Culture and Civilization of the Near East and Ancient Egypt I

LGLOR1512  2016-2017  Louvain-la-Neuve

Culture and Civilization of the Near East and Ancient Egypt I
3.0 credits
30.0 h
1q

This biannual course is taught on years 2015-2016, 2017-2018, ....

Teacher(s)
Obsomer Claude ; Tavernier Jan ;
Language
Français
Online resources

The iCampus server allows one to obtain:
- the syllabus on the history of the Ancient Near East, as well as the ppt of the course.
- the ppt of the part of the course on Egypt, as well as a bibliography.

Prerequisites

None.

Main themes

An introduction to the cultures and beliefs of the Ancient Near East and pharaonic Egypt.

Alternately with LGLOR 1511, this course deals with the following themes:

1. The natural surroundings and the symbolism connected to them;
2. The founding literary works of the civilisations envisaged;
3. The beliefs of the Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian peoples.

Aims

At the end of this course the student will be capable of a better understanding of the ways of thinking of these antique civilisations. In order to achieve this goal, he will have been initiated into the great literary works of the Ancient Near East, and to the fundamental principles of the Egyptian religion.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Evaluation methods

An oral exam based on written preparation. The student will be questioned successively by the two teachers.

Teaching methods

The course is given by means of ppt that are well illustrated, including maps, texts and pictures.

Content

This course has two successive parts.

1. For the Ancient Near East, it focuses on:
- to give a general overview of the literatures of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Ugarit;
- to discuss the different genres of this literature, including an analysis of the main works (Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, Kumarbi, the myths of Ugarit).

2. For pharaonic Egypt, it focuses on:
- the natural surroundings of the Double Country and its symbolism;
- Egyptian man (human nature, his conception of the afterlife, the tombs);
- the gods (mythological stories, the temples, rituals and feasts)

Bibliography

A written resume, including bibliography, will be provided for the Ancient Near East.

For Egypt, the student can complement the ppt of the course by reading Cl. Traunecker, Les dieux de l'Égypte (Que sais-je ?, 1194), Paris, 1992.

Other information

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Faculty or entity<


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Program title
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Minor in Literary Studies
3
-

Minor in Antiquity : Egypt, East, Greece, Rome
3
-

Bachelor in Ancient Languages and Letters: Oriental Studies
3
-

Bachelor in History of Art and Archaeology : General
3
-

Bachelor in History
3
-