Arabic (Maciej Klimiuk)
    Schedule: Di 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 2.2059 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14133 Language Course
    Abbasid Literature: Love, Wine, Mysticism and Wisdom. (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mo 10:00-12:00, Mi 10:00-12:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-23)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    In this course, participants will read, translate, and analyze a selection of texts from various authors and genres of classical Arabic literature. The study of these texts aims to provide an introductory insight into the richness and diversity of classical Arabic literary tradition.

  • 14178 Seminar
    Middle Persian II (Alberto Cantera Glera)
    Schedule: Di 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14183 Language Course
    Northern Kurdish (Kurmanci) II (Khanna Usoyan)
    Schedule: Mi 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-30)
    Location: 1.2051 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    Kurmanji, the northern dialect of the Kurdish language, belongs to the north-western Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is spoken by the vast majority of Kurds in Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, Khorasan (Iran), Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and in other diaspora communities. The political situation of the Kurds, in conjunction with the absence of official institutions supporting the development of the language and assimilation attempts in certain countries, has influenced the evolution of Kurmanji, resulting in numerous unresolved issues, including the matter of standardisation. This advanced course is offered in English for Master students and it has been designed to introduce students to the further grammatical themes of contemporary Kurmanji. Prerequisite: successful completion of the seminar "Northern Kurdish I (Kurmanci)".

    Suggested reading

    Bedir Khan, E.D. und Lescot. R., Kurdische Grammatik. Kurmancî-Dialekt, Bonn, 1986; Chyet, M., Kurdish-English Dictionary, New Haven and London, 2003; Chyet, M., Em hînî Kurmancî dibin [We learn Kurmanji], unpubl., last update 1999; Incekan, A., Kurdisch Kompakt Lehr- und Übungsbuch mit Lösungsschlüssel und CD, Wiesbaden, 2010; Omarkhali, Kh., Kurdish Reader. Modern Literature and Oral Texts in Kurmanji. With Kurdish-English Glossaries and Grammatical Sketch, Wiesbaden, 2011; Rizgar, B., Kurdish-English, English-Kurdish (kurmancî) dictionary, London, 1993; Thackston, W.M., Kurmanji Kurdish. A Reference Grammar with Selected Readings; Wurzel, P., Rojbas. Einführung in die kurdische Sprache, Wiesbaden, 1997.

  • 14185 Proseminar
    Morphology of the Middle and Modern Iranian languages (Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst)
    Schedule: Di 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14188 Modul
    Bactrian I (Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst)
    Schedule: Fr 15:00-17:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-25)
    Location: 1.2058 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14363 Advanced seminar
    (HS)Aramaic Linguistics and Dialektology (Nikita Kuzin)
    Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-14)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

• Literatures of the Middle East in their Social Dimensions

  0593aB1.4

  Learning objectives:

  Students develop their analytical skills in the scholarly handling of written and oral sources from the Near and Middle East; they have an awareness of the origins and reception of literary production in the past and present. They can approach research questions in a methodologically and terminologically reflective manner based on various genres of texts and literary phenomena; they know how to evaluate secondary literature as well as the most important primary sources critically, and to describe, analyze and classify them historically and aesthetically. They can recognize connections and intertextual references and understand and historically contextualize mutual influences, continuities, and ruptures. They strengthen their ability to reflect and reason complex, multilingual, transregional matters. They are skilled to reflect their approaches to research questions and to present their analyses orally and in writing appropriately.

  Content:

  The module deals with selected epochs, authors, genres, language levels of the Near and Middle East or of a specific literary genre, using the most important sources and critically illuminating specialist literature. The courses provide an overview of partial epochs or literary genres, including debates concerning specific literary, social and gender-historical research problems. Students discuss significant texts in the regional languages regarding authorship, production processes, and media representations, as well as to influences and patterns of perception that have an impact on the literary reception from the regions of the Near and Middle East; thereby, they experiment with theoretical approaches to interpretation of sources from Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Syriac-Aramaic, or Turkish literature.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Written assignment (approx. 5000 words)

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 14180 Reading Course
    The Bagam Nask: exegesis of the Old Avestan prayers in the Antiquity and Late Antiquity (Alberto Cantera Glera)
    Schedule: Do 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 2.2059 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Information for students

    Die Sitzung am 26.06.2025 findet abweichend in Raum 1.2058 statt.

