PAPVB_15 The Ethnography of Mesopotamia and its Bordering Regions

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2012
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Dr. phil. Maximilian Wilding (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Zdeněk Měřínský, CSc.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Valášková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 17:30–19:05 N31, Wed 15:50–17:25 N31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the lecture is to provide students of Near East archaeology with an ethnographic baseline for the core region, commonly called ‚Mesopotamia‘. The presentation stresses -at one time - the great diversity of natural and social landscapes in the area as well as such themes which are encountered throughout the entire realm. Focused on a comprehensive presentation, the lecture should serve two practical purposes: 1. By this ‚rough guide‘ to the local cultures in between Euphrates and Tigris, the student should get a feel for which examples he may take for ethno-archaeological comparision, and which ones s/he should handle with caution, because they barely rest on formal similarities (but are ultimately linked to incompatible cultural ‚backgrounds‘). 2. To perceive what are the matters-of-interest for communities s/he enters, and the persons s/he works and lives with on a daily basis, whilst performing as an excavator in the Near East.
Syllabus
  • Syllabus: 1. Outline of the subregion. Natural landscapes. Climate. Distribution of resources. Logistic constraints & opportunities. The cultural ambient of Mesopotamia in the Middle East 2. An abrigded (modern) history of the Mesopotamian subregion. 3. ‚By the river & beyond I‘ - Traditional subsistence strategies, technologies and material culture, according to the Mesopotamian ethnographic evidence. 4. ‚By the river & beyond II‘ - Traditional subsistence strategies, technologies and material culture, according to the Mesopotamian ethnographic evidence. 5. ‚By the river & beyond III‘ - Traditional subsistence strategies, technologies and material cultur,e according to the Mesopotamian ethnographic evidence. 6. ‚Cain & Able?‘ - The longstanding interplay of sedentary living and nomadic existence – Roots, consequences. 7. Gender, kinship and descent, class affiliation, ethnicity, according to the Mesopotamian ethnographic evidence. 8. Land use, settlement patterns & traditional architecture I 9. Land use, settlement patterns & traditional architecture II 10. The actors of everyday life in potrait: ‚The Bedu‘-‚The Village Woman‘-‚The Handicraftsman‘-‚The Trader‘-‚The Rich Urbaner‘ etc. contextualized. 11. Systems of belief to be found in between Euphrates and Tigris 12. Facing the Globalized World: Issues relevant to the Mesopotamian region
Literature
  • • Lewis, Norman N., Nomads and Settlers in Syria and Jordan, 1800-1980 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  • • Salamandra, Christa, A New Old Damascus – Authenticity and Distinction in Urban Syra, Indiana: University Press, 2004.
  • • Lindholm Charles, The New Middle Eastern Ethnography, Journal of the Royal Athnropological Institue 1 (4): 805-820.
  • Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village, New York: Anchor Books, 1995.
  • • Encyclopedic Ethnography of Middle East and Central Asia, R. Khanam (ed.), 1st Ed., 3 Vols, New Delhi: Global Visison Publishing House, 2005.
  • • Eickelman, Dale F., The Middle East: an Anthropological Approach, 3rd Ed., New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussion, homework
Assessment methods
written exam
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2014, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2012, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2012/PAPVB_15