A JERUSALEM MASTER'S PROGRAM IN ANCIENT PHILOLOGY

A JERUSALEM MASTER'S PROGRAM IN ANCIENT PHILOLOGY

WHY SHALL I STUDY FOR A MASTER S DEGREE IN ANCIENT PHILOLOGY? Teaching efficiency WHY AT POLIS? The Western Civilization has developed around two principal sources: the Judeo-Christian tradition and the Helleno-Roman culture. Those have shaped over the centuries its cultural vision and greatly contributed to the building of our modern world. In our multicultural ever-changing world, many of us long to become more acquainted with our own heritage, with the roots and the growth of Western thought. Strange as it may seem, most of the writings from Ancient and Medieval times can only be read in the original: Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew or Arabic. They have never been translated into any Modern language. Furthermore, many a specialist in Humanities lacks a real command of Ancient languages. It becomes increasingly difficult to find translators of ancient texts or even a scientific article where the author produces in a Modern language a text from Antiquity that has never been translated before. Hence, the 21st century individual finds herself or himself estranged from her or his cultural roots. Polis, the Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities, comes to fulfill this need. With a large, varied Master s program, offered by worldwide renowned professors from European and American universities, the Polis Institute is so far the only place in the world where students can study the main Ancient languages (Greek, Latin, Biblical Hebrew and Classical Syriac) as living ones. Thus, our Master s program in Ancient Philology could be the gateway to the renewal of Humanities. Teaching experience Polis was founded in 2010 by a group of language teachers who aimed to give their students real tools for reading the original texts. The Institute has already offered courses in Ancient Languages (Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Aramaic and Latin) to more than three hundred students in Jerusalem, Europe, Argentina and the USA. The Institute has developed a pedagogical vision which consists of teaching Ancient Languages as living ones. Since the first day, the student is totally submerged in the taught language, which is the only spoken language in the classroom. This approach applies to Ancient languages the most recent language acquisition techniques (TPR, TPR storytelling, story-building etc.) and gives the students concrete tools for a direct and intuitive understanding of ancient texts. The students become quickly able to read directly in the original, without translating or having to use any dictionary or grammar book. For Ancient Greek, the method has been theorized in a book, Polis. Talking Ancient Greek as a living language. The French original edition has been translated into several languages and adapted for teaching Biblical Hebrew and Latin. International character Through its international staff and the multiple contacts it has with universities all around the world, Polis wants to promote a dialog with academic institutions abroad in order to make student exchanges easier. Being an international institution in a cosmopolitan city, Polis emphasizes the importance of the academic connections of its students over the world. Learning languages in a multicultural environment As the founding stone of Monotheism and a meeting point for Semitic, Hellenic and Roman heritages, the City of the Bible has always been considered the cultural reference of the Western world. It exhibits a cosmopolitan character expressed through a myriad of cultures, languages and religions. It is not surprising therefore to find in it students coming from all corners of the world and wishing to improve their knowledge of the languages of the Ancient World. Proximity to Semitic and Classic Cultures WHY IN JERUSALEM? For this Master, Polis has recruited professors who are at the forefront of research and who will assure the students a good basis for future work in that field. The exceptional proximity to the historical and archeological sites as well as to important research centers in that field offers a considerable advantage in getting acquainted with the Ancient World.

ACADEMIC STAFF Christophe Rico Director, Koine Greek, Philology Agrégé de grammaire PhD Linguistics (Université de Paris-Sorbonne) Habilitation à diriger des recherches (Université de Strasbourg) Jan Joosten M.A. in Theology (Princeton University) PhD Semitic Languages (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Professor for Old Testament at the University of Strasbourg Johannes Niehoff-Panagiotidis PhD Cultural Studies (Universität Tübingen) Habilitation for Byzantine and Neo-Greek Philology (Freie Universtät Berlin) George A. Kiraz, Syriac Ph.D Computational Linguistics (Cambridge University) Director of Beth Mardutho, the Syriac Institute and president of Gorgias Press Has taught Syriac at Princeton Theological Seminary Christy Bandak, Classical Arabic PhD Hispanic Philology (Universidad de Navarra) Te of st sp la st fo be or Po ed te In w w ea em ov Le fo al It cu in im P si co Eleni Pappa PhD (University of Athens) Research Center for Greek and Latin Literature at the Academy of Athens Academy of Sciences, Berlin : History of Middle East Agrégé d histoire Doctoral Candidate in Medieval History (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Eduardo M. Engelsing, Latin PhD (Universidad de Cadiz) Visiting Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at the Western Washington University, Biblical Hebrew M.A. Linguistics (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Doctoral candidate at the Hebrew University Michel Petrossian, Music of Ancient Near East Graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris.