  • 14181 Reading Course
    Oral Traditions in the Iranian Speaking World (Khanna Usoyan)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-24)
    Location: K 23/27 (Habelschwerdter Allee 45)
    

    Comments

    This seminar will focus on the ways in which knowledge is remembered and transmitted in oral traditions in the Iranian-speaking world, with a particular emphasis on three major forms of knowledge transfer: epics, history, and religion. During the course, a range of topics will be systematically discussed, including the following: the distinction between oral and written literature, the interaction between orality and literacy, the concept of 'text', the comparison of oral and written/'factual' history, and cultural memory. The seminar will draw upon a range of texts to explore the applicability of Parry and Lord's 'oral-formulaic theory' to oral traditions beyond epics. The course is offered in English and is available as part of the Master of Iranian Studies programme. Due to the limited capacity of the course, enrolment is restricted; students from other universities must obtain permission from the instructor. While prior knowledge of any Iranian language is very welcome, it is not a prerequisite for enrolment. The course will necessitate extensive reading of secondary literature in English.

    Suggested reading

    Allison, Christine and Kreyenbroek, Philip G. (eds.), Remembering the Past in Iranian Societies, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2013. Assmann, Jan, Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen, 6th edition, München, 2007. Cantera, Alberto (ed.), Transmission of the Avesta, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2012. Finnegan, Ruth, Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts: a Guide to Research Practices, London and New York, 3rd edition, 2001, 1st edition 1992. Goody, Jack (ed.), ‘Canonization in oral and literate cultures,’ in A. van der Kooij and K. van der Toorn (eds.), Canonization and Decanonization, papers presented to the interna¬tional conference of the Leiden institute for the study of religions (LISOR), held at Leiden 9–10 January 1997. With an annotated bibliography compiled by J. A. Snoek, Leiden-Boston-Köln, 1998, pp. 3–16. Kreyenbroek, Philip and Marzolph, Ulrich (eds.), Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Ta¬jik, companion volume II: A History of Persian Literature, I.B. London and New York, 2010. Omarkhali, Khanna and Kreyenbroek, Philip (eds.), Oral Tradition among Religious Communities in the Iranian-Speaking World, Volume 35, Number 2, Harvard, Cambridge, 2022. Omarkhali, Khanna, The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written. Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts, Series: Studies in Oriental Religions, vol. 72, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2017. Ong, W. J., Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, Methuen, London and New York, 1982. Rubanovich, Julia (ed.), Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World. Patterns of Interaction Across the Centuries, Brill, 2015.

  • 14133 Language Course
    Abbasid Literature: Love, Wine, Mysticism and Wisdom. (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mo 10:00-12:00, Mi 10:00-12:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-23)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    In this course, participants will read, translate, and analyze a selection of texts from various authors and genres of classical Arabic literature. The study of these texts aims to provide an introductory insight into the richness and diversity of classical Arabic literary tradition.

  • 14140 Language Course
    Modern Arabic Poetry: Where Words Meet Music (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mo 12:00-14:00, zusätzliche Termine siehe LV-Details (Class starts on: 2025-04-28)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Comments

    Throughout the history of Arabic literature, poetry and music have always gone hand in hand, maintaining a close and meaningful connection to this day. In this course, students will read and analyze poems by outstanding poets in detail. The selected poems have been set to music by renowned artists from the Arab world, making them widely popular. After reading the texts, students will also listen to their musical renditions and engage in various related exercises. Music serves as an effective tool for learning vocabulary, grammatical structures, and linguistic nuances. This course aims to enhance both the reading and listening comprehension skills of the participants.

