Universität Wien
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141226 SE Mesopotamian Literature (Reading of Literary Texts) (2024W)

SE Philological Accadian Seminar

Continuous assessment of course work

Voraussetzungen: für AO/9: STEOP und AO-2 oder AO-4 je nach gewählter Sprache

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 12 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 08.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 15.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 22.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 29.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 05.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 12.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 19.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 26.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 03.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 10.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 17.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 07.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 14.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 21.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22
  • Tuesday 28.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum Assyrica UniCampus Hof 4 2D-O1-22

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This seminar offers a comprehensive exploration of the Babylonian anti-witchcraft ritual Maqlû, a significant source for ancient Mesopotamian magical practices. Through reading and translating the Akkadian incantations and engaging with the cuneiform sources, students will develop their philological skills, including dealing with score editions, and gain knowledge of the historical and social context of Maqlû. In addition, students will be introduced to theoretical approaches to magic and ritual.

Assessment and permitted materials

All students are expected to prepare translations of the assigned texts which will be discussed in class. They are encouraged to work on their own translations and grammatical analysis using dictionaries and grammars, but are also permitted to consult previous editions and the online-edition of Maqlû on ORACC. Evaluation will further be based on group presentations where students will teach a Maqlû incantation of their choice to their peers.
MA students will in addition choose a subject for their seminar paper and present their preliminary research in class.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

In order to complete the seminar, students must participate in class and complete all assignments; for MA students only, this includes the final paper. Students are allowed to skip three of the sessions.
Preparation of translations and assigned readings: 40% BA – 20% MA
Regular participation in class and active participation in the discussions: 30% BA – 20% MA
Peer teaching: 30% BA – 20% MA
Presentation of preliminary paper subject: 10% MA
Final paper: 30% MA

Examination topics

Presentations and the final paper (for MA) must be well-researched and meet the academic standards expected of BA or MA students respecitvely.

Reading list

Abusch, Tz. 2002. Mesopotamian Witchcraft: Toward a History and Understanding of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature. Ancient Magic and Divination, 5. Leiden/Boston: Brill/Styx.
Abusch, Tz. 2016. The Magical Ceremony Maqlû: A Critical Edition. Ancient Magic and Divination, 10. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
Abusch, Tz. 2020. Further Studies on Mesopotamian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature. Ancient Magic and Divination, 17. Leiden /Boston: Brill.
Abusch, Tz., and D. Schwemer. 2008. ‘Das Abwehrzauber-Ritual Maqlû (“Verbrennung”). In Omina, Orakel, Rituale und Beschwörungen, edited by B. Janowski and G. Wilhelm. Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, N.F. 4. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus: 128-186.
Austin, J.L. How To Do Things with Words. The William James Lectures delivered at Harvard University in 1955, edited by J. O. Urmson. Oxford: Claredon Press/Oxford University Press.
Malinowski, B. 1966 [1935]. Coral Gardens and Their Magic, Volume II. The Language of Magic and Gardening. Second edition. Indiana University Studies in the History and Theory of Linguistics. Bloomington: London.
Schwemer, D. 2007a. Abwehrzauber und Behexung. Studien zum Schadenzauberglauben im alten Mesopotamien. Unter Benutzung von Tzvi Abuschs Kritischem Katalog und Sammlungen im Rahmen des Kooperationsprojektes Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-Witchcraft Rituals. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Schwemer, D. 2007b. Rituale und Beschwörungen gegen Schadenzauber. Keilschrifttexte aus Assur literarischen Inhalts, 2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Schwemer, D. 2010. ‘Empowering the Patient: The Opening Section of the Ritual Maqlû’. In Pax Hethitica: Studies on the Hittites and Their Neighbours in Honour of Itamar Singer, edited by Y. Cohen, A. Gilan, and J. L. Miller. Studien zu den Bogazköy-Texten, 51. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz: 311-339.
Schwemer, D. 2014. ‘“Form Follows Function?” Rhetoric and Poetic Language in First Millennium Akkadian Incantations.’ Die Welt des Orients 44: 263-288.
Schwemer, D. 2017a. The Anti-Witchcraft Ritual Maqlû: The Cuneiform Sources of a Magic Ceremony from Ancient Mesopotamia. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Tambiah, S.J. 2017 [1973]. ‘Form and Meaning of Magical Acts: A Point of View’. Reprint. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 7 (3): 451-473.
Tambiah, S.J. 1985. Culture, Thought, and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
van Binsbergen, W., and F. Wiggermann. 1999. ‘Magic in History. A Theoretical Perspective, and Its Application to Ancient Mesopotamia.’ In Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives, edited by Tz. Abusch and K. van der Toorn. Ancient Magic and Divination, 1. Groningen: Styx Publications: 3-34.
Van Buylaere, G. 2019. ‘The Decline of Female Professionals—and the Rise of the Witch—in the Second and Early First Millennium BCE’. Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft 14 (1): 37–61.

Association in the course directory

BA-AO 9, AO-11
MA- AO: Akkadistisches Seminar mit Seminararbeit (Pflichtmodule und Philologisches Vertiefungsmodul I)

Last modified: Tu 10.09.2024 16:46