| CODE | ATS5518 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Scripts and the Alphabet: The Development of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Arts | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit introduces students to the importance of writing and inscriptions in the study of ancient Mediterranean history. The study-unit investigates the writing systems from the riverine civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the circumstances that led to the origins and subsequent development of the phonetic alphabet in the Levant, and the overall impact these scribal innovations had on the Mediterranean region, its various scripts, and its peoples. The special focus will comprise a diversity of scripts and epigraphic sources dating to the third, second, and first millenia BCE. The lectures are progressive and sequential and are built around themes examined diachronically, in order to outline the variety of social settings and interconnectivity across the regions and areas under evaluation. This study-unit explores the significance of selected examples of epigraphic data, especially within the Levantine and Mediterranean regions, in order to chart the processes of social and cultural change that led to the development of various writing systems around the Mediterranean, as well as the introduction and subsequent impact of the phonetic alphabet that eventually shaped the languages of superpowers in the ancient Mediterranean. Study-Unit Aims: 1. To introduce students to a variety of scripts and writing systems in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region; 2. To teach students the origins and development of the phonetic alphabet and its impact on Levantine and Mediterranean societies, and how this innovation ended up shaping the languages of superpowers in the ancient Mediterranean; 3. To train students how to glean a great deal of historical and cultural information on the regions under study, especially the Mediterranean in antiquity, by drawing in knowledge of different areas where the development of various writing systems can be traced. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. identify the various epigraphic sources related to the diversity of scripts and the development of the phonetic alphabet whilst learning how to place them in their overall historical and cultural background; 2. recognise the main classes of material, imagery, and monuments associated with various writing systems and the development of the phonetic alphabet; 3. relate the archaeological/historical record of different areas in and around the Mediterranean region to wider issues, such as maritime connectivity, socio-political connections, and the nature of contact situations. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. assess how regional and specific historical processes are often induced and related to issues which are wider in both geographic and temporal scope; 2. combine a close analysis of epigraphic sources and associated archaeology in order to reconstruct a complete picture of the past; 3. apply observations skills in daily life and think in an independent manner. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Select Biography: - Bonfante, L. 1990. Etruscan, London: The British Museum Press. - Chadwick, J. 1987. Linear B and Related Scripts, London: The British Museum Press. - Cook, B.F. 1987. Greek Inscriptions, London: The British Museum Press. - Davies, W. V. 1988. Egyptian Hieroglyphs, London: The British Museum Press. - Gibson, J.C.L. 1971-1982. A Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions. 3 Vols, Oxford: Clarendon Press. - Goldwasser, O. 2010. How the Alphabet was born from Hieroglyphs, Biblical Archaeology Review 36 (March-April): 37-50, 74. - Hamilton, G.J. 2002. W.F. Albright and Early Alphabetic Epigraphy, Near Eastern Archaeology 65(1): 35-42. - Hasselback-Andee, R. (ed.) 2020. A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages, New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. - Healey, J.F. 1990. The Early Alphabet, London: British Museum Press. - Peckham, J.B. 1968. The Development of the Late Phoenician Scripts, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. - Walker, C.B.F. 1987. Cuneiform, London: The British Museum Press. - Willi, A. 2008. Cows, Houses, Hooks: the Graeco-Semitic Letter Names as a Chapter in the History of the Alphabet, The Classical Quarterly, New Series 58 (2): 401-23. - Yardeni, A. 2010. The Book of Hebrew Script: History, Palaeography, Script Styles, Calligraphy & Design, 3rd ed., Jerusalem: Carta Jerusalem. - Yardeni, A. 2018. The National Hebrew Script: Up to the Babylonian Exile, Jerusalem: Carta Jerusalem. This subject has no main texts. Students will be expected to consult various items of literature, for which the lecturer will provide a more detailed bibliography in class and on VLE. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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