  • 14141 Language Course
    The Art of Speaking (Montserrat Rabadan Carrascosa)
    Schedule: Mi 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-23)
    Location: 1.2052 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    Language skills (Arabic)

    Comments

    This course offers Master’s students in Arabic language an opportunity to enhance their oral communication skills. Throughout the course, guest speakers will be invited to discuss their areas of expertise. Students, working in groups, will prepare targeted questions and conduct interviews with the guests. The course aims to improve listening comprehension and verbal expression in Arabic while exploring cultural and professional topics in depth.

• Research Perspectives

  0593aC1.1

  Learning objectives:

  Students practice forms of debate in Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East by examining current research projects. The aim of the module is to prepare students to compose a draft of an independent research project, which could serve as the basis for a master’s thesis and/or dissertation for those potentially interested in an academic career. Upon completion of the module, students will have gained an overview of current research trends in the Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East as well as in-depth knowledge and a critical understanding of a representative subject area and field of research; they will be able to participate in academic discussions with colleagues. They are familiar with different phases and aspects of research in Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East, and know how to identify methodological problems as well as the broader scholarly and social relevance of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East.

  Content:

  In this module, students attend a course offering insights into current research perspectives, for example research colloquia at one of the cooperating institutes. Students discuss methodological, content-related and practical aspects of their research projects with researchers using presentations, selected current secondary literature, or previously circulated drafts of texts.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Elective course / 2 SWS / yes

  Module assessment

  Academic conversation (approx. 20 minutes); the module assessment is graded on a pass/fail basis only.

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  • 13751-ISME Methods Tutorial
    Introduction to Python Programming in Ancient Studies (Hubert Mara)
    Schedule: Mo 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-14)
    Location: -1.2002 PC-Raum (UG) (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Information for students

    Please register for the course via Campus Management. If you are unable to register this way, please use the form "Module, Course, and Exam Registration", which you can find on the website of the Study Office of the Department of History and Cultural Studies (https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/studium/downloadbereich/_pdf/ba-ma/Modulanmeldung.pdf). Please contact the lecturer by email (hubert.mara@fu-berlin.de) to receive instructions during the course. The course has a workload of 210 hours. The written examen has a workload of 120 hours. For questions regarding creditability outside of the MA DISTANT, please contact your BA/MA representatives.

    Comments

    Computational archaeology, digital humanities, data literacy, data science - the digital turn has long since arrived in the study of antiquity. It has opened up new possibilities for the study of Akkadian, Egyptian, Ancient Greek, Latin and other ancient written languages, as well as archaeological artefacts. Therefore, it is helpful to learn programming in addition to ancient scripts, grammar, image processing, or other archaeological sources. In this course you will learn the widely used programming language Python. In addition to basic programming skills, you will learn how to ingest data, sort and filter it, modify it, and save it back into formats for your desired analysis. No prior programming knowledge is required, this will be acquired during the course. You can bring your own laptop so that you can run the programming environment on your computer or use the computers of the PC pool. You will need an account/login with administrative rights on your laptop. Please confirm your intention to attend the course by email no later than the day of the first lecture, so that we can contact you and possibly adapt the course to your background and technical equipment. In addition to your own laptop, you can use the computers in the pool. The course language is English.

  • 13992 Seminar
    Text Assemblage Lab (Cale Johnson)
    Schedule: Mi 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-16)
    Location: Arnimallee 10, Raum 010
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    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, and portfolio 120 hours. Together with the companion course LV 13995, the workload equals 300 hours. For questions regarding credits you will have to approach your BA- or MA advisor of your study program."