MASTER S PROGRAM September: Intensive Koine Greek Course with. The students acquire basic knowledge of Greek through total immersion and TPR method. Biblical Hebrew I Koine Greek II and Sabina Soper General Linguistics I First Semester: 31 ECTS History of the Near East Prof. Johannes Niehoff-Panagiotidis and Greek Paleography (2 ECTS) Dr. Eleni Pappa Greek Philology One optional Language Assimilation of core morphology and basic vocabulary (Total immersion, TPR method) Developing ability to hold a conversation in Greek and to understand directly narrative texts. Overall training in linguistics: phonetics and phonology, morphology, lexicology, syntax, pragmatics and semantics Discovery of Holy Land s ancient sites as a way to enlighten the reading of the sources and the linguistic evolution of ancient places names. General presentation of the History of the Near East from Antiquity till the end of the Middle Ages with a focus on the Byzantine, Persian and proto-muslim History of Jerusalem. Overall introductive Paleography through the study of manuscripts from Jerusalem Greek Patriarchate. Assimilation of General Semantics. Study of word meaning and its effect in a given text. Second Semester: 31 ECTS Biblical Hebrew I Koine Greek II General Linguistics I History of the Near East Music of the Ancient Near East (2 ECTS) Michel Petrossian History of Alphabet Study of Ancient Near East singing as literary and phonetic testimony. Reflection on the discovery of Alphabet and the psychological meaning of changes in writing systems. Latin: Summer Course in Rome with Dr. Eduardo Engelsing Syriac: Summer Course in Jerusalem with Dr. George Kiraz Classical Arabic: during academic year in Jerusalem with Dr. Christy Bandak September: Intensive Biblical Hebrew with. The students learn Biblical Hebrew morphology and syntax, to be able to converse in Hebrew and to read narrative texts from the Bible. Third Semester: 26.5 ECTS Biblical Hebrew III Koine Greek III Ancient and Medieval Literary Sources Dr. Mercedes Rubio, Dr. Anne Richard, Dr. Christy Bandak and Dr. Domenico Agostini Semitic Philology (1.5 ECTS) Pr. Jan Joosten Translation Theory Pr. Christophe Rico REMARKS: Full Hebrew texts of all genres will be read, analyzed and discussed. Reading of Greek texts and assimilation of last grammatical principles. History of transmission of Aristotle s and Plato s works as well as the texts of the Fathers of the Church and the literary, philosophical and theological sources of Antiquity and the M.A. This course will study the location and the names of different places in the Near East. It makes an important contribution to linguistic and historic studies. Introduction to the comparative and historical approach of Hebrew through an analysis of the Biblical Hebrew verbal system Translation limits, risks and methods. Fourth Biblical Hebrew III Koine Greek III Master s Thesis (15 ETCS) Semester: Speech in Ancient Greek or in Biblical Hebrew (4.5 ECTS) The courses will be given like seminars. They will require groundwork in form of texts reading. The entire Master s program will be given in English. Languages courses will be given in the respective languages, according to the Polis method. In the near future, two different Masters will be offered: an English-speaking one and a French-speaking one. 31.5 ECTS In order to complete her/his studies, the student will have to prepare a 70-80 pages long Master s Thesis. The students will have to prepare an academic short text and to make a speech in Ancient Hebrew or Greek before the professors.

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