    Comments

    This course takes a step-by-step practical approach to assembling textual materials into a useful format or working environment. At the same time, the course will deal with thematic issues such as archives, filing systems, textual criticism, media studies and conceptual metaphor theory, based on weekly readings from different secondary literatures. The ideas from these materials will be dealt with informally in the active work of the lab, but the secondary literature will also be discussed separately in the Text Assemblage Colloquium, which will meet separately. We presuppose that each participant needs to have at least one year of an ancient semitic language before beginning the lab. Please contact the conductor of the course via wissensgeschichte@geschkult.fu-berlin.de. Ideally, participants in the course will develop their own dataset of open linked data that can, in turn, be used as the raw material for future work in digital humanities or programmatic approaches to philological data. Each term we will, depending on the participants, focus on a single type of textual artifact from a single time and place, so the course can be repeated.

  • 14142 Colloquium
    Forschungscolloquium Arabistik (Beatrice Gründler)
    Schedule: Do 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 0.2001 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14143 Advanced seminar
    Digital Humanities and Data Sustainability: A hands-on practical approach (Christian Dane Casey)
    Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 2.2063 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

    Additional information / Pre-requisites

    English

    Comments

    In this course, we will learn about the available techniques for collecting and disseminating digital data for humanistic projects, with a special emphasis on sustainability. A common problem when working on academic projects is that funding provides only for the collection or creation of data, not their longterm preservation. But there are ways of designing around this problem and creating online resources that remain permanently free and accessible. In order to learn these techniques, we will build an online resource from the ground up and then make it available forever. Students will receive course credit for regular attendance in class and an academic citation for their work on the project.

    Suggested reading

    Casey, C. (2023) “Building Digital Projects to Outlive Their Funding”, Avar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Life and Society in the Ancient Near East . London, UK, 2(2), pp. 355–378. doi: 10.33182/aijls.v2i2.2835.

  • 14365 Advanced seminar
    (HS) Research perspectives in Semitic Studies (Maciej Klimiuk)
    Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-15)
    Location: 1.2002 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    
  • 14370 Colloquium
    (C) Research perspektives in Semitic Studies (Shabo Talay)
    Schedule: Do 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-04-17)
    Location: 1.2001 Seminarraum (Fabeckstr. 23/25)
    

• Internship

  0593aC1.2

  Learning objectives:

  By completing an internship, participants in the module acquire experience in the professional application of knowledge from Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East in relevant institutions, organizations and companies, e.g. in university and non-university research institutions, in documentation institutions, journalism, archives and museums, in international organizations, non-governmental organizations, in working with migrants, in tourism; in adult and continuing education, furthermore, in the mediation of intercultural problems in academic and non-academic teaching and education settings, in knowledge transfer, management, and social, political and cultural lobbying, especially in companies and organizations operating internationally or in special world regions.

  Content:

  This module introduces students to the demands and nature of applying knowledge from Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East to professional work through an internship of at least nine weeks at an institution of their choosing. It is also possible to do complete shorter internships with a total workload of at least 360 hours. Before the internship, an agreement must be drafted and signed between the student, the degree program coordinator, and the internship host, in which the rights and obligations of the parties involved during the internship are defined. An internship report serves as feedback to the degree program coordinator; the report consists of an objective description of the work done and a reflection on the transfer of the student’s knowledge acquired through research to practical contexts.

  Modes of instruction/ Contact hours / Regular attendance required

  Internship / 9 weeks / yes

  Module assessment

  Internship report (approx. 5 pages); the module assessment is graded on a pass/fail basis only.

  Language

  English (or if applicable, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac-Aramaic,Turkish)

  Total workload

  450 hours (15 credit points)

  duration / Frequency

  One or two semesters / Every semester
  Module with no course offerings

• Modules w/o courses in this semester

  5 Modules
  • Complementary Module (15 CP) 0593aC2.1
  • Complementary Module (10 CP) 0593aC2.2
  • Complementary Module (5 CP) 0593aC2.3
  • Complementary Module (5 CP) 0593aC2.4
  • Complementary Module (5 CP) 0593aC2